"I vowed that I would set aside time for G.o.d every day," Pam said. "That was my only resolution for the year." She shrugged. "It's now April, and I stuck with my plan for about three weeks. I never complete most of the important things in my life."

Jeff and Pam are only two examples of people who feel hopeless. They know what they want to do, but they still don't accomplish what they desire.

There is no one way we can explain all failures, but both of these believers had reached the place of hopelessness. They were sure they couldn't do it. "I've tried before, and I failed," they each said. They saw no point in trying again.

"Okay, so I try again and then I fail again," Jeff said. "I already feel bad; why would I want to feel worse?"

He didn't realize that negative thoughts and words were the cause of his own failure. Satan was there to attack and discourage him, but he did most of the work himself through an att.i.tude of hopelessness.

"I end up failing." Those were Pam's words. "I never complete most of the important things in my life," is the way she said it.

By their own words, Jeff and Pam had prepared themselves to fail. And their words weren't the only thing that doomed them. It was the thoughts behind the words.

Discouragement destroys hope. Failure easily leads to more failure. And once we allow our minds to say, "This is the way it will always be," the devil has won a victory over us.

I urged Jeff and Pam to examine their thought life. "For now," I urged, "don't focus on the outcome or the result of your action. Go back to your att.i.tude and your thought processes."

As we talked, it became obvious that Jeff expected to fail. The devil had already enslaved his mind. Of course, he failed. He got just what he expected. The same was true for Pam. Both of them thought failure and focused on failure. They expected nothing else. They were afraid they would fail right from the beginning, and the Bible says that what we fear comes upon us (see Job 3:25).

"Ask yourselves," I said, "what kind of thoughts have you been thinking?" If we change our thoughts, we can change our outcome. Jeff and Pam both believed they would fail, but I wanted them to believe they could succeed.

Jeff made great progress over the next few weeks. Whenever he started on a new project he would say, "Things are going a little slow, but I'm making progress. Yesterday was difficult, and I started to feel discouraged. I even felt a little sorry for myself. But that was because I chose wrong thinking."

The same was true for Pam. She said, "I now refuse to be discouraged. Last Tuesday night as I crawled into bed, I realized I had rushed so fast all day that I had taken no time to spend with G.o.d, and I was too tired then." She asked G.o.d to forgive her, adding, "Help me not to give up."

Pam realized that she had failed once last week and twice the week before. She reminded herself that she had been faithful the other days. That gave her hope. "It's not 100 percent victory, but it's a lot better than zero."

Both Jeff and Pam finally realized a powerful truth, and we need to understand it, too: Jesus does not condemn us; we condemn ourselves. We allow discouraging, disheartening thoughts to fill our minds. Now we need to be aware that we can push those thoughts aside and say, "With Your help, Lord Jesus, I can make it."

Lord Jesus, with Your help, I can make it. With Your help, I won't be discouraged and feel hopeless. With Your help, I can defeat every wrong thought the devil slips into my mind. Thank You for victory. Amen.

18.

My Feelings Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that G.o.d raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to G.o.d), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

-ROMANS 10:9-10 "But I can't help the way I feel," Angie moaned.

Most of us hear this statement often. It means that the way the person feels is settled, and they believe they have to go with those feelings. It's like an unchallenged fact of life.

We have feelings, and sometimes they are strong, but we get confused. We allow our feelings to determine our decisions and, ultimately, our destiny. With that type of mindset, it means that if we feel discouraged, we are discouraged; if we feel victorious, we are victorious. It means that if we feel depressed, we must be depressed.

Someone once said, "My feelings are emotions; they are not reality." In other words, just because we feel a certain way doesn't make that feeling a fact. It only means that we feel that way. We must learn to press past our feelings.

Perhaps an example will help. Janet sells real estate, and when she makes a sale, she feels wonderful and successful. Last month she sold five upscale homes and made an excellent commission. This month she has sold only one, and she feels as if she's a failure. Is Janet a failure? No. It's just that on dark days, she feels that way; but that doesn't mean it's true.

Today I may not feel G.o.d at work in my life. But is that true, or is that the way I feel? I know many people who don't feel loved by G.o.d-that's how they feel, but it isn't the truth.

