Don't Let Them Hold You Back!

Don't Let Them Hold You Back!

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:32, NIV.

TODAY’S WORD

Did you know that wrong labels can keep you from your destiny? You are not who people say you are. You are who God says you are. People will label you not good enough, too slow, too old, too many mistakes. God labels you strong, talented, valuable, more than a conqueror. Make sure that you’re wearing the right labels. Don’t go the next 20 years allowing one negative comment to hold you back.

Many people don’t know any better. They wear the negative labels like they’re the truth. They become so engrained in their thinking that they end up becoming what people say they are instead of what God says they are.

Are there labels that are holding you back today? What a coach said? What a counselor said? Even negative comments spoken by your parents? This is the time to remove every negative label. People don’t determine your destiny; God does. The only power that label has over you is the power that you give it. If you will remove it; if you will forgive that person and quit dwelling on it, then that label will have no effect on you!

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, thank You for Your truth which sets me free. I choose to let go of every negative word spoken over me. I choose to forgive those who have hurt me. I embrace Your Word which is my identity in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Sin Leads to Relational Conflicts by Rick Warren “I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1 NLT) In a perfect environment where there is no sin, you’re not going to have any conflict. But in, say, a marriage where you take one person who’s imperfect and another person who’s imperfect, it cannot make a perfect relationship. It is impossible. You’re not going to have a perfect relationship. You’re going to have problems in any relationship. Solomon mentions this, too. In Ecclesiastes he says, “I’ve been watching people in the world, and you know what I’ve discovered? They’re not nice to each other. People don’t treat each other kindly. People misuse each other. People abuse each other. People lie to each other. People fake each other out. People are phony in their relationships. People wear masks; they cover up; they abuse; they take advantage of each other.” Why do we do this? Because nothing works on this planet because of sin. When we don’t follow God’s will, it causes damage. Ecclesiastes 4:1 says, “I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless” (NLT). When Adam and Eve rebelled, it not only disconnected them from God; it disconnected them from each other. You cannot have the kind of intimacy God wants you to have with your spouse without having intimacy with God first. When you’re disconnected from God, there’s no way you’re going to be fully connected the way God meant for you to be as a husband and wife. Sin also damages the area of your finances and career, too. How do economies get broken? By ignoring the biblical principles of finance that God has said in his Word. There are many principles of finance in Scripture. All of the economic problems we have that the government can’t seem to put together and agree on is because of irresponsible living — spending money we didn’t have and not obeying God’s financial principles. Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 says, “Here is a terrible thing that I have seen in this world: people save up their money for a time when they need it, and then lose it all in some bad deal and end up with nothing left to pass on to their children” (GNT). Talk About It How does knowing the results of sin make you want to counter them differently or more effectively? How have you seen God’s grace at work in the midst of financial and vocational difficulties?