by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!” Psalm 16:5-6 NLT
I think all of us have heard the phrase, “When someone mimics or copies you, it is the best form of a compliment.” And although this statement may be true, when someone imitates us in one way or another, we have a choice to make: Will we become fearful and insecure or will we remain confident that our destiny is secure in Christ and speak blessings over them?
It is sad to say that many times without even realizing it, we can give into the spirit of fear and begin to speak badly of these individuals. We can fall prey to gossip, slander and even vengeance, all of which stem from our battle with doubt and fear. Yet all the while God has promised to guard all that is ours! Selah (pause and think about this for a moment).
Our destiny is not in the hands of men; the King of Kings is guarding our destiny! Psalm 16 clearly states, “You (God) guard all that is mine.” Your life is secure in Christ. Isn’t that a breathe of fresh air to your weary soul? We can rest assured that we have a good inheritance and that Jesus is our cup of blessing.
Remain close to God in this season. Talk to him, spend time in His Word, and choose to bless and not curse. And let us continue to meditate on this truth: “My life is secure in Christ and He guards all that is mine.”
Prayer:“Lord, I am so grateful for the Blood of Jesus and for that fact that I am forgiven, healed and made whole through the power of the Cross. I declare today that I have a good inheritance. You guard all that is mine and the land that you have given me is pleasant land. I choose to give freely to others because You have freely given to me. You have not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, power and a sound mind. Thank you for a wonderful inheritance! Amen