100 Days of Right Believing: Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing (5 page)
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Authors: Joseph Prince
Right now, Jesus is reaching out to me with His love, grace, and forgiveness.
Lord Jesus, I thank You that although You know every detail about my life—all my past mistakes and all my present struggles—You still love me so much that You pursue me. I praise You for seeking me even when I had no idea that You cared. I believe You are reaching out to me right now, and I receive Your love, Your grace, and Your forgiveness. I look to You, Jesus, to be my wisdom, peace, and strength every day. Amen.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
P
SALM
46:1
S
torms of life. You know them well. They overwhelm you. Wave after wave of relentless battering that knocks you off your feet till you don’t know which side is up. Till every ounce of energy is used up and you feel so weak, abandoned, and lonely. Perhaps you’re caught in one of life’s storms right now.
When the disciples of Jesus were out at sea, caught in a turbulent tempest and tossed by the waves, who came to them in their darkest hour? It was Jesus Himself (see Matt. 14:22–33). Jesus came in style, walking on the raging waters. The loving Savior came to them at their exact point of need to rescue them.
What does this tell you? That He is above the storms. He walks above—He is greater than—every adversity and opposition that you may be facing right now, and He comes to you to rescue you!
With the billowing waves beneath His feet, His first words to His disciples were, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!” (Matt. 14:27
NLT
). What comfort those words must have brought to the disciples who were exhausted and shaking with fear for their lives.
My friend, when the storms of life rage, don’t go by what you see and hear all around you. Don’t go by your negative feelings and emotions. Live by the truth of God’s Word, which encourages you to “be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic… For the L
ORD
your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deut. 31:6
NLT
). Our God is a personal and loving God who is with you in your boat right in the midst of the howling storm. He knows how to lead you to victory every time. He cannot fail you!
God, who cannot fail me, is with me in my boat. He knows what storms are ahead and will lead me to victory every time!
Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that when the storms of life rock my boat, it’s so easy to get into fear and panic. Thank You for reminding me today that You are watching over me, that You are here to rescue me, and that the winds and the waves are no problem for You. I believe Your Word is true, and I believe You are calling me to take courage in Your presence. Open my eyes, Lord, and help me to see that You are always with me, and how You are above every storm. I welcome You into my boat, and I declare that no matter how bad the storm may seem right now, I am not going down, because You cannot fail me! Amen.
“I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope…”
H
OSEA
2:15
NLT
A
re you among the people who think that when you fail, God leaves you and only returns when you get your act together? Some people think that they must clean up their lives and overcome all their struggles on their own before they can come before the presence of God. Well, I have a simple question for you: Do you clean yourself before you take a bath? Of course not!
In the same way, God wants you to come to Him just as you are, with all your weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, wrong beliefs, hang-ups, and all your bondages, fears, and addictions. He is the bath! You don’t have to try to clean yourself up before you come to Him.
But Pastor Prince, what if the mess I’m in is entirely of my own doing? Can I still just come to God as I am and expect Him to help me?
Yes, even if your trouble is due to your own willfulness or a mistake of your own making, He is still with you. He has never left you, and He never will. He will never forsake you (see Heb. 13:5). You are precious in His eyes. Can you imagine living life with the kind of confidence, assurance, and peace that comes when you are truly anchored in this truth?
Today, even if you find yourself in the Valley of Trouble, know that you will not remain there for long. You will walk through it and not remain or camp there (see Ps. 23:4). God is opening a door of hope in your life today for you to step out of your darkness and into His marvelous light (see 1 Pet. 2:9). Things are going to get better. The breakthroughs that you have been waiting for are coming your way. Step through the door of hope and out of your Valley of Trouble today. Jesus is your door of hope! Believe in His love for you and allow Him to lead you to freedom. In His loving presence, you will find forgiveness, healing, and restoration. He will mend your life and transform you from the inside out.
I am precious in God’s eyes. He who knows me perfectly loves me perfectly! I can come to Jesus just as I am and receive His help.
Father, I can’t clean myself up from the messes I’ve made in my life, and I can’t find my way out of the Valley of Trouble on my own. I’ve tried and failed over and over again. Thank You for Your promise that You will transform my troubles into a door of hope because of Jesus. I believe that You are extending Your hand of grace and love to me and that You will mend my life and transform me from the inside out. I take Your hand and step out of my darkness into Your marvelous light. Amen.
The L
ORD
is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.… He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
P
SALM
103:8, 10–12
P
salm 103 is one of my favorite psalms of David, a beautiful psalm that describes who and what God really is—a gracious and merciful Savior. Believing right begins with what you believe about God and must be based on the solid foundation of God’s Word. To know the truth about who and what God is, we can’t go by feelings, circumstances, human conjectures, or what we may have heard someone say about God. We have to go to the source!
If you heard a rumor that someone you knew was saying horrible and negative things about you, don’t believe it immediately. Go to the source first. Ask this person if this is what he or she really said or if this is what he or she really meant. Many people allow precious friendships and relationships to become fractured because they believe the rumors. They become bitter, angry, and disappointed without ever verifying with the person if he or she had actually said those nasty things.
In the same way, in the world we live in, there are all kinds of wrong beliefs perpetuated about God: “God is angry at you.” “He is disappointed with you.” “God is allowing all these negative things to happen to you because He’s punishing you for your past sins.”
Please do NOT believe all this baseless gossip about God! Such impressions of God have damaged many people’s relationships with Him, and they live with a distorted perspective of who God really is. Instead of receiving His love, grace, and forgiveness, they become afraid, distant, and fearful of Him. Instead of allowing Jesus to come into their situations, they live their lives running away, avoiding, and hiding from Him.
Come on, let’s honor God and go to the source. Look again at what the Bible says about Him in today’s Scripture reading: He is “slow to anger, and abounding in mercy… as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
This
is our God!
This
is why you can always run to Him and believe that you can freely receive His help!
