Read Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week Online
Authors: Joel Osteen
Tags: #REL012000
Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week (41 page)
A blessing may look free, but the truth is it cost you something. Ruth’s blessing, her handful on purpose, came after she had buried her husband and after her father-in-law had died. She had suffered great heartache and pain.
I’m sure some of those workers said, “Hey, it’s not fair. Why is this lady getting all this free wheat when we have to work?” They didn’t realize Ruth had paid the price. She had proven herself as being faithful. She was taking care of her loved ones. God was rewarding her.
Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for the favor, the honor, the joy, the peace, the victory that God has given you. Somebody paid the price. The Scripture talks about this: “I have given you a land for which you did not labor and cities you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat from vineyards and olive yards you did not plant” (Joshua 24:13
AMP
). Those are generational blessings; God rewarding us for seeds other people have sown.
Just last week a gentleman stopped me and told me about bumping into my father on a street in downtown Houston back in the 1970s. My dad didn’t know this young man, but he was at one of the lowest points in his life. He had just dropped out of school and didn’t have any direction. My father came up to him and gave him one hundred dollars and said, “Young man, I don’t know you, but God has got a great plan for your life. You keep moving forward.”
That was a turning point in the young man’s life. He went back to school and earned a degree. Today he is a medical doctor with a very successful practice.
God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His children.
When I wear my blessings, I’m not only honoring God, I’m also honoring my earthly father who spent his life helping others. I’m honoring my mother, who has cared for so many. I’m honoring my grandmother, who worked tirelessly. I’m honoring my grandfather, who gave and served.
When you see me happy, healthy, blessed, and living well, I make no apologies. It’s the goodness of God being passed from generation to generation. I
won’t downplay it. I won’t make excuses. I know God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His children.
Our attitude should not be
Look how great I am. Look at what all I have.
No, turn it around:
Look at how great God is. Look at what the Lord has done in my life, in my family.
”
All through the day we should be bragging on the goodness of God. We may not have deserved it. We didn’t earn it. Many times it’s just another handful of blessing on purpose. Now, don’t let some negative, judgmental, jealous person, or even your own thoughts try to convince you to not wear the blessings God has given you.
If you will wear your blessings well, being quick to always give God the credit, then there is no limit to where He will take you. God will make you an example of what it means to live a joyful, blessed, prosperous, and abundant life.
As I noted in the opening chapter, we all have the power to choose happiness each and every day. That doesn’t mean we ignore our challenges or that we can always control everything that happens to us, but it does mean that, with God’s help, we can choose to respond to life’s inevitable setbacks and hard times with a positive attitude. You have the power to focus on solutions, to surround yourself with supportive people, to rise above criticism and discouragement, and to put your faith in God and trust His plan for your life. Be happy with who God created you to be and enjoy each day you are given as His gift. If you do this, I believe you will make every day a Friday.
PART I
Don’t Give Away Your Power
CHAPTER ONE
Make Every Day a Friday
CHAPTER TWO
Don’t Give Away Your Power
CHAPTER FOUR
Bloom Where You Are Planted
CHAPTER SIX
The Right Perspective
CHAPTER SEVEN
Know What to Ignore
CHAPTER EIGHT
Silencing the Voice of the Accuser
CHAPTER TEN
You Can Have the Last Laugh
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Living Without Crutches
CHAPTER TWELVE
Don’t Live for the Approval of Others
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Freedom from Competition
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Connecting with the Right People
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Forgive So You Can Be Free
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Overcoming Discouragement
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dealing with Unexpected Difficulties
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Don’t Have a Critical Spirit
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Seeing Through Eyes of Love
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Healing Power of Laughter
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Smile, and the World Smiles with You
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Help Others to Win
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Be a People Builder
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Living as a Healer
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Encourage Yourself
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Voice of Victory
Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Your Best Life Now Journal: A Guide to Reaching Your Full Potential
Your Best Life Now Study Guide: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Daily Reading from Your Best Life Now: 90 Devotions for Living at Your Full Potential
Your Best Life Begins Each Morning: Devotions to Start
Every New Day of the Year
Your Best Life Now for Moms
Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day
Become a Better You Journal: A Guide to Improving Your Life Every Day
Daily Readings from Become a Better You: 90 Devotions for Improving Your Life Every Day
It’s Your Time: Activating Your Faith, Achieving Your Dreams, and Increasing in God’s Favor
It’s Your Time Journal: A Guide to Activating Your Faith, Achieving Your Dreams, and Increasing in God’s Favor
Daily Readings from It’s Your Time: 90 Devotions for Activating Your Faith, Achieving Your Dreams, and Increasing in God’s Favor
Copyright © 2011 by Joel Osteen
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David J. Pollay’s
The Law of the Garbage Truck
was used with permission by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2010 by David J. Pollay.
Scripture quotations noted
AMP
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The Amplified Bible
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KJV
are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
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are from the New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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are from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
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The Message
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First eBook Edition: September 2011
ISBN: 978-0-892-96993-7