The devil gains a stronghold in this area. If he can convince us that our feelings are reality, he has made great progress, and we are easily defeated.

Years ago, I spoke in a church, and many people came up to me to tell me how my message had encouraged them. I beamed because I was still new in the ministry, and I really needed lots of compliments in order to feel successful. One man said, "I didn't agree with anything you said. You need to get your theology straight." And he walked away.

Immediately discouragement overwhelmed me. I had tried hard to be G.o.d's instrument to the people, and I had failed. As I left the church, I thought about what had happened. At least fifty people had told me how my words blessed them. One man came to me with a negative message. How did I react? I believed the negative. I allowed his words to s.h.i.+ft my thinking, and I convinced myself I had failed.

I hadn't failed. I had listened to the wrong voice and allowed it to control my feelings. I determined that never again would I allow one negative voice to discourage me and make me feel that I had failed. Perhaps I had failed to help that man-and I couldn't do anything about it-but my teaching had touched many others. One woman had tears in her eyes when she told me that I had given her exactly the right word she needed to hear.

I did something else that night. I reminded myself that what I experienced had been a negative feeling, but it had not been reality. I began to quote Bible verses, reminding myself that Satan attacks us where we're weak and vulnerable. I was new to public speaking, and the man with the negative word knew that.

I thought of Romans 10:9-10. We often quote these two verses when we speak to people about their salvation; however, the principle is there no matter what the subject. Paul says that we need to believe in our heart and confess with our lips. I stopped and said aloud, "G.o.d, I believe I am in Your service. I believe I did my best for You. I believe You used my words to bless many people. I do not have to listen to that one negative voice."

Within minutes, I felt better. (See how quickly our feelings can change?) Reality hadn't changed, but I had. I refused to allow negative, wrong thinking to turn me from reality.

Loving and caring G.o.d, forgive me for thinking wrong thoughts and for allowing wrong feelings to determine my att.i.tude. I ask You, in the name of Jesus, to help me believe Your Word and to entertain positive thoughts. Amen.

19.

Positive Minds Jesus said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.

-MATTHEW 8:13 Sometimes when I stand behind the pulpit, and before I speak, I pause and my gaze sweeps across the audience. I look at the faces of the people. I love to see the bright smiles and expressions of antic.i.p.ation, but there are always a few who look downtrodden and discouraged. I don't know anything about them and I don't want to judge them, but their faces look sad. They look as if they have lost hope and expect nothing positive to happen-and too often, they get exactly what they expect.

I understand those discouraged people; I was once one of them.

Here's a simple fact I've learned: Positive minds produce positive lives, but negative minds produce negative lives. The New Testament tells the story of a Roman soldier whose servant was sick, and the soldier wanted Jesus to heal him. That wasn't uncommon-many wanted Jesus to heal them or their loved ones in those days. But this soldier, instead of asking Jesus to come to his servant, expressed his belief that if Jesus would just speak the word, his servant would be healed (see Matthew 8:8). Jesus marveled at his faith and sent out His word to heal the servant. The soldier's positive mindset-his faith-brought positive results. He expected healing, and that's exactly what happened.

Too often, we cry to Jesus to heal us, to take care of our finances, or to deliver us from problems, but we don't fully expect the good things to happen. We allow our minds to focus on the negative aspects. Doubt and unbelief war against our minds and steal our faith if we allow it.

As I wrote in my book Battlefield of the Mind, many years ago I was extremely negative. I used to say that if I had two positive thoughts in a row, my mind would get in a cramp. That's an exaggeration, of course, but that's how I saw myself. I lived with the same philosophy that other people have: If we don't expect anything good to happen, we won't be disappointed when it doesn't.

I could have excused my negative att.i.tude by telling everyone about my disappointments in life-and I had many. It wasn't just my lack of expectation. It was more than that. Because I thought negatively, I spoke negatively. When people told me of their spiritual victories, I'd think, That won't last. When people spoke of their faith, I'd smile, but inwardly I would think that they were gullible. I could always figure out ways that plans would go wrong or people would disappoint me.

Was I happy? Of course not. Negative thinkers are never happy. It's too long of a story to explain how I came to face that reality, but once I realized what a negative person I was, I cried out to the Lord to help me.

