It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night. —Psalm 92:1– 2
DO YOU KNOW that God has promised that no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17)? Now, He did not promise that weapons would not be formed against you. He promised that even if weapons were formed against you, they would not hurt or defeat you.
Start your day with Jesus - practicing His presence, committing your plans to Him and trusting Him for His unmerited favor, wisdom and strength for the day.
There are all kinds of weapons formed against humanity, especially in these last days. Just think of the many kinds of deadly viruses, sicknesses and diseases in the world. When you turn on the television and watch the news, all you seem to hear about are wars, unrest, disasters, financial collapses, violence, unemployment, famines and new strains of deadly viruses. It is amazing how many people wake up in the morning, and the first thing that they do is grab the newspapers and read bad news before heading to work. Then, just before they go to bed, they watch the news!
Now, please understand that I am not against reading the newspapers or watching the news, or watching television for that matter. But I want to encourage you to start your day with Jesus instead, practicing His presence, acknowledging Him, committing your plans to Him and trusting Him for His unmerited favor, wisdom and strength for the day. Remember to be like Joseph in the Bible. The Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man! Your success does not come as a result of you being updated about the latest virus or you being cued in to the latest disaster. No, your success will come as a result of your being tuned in to the presence of Jesus in your life!
There are many people in my church who start the day each morning by partaking of the Holy Communion, not as a ritual, but as a time to remember Jesus and the power of His cross. They look to Jesus for His strength, receiving His divine life for their physical bodies as they partake of the bread. They renew their consciousness of their free gift of righteousness purchased by the blood of Jesus on the cross as they partake of the cup. What a way to start the day!
I have also come to realize that the last thought before you go to sleep is very important. I have tried this before and you can try it too—go to bed thinking about Jesus, giving thanks to Him for the day. You can also meditate on one of His promises, such as the one found in Isaiah 54:17. Just say, “Thank You, Father. Your Word declares that no weapon formed against me shall prosper!” Most times, I wake up feeling rejuvenated, energized and refreshed even though I did not sleep for many hours.
Conversely, if I go to bed with what I have just heard on the news swirling in my mind, I could sleep many more hours than usual, but still wake up feeling fatigued. Sometimes I even get a headache. Have you been there before? Well, you don’t have to experience that again. Sandwich your day with the presence of Jesus. Start the day with Him, enjoy Him during the day and end the day with Him on your mind!
Today’s Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your presence with me today. Help me to be more conscious of Your unmerited favor toward me than of bad news that people are concerned about. Today, I commit all my plans to You, knowing that Your unmerited favor, wisdom and strength are always with me to prosper me and give me good success.
Today’s Thought
I’m going to sandwich this day with the presence of Jesus.
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Prince, Joseph. 100 Days Of Favor, Daily Readings From Unmerited Favor.