The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (12 page)

Opinions are very interesting because we all have different ones. You are entitled to your opinion, but that does not mean you should always give it to others. Most of the time people don’t want our opinion; and even if they do ask for it, they hope we agree with the opinion they have already formed. Wisdom knows when to keep quiet and when to talk.

Not only should we be wise about how freely we give our opinion, we should also resist letting popular opinion become ours just because it is popular. Thankfully, God has given us His truths that can shape and form our opinions. If we’ll decide to base our mind-sets and opinions on the unchanging Word of God, it doesn’t matter what culture says or what seems popular at the time; God will reward you because His Word never returns void.

I thank You, Father, for the inspired Word of God that gives me truth to base my thoughts, mind-sets, and opinions on. Help me to know the difference between what is popular at the time and what is true and unchanging. Help me develop wise and encouraging opinions.

I often tell people that one of the things they can do to enjoy their lives is to simplify their lives—that includes their prayer life too. Now when I say “simplify” your prayer life, I don’t mean you should not pray often. The Bible says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV). We can and should go to God frequently in prayer.

What I mean is that if you try to sound too eloquent, you can complicate your prayer life to the point of it being unbearable. It is good to know that we don’t have to try to impress God with our prayers. Thankfully, we can just talk to Him like a friend; tell Him the way we truly think and feel. With God, you can always be sincere, and you can always be yourself. You don’t have to put on religious airs. You can be real with God and simply enjoy spending time with Him.

Father, I thank You that talking with You is not a complicated process. I am so grateful that I can be myself with You and just pray what is on my heart. Help me to remember that prayer is a conversation and that I can come to you anytime throughout the day.

There are many times when people give up just before a breakthrough—on the very brink of success. But don’t give up! You can wait for 10 years and then suddenly, one day you wake up and everything has changed. Your dream has finally been fulfilled, the situation you lived in for so long is finally over, or you finally achieved the accomplishment for which you labored for years.

Be grateful that God has a plan for you and He has heard your prayers—you may not realize how close you are to your breakthrough. Even if you have to wait three, four, or five more years, if you will keep pressing on, thankfully, you will have the victory you need. Whatever you do, do not give up on the brink of your breakthrough. Do not stop hoping, believing, and obeying God. Instead say, “I will never quit; I will never give up.”

Thank You, Father, that my breakthrough is on the way. I am not without hope and I am not on my own. You are with me, and You have a good plan for my life. I trust You, Lord, and I refuse to give up.

The apostle Paul possessed a lot of knowledge. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees, learned, educated. And before he was converted on the road to Damascus, he was very proud of what he knew. Isn’t it interesting that sometimes the more people know, the more proud they become?

In 1 Corinthians 8:1, Paul said that knowledge puffs up. If we knew everything we think we would like to know, we wouldn’t lean on God because we would be so proud and we’d think we didn’t need Him.

Paul did a 180-degree turn from thinking he knew everything to saying that he had resolved to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I think Paul was saying, “All I know is Jesus, and I don’t have to know anything more than that.”

Jesus is the most important thing. Think about how much frustration you would save yourself if you gave up worrying and trying to figure everything out and were resolved to know nothing but Jesus. Thankfully, you can do exactly that!

I thank You, Father, that Jesus came to this earth and died for my sins. I may not have everything figured out, but I know the most important thing: my hope, peace, and joy are all found in Your love for me revealed in the sacrifice of Jesus.

No matter how many principles and formulas you and I learn, we will never have lasting victory in our Christian life without spending time in personal, private fellowship with the Lord. The victory is not in methods; it is in God. If we are to live victoriously, we are going to have to look beyond ways to eliminate our problems and find the Lord in the midst of our problems.

The good news is that when we set aside time with God, He meets with us. We can be grateful, knowing that when we seek Him, we will find Him. God has a personalized plan for each of us, a plan that will lead us to victory. That is why principles, formulas, and methods are not the ultimate answer, because they do not allow for the individual differences in people. As good as all these things may be as general guidelines, they are not substitutes for personal fellowship with the Living God.

Thank You, Father, that I can meet with You at any time of the day or night. You’re always here for me and You desire to spend time with me. Your Word says that when I seek You, I will find You. So help me, Lord, to find You in every part of my life today.