I learned that if I kept studying the Word of G.o.d, I could push away negative thoughts. G.o.d's Word is positive and uplifting. My responsibility was to become the kind of believer who honors G.o.d with her thoughts, as well as with her actions and her deeds.

I understood the remorse David must have felt when he wrote Psalm 51: "Have mercy upon me, O G.o.d, according to Your steadfast love . . ." is the way he starts. I especially meditated on verse 9: "Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt and iniquities." I hadn't sinned the same way David did, of course, but my negative thinking and bad att.i.tude was sin. It wasn't just weakness or a bad habit. When I focused on negative thinking, I was rebelling against G.o.d.

The Lord had mercy on me. As I continued in His Word and in prayer, He freed me from Satan's stronghold.

Freedom is available for all of us.

Gracious G.o.d, thank You for every deliverance in my life. Thank You for setting me free from negative and wrong thinking. Thank You for defeating Satan in this area of my life. Amen.

20.

A Perfect Plan And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.

-PHILIPPIANS 1:6 For we are G.o.d's [own] handiwork (His workmans.h.i.+p), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which G.o.d predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

-EPHESIANS 2:10 I wonder how many times we've heard preachers say, "G.o.d has a plan for your life." We nod, perhaps smile, and then go on our way. I'm not sure most of us truly believe that-at least, our lives don't reflect that we believe it.

What does it mean to think that G.o.d has a perfect plan for us? Perhaps it's the word perfect that troubles us. We're fallible and make so many mistakes. How could anything be perfect in our lives? We know ourselves too well. Immediately we think of our shortcomings and shake our heads.

That's a trick of Satan! The plan isn't perfect because we're perfect; the plan is perfect because G.o.d is perfect. For now, let's say it this way: G.o.d has a special plan for each of our lives.

Let's think about that plan. In the previous verse, Paul told us that G.o.d saved us and started a good work in us. The Spirit is still with us, nudging us forward. Paul also wrote that we are G.o.d's handiwork (or workmans.h.i.+p). The two verses before that tell us that we're saved by G.o.d's grace. We have nothing to do with the act of salvation-we haven't earned it or deserved it. We are born into the kingdom of G.o.d as a gift. G.o.d does it, and we receive it. Yes, we believe, but that's not doing anything to earn our salvation.

As we think about G.o.d at work in us, we remind ourselves that, imperfect as we are, G.o.d is perfection. Nothing we can ever do would be good enough to satisfy G.o.d's perfection. Only Jesus, the Perfect One, is good enough. Nothing but our faith in Him makes us acceptable to G.o.d.

The apostle went on to say that we are saved through Jesus Christ so that we can do good works. G.o.d has prepared us for the kind of life He wants us to live. His Word makes it clear how that life works.

It's not that we're perfect or ever will be perfect while on earth. The point is that G.o.d is perfect and has a plan for us. The plan for our lives is perfect, because it comes from the Perfect Planner. G.o.d's plan for us includes obedience and service to Him from a sincere heart.

G.o.d holds out directions for a full, satisfying life. Our role is to align ourselves with that plan. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus and His ability, not on ourselves and our disabilities.

As soon as we say, "But wait! I'm not perfect! I fail," we have taken our attention off G.o.d and allowed Satan to distract us with wrong thinking. Our loving Lord pleads with us to turn our minds and hearts fully over to Him. The more fully we do that, the more completely we live by His good and perfect plan.

We are to be like Joshua, to whom G.o.d said, "This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success" (Joshua 1:8).

Perfect G.o.d, help me in this battle for my mind. Satan constantly reminds me of my imperfections and my weaknesses, but I ask You to remind me of Your perfection, Your love, and Your closeness so that I can always walk in victory. I ask these things through Jesus Christ. Amen.

21.

All Things Work for Good We are a.s.sured and know that [G.o.d being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love G.o.d and are called according to [His] design and purpose.

-ROMANS 8:28 After John 3:16, Romans 8:28 is probably the most-quoted Bible verse among Christians. Paul's words bring comfort and peace to many of us in our difficulties and hards.h.i.+ps. They give us hope that no matter what hurts and disappointments come in our lives, everything will eventually work out for our good.

