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Living Full of God
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:
You shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace…
Isaiah 55:12, NKJV.
TODAY'S WORD:
The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek word “entheos.” “Theos” is God. When you’re enthusiastic, it simply means you are full of God. When you get up in the morning excited about your future, recognizing that day is a gift and go out with a spring in your step, pursuing your goals, passionate about life, then God will breathe in your direction. Studies tell us that people who are enthusiastic get better breaks. They’re promoted more often. That’s not a coincidence. When you’re full of passion, you have the favor of God.
Remember, God didn’t breathe His life into us to drag through the day. He didn’t create us in His image, crown us with His favor, equip us with His power to just go through the motions of life. You may have had some setbacks, the wind may have been taken out of your sail, but this is a new day! God wants to breathe new life back into you. If you’ll get your fire and passion back, the wind will start blowing once again. When you’re in agreement with God, He can cause the winds of favor to shift in your direction!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father, thank You for another day, another opportunity to praise You and pursue the dreams You’ve given me. Help me to stay filled with Your joy, which is strength, so I can serve You with my whole heart in everything that I do in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Faith, Not Feelings, Pleases God
BY RICK WARREN — JULY 20, 2014
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21 NIV)
When you are a baby Christian, God gives you a lot of confirming emotions and often answers the most immature, self-centered prayers — so you’ll know he exists. But as you grow in faith, he will wean you of these dependencies.
God wants you to sense his presence, but he’s more concerned that you trust him than that you feel him. Faith, not feelings, pleases God.
The situations that will stretch your faith most will be those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found. This happened to Job. On a single day he lost everything — his family, his business, his health, and everything he owned. Most discouraging for Job was that for 37 chapters of the Bible, God said nothing!
How do you praise God when you don’t understand what’s happening in your life and God is silent? How do you stay connected in a crisis without communication? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they’re full of tears? You do what Job did: He fell to the ground in worship and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised”(Job 1:21 NIV).
How do you praise God when you don’t understand what’s happening in your life and God is silent? How do you stay connected in a crisis without communication? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they’re full of tears? You do what Job did: He fell to the ground in worship and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised”(Job 1:21 NIV).
Tell God exactly how you feel. Pour out your heart to God. Unload every emotion that you’re feeling. Job did this when he said, “I can’t be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak” (Job 7:11 TEV).
He cried out when God seemed distant: “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house” (Job 29:4 NIV).
God can handle your doubt, anger, fear, grief, confusion, and questions.
Talk It Over
- Describe a time when you have felt God’s presence in your life.
- Think of another time when you wanted to feel God’s presence but didn’t. Did it change your response to God? If so, why?
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