WITH A JOYFUL SPIRIT

12/12/2022

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit drains one's strength” (Proverbs 17:22)

The enemy will stop at nothing to get you to take a stand against the Spirit of God. He does this by getting your mind off joy and gets you to focus your attention on the unpleasantness around you until you start speaking contrary to the Word. If this happens, you would have positioned yourself to attract the people, materials, and circumstances to make your life experience a hopeless one. Hence, you must guard your heart and refuse to speak or act contrary to the Word irrespective of how you may feel. For example, you may feel like giving up on your marriage, your job, your ministry, or maybe even your responsibility in your local assembly. But do you realize that your feeling just never justify your action. As a child of God, you shouldn’t be led by your feelings and this is why the Scripture says in Romans 8:14, “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” The sons of God are those that are led by the Spirit; not those led by their flesh. Feeling a certain way is not in itself wrong, but if your feeling glorifies what you want rather than Christ, then you must reject it. Feeling unloved or unappreciated in your marriage, on your job, or at your local church does not necessarily mean that you are unloved or unappreciated.

Child of God, don’t allow how you feel in one moment rob you of your eternal blessing. Instead of focusing on what you perceive to be wrong, why not focus on what is working? Look out for the glory of God in that situation; dwell on the strength, not the weakness. The Lord said something so remarkable to me. He said, “A self-centered person will always see what is wrong in others and you can never satisfy such person.” They are self-appointed messiahs. They usually have the “best” advice for others, but when you examine their own lives, they have no record whatsoever of having success in the areas in which they present themselves as experts. Today, the Lord is saying, “TAKE COUNSEL before you wreck all that I have done in your life.” Ask yourself this question: Is my self-centeredness beclouding me from seeing the good in my relationships, job, ministry, or in life as a whole?”

So, before you quit that job, why not inquire of the Lord? There are times when Satan will move against the will and timing of the Holy Ghost in an effort to disrupt destiny and purpose. In 1 Chronicles 21:1, the Bible says, “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel” And David had no idea! Even when Joab counseled David against it because he knew that it was a move against God’s will, the bible says, “Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab…” (1 Chronicles 21:4). And the result was the death of seventy thousand people; all because David disobeyed.

So when the thoughts and feelings of discouragement set in, respond in kind – speak the Word. Don’t give in to the demands of your feelings. Stir your thoughts in victory by using faith filled words. You may be faced with a discouraging situation right now; you may feel overwhelmed. But hear me; the victory is in the Word. If you would put the Word in your heart and mouth and speak it forth, you will see a miracle. Don’t be downcast. Cheer up! Maintain a joyful spirit. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit drains one's strength”. Whatever the case may be, use your faith confessions to repel hopelessness and stand your ground in the Word.

God bless you.

Faith Filled Confession:

I am a vessel, through which the love of God is being made known to the world. I will be generous with all that He has blessed me with; I will go the extra mile to see that someone encounters the God in me. It will not be by my power or might but by the Spirit of God.

ONE YEAR READING PLAN: Daniel 9-10; 2 John