The two verses preceding Romans 8:28 talk about prayer. They say that when we don't know how to pray as we ought to, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and prays through us. It is through these Holy Spirit-filled prayers that all things work together for good, no matter what they are. Not all things that happen to us are good in and of themselves, but G.o.d is good and He can cause them to work toward our good if we trust Him.

Continuing to trust G.o.d is the key to victory in painful and seemingly unjust situations. Faith and prayer move the hand of G.o.d. If we continue believing, He promises to continue moving in our behalf to work everything out for good.

G.o.d makes this promise to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We must love G.o.d with all of our hearts, and we must want His will. We must be willing to submit to His plan at all times.

The plan that G.o.d has for us eventually changes us into His image. We are destined to be molded into His image. That may sound spiritual, but in reality, it usually hurts. I often think of clay being pressed into a mold, and wonder how the clay would feel if it had feelings. Being changed into an entirely different shape would probably be painful. If we take a lump of clay and press it into a mold, there is always too much clay to fit, and some pieces must be discarded. I found that there was more of me than would fit into the mold of Jesus Christ, so many of my thoughts, words, and actions had to be discarded.

We must go through things that are difficult and learn how to respond to them the way Jesus would. We must not give way to the fearful thoughts and feelings that attack us. We must learn to remain steadfast, knowing that no matter how things appear now, G.o.d will work them out for our good-and in the process, He will use them to make us better people.

G.o.d's purpose in everything that happens is to make us more like Jesus Christ. Jesus was the totally obedient one. "Although He was a Son, He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8).

We also learn through what we suffer. We learn from G.o.d's Word and life's experiences. Because of our sinful nature, we tend to fight G.o.d at every point, but this only makes the process longer and more painful. Learn to surrender quickly, and save yourself a lot of agony. I've learned that G.o.d gets His way in the end, so why prolong the process?

Where the mind goes the man follows. Keep your mind going in the right direction, and your life will catch up with it. A person who has their faith firmly planted in G.o.d cannot be defeated. The Bible says that Joseph's brothers hated him, but G.o.d was with him. G.o.d gave him favor and promoted him, so we see that his faith in G.o.d lifted him above his circ.u.mstances.

Some terrible things happened to Joseph. His brothers sold him to slave traders and told his father a wild animal had killed him. He was betrayed by those whom he served and tried to help, but G.o.d was watching him all the time. G.o.d had a good plan for Joseph, and it came to pa.s.s. He ultimately said that although the things that happened to him were originally meant for harm, G.o.d intended it for good.

This same thing is true for all of us. Satan cannot defeat us if we keep believing that G.o.d is working for our good, and that we are being continually transformed into His image.

All-wise and loving G.o.d, make me more like Jesus. I don't like to suffer, and I hate to fail, but through Jesus Christ, I ask You to teach me and enable me to understand that, because of You, everything truly works together for my good. Amen.

22.

Getting What We Want Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

-PROVERBS 3:5-6 I usually know what I want, and I like to get it. I'm exactly like most people. When we don't get what we want, our negative feelings flare up. (And remember those feelings began with thoughts.) "I drove across town to buy that dress, and you're out of my size?"

"What do you mean there are no HD-TVs left? You advertised it in the paper."

Most of us are like that-and when we don't get what we want, we make people around us miserable. It's not something we learn in school-it may be inborn.

As I wrote the above quotations, I thought of a scene in the grocery store. A young mother was pus.h.i.+ng her cart along and stopped at the cereal. Her child-less than two years old-reached out for a box. "Want! Want!"

"No," the mother said. "We have plenty at home." She put a different box of cereal in the cart.

"Want! Want!" the child said. Getting no response, she began to kick and scream. To the mother's credit, she did not give in but pushed the cart to another aisle and distracted her child.

As I watched that behavior, I thought, That's the way we all are most of the time. We decide what we want, and when we don't get it, we're angry.

"Jack and I were both up for the same promotion. I've been with the company longer, and my sales figures are stronger," Donna said. "I deserved it, but he got the job."

"I had a grade of 98 going into my final essay test," Angie said. "If I had made another 100, it would have given me a 4.0 average, and I would have become the top student in my graduating cla.s.s. But I made only 83 on the test, and dropped down to fifth in my cla.s.s. I deserved a grade of 100, but my teacher doesn't like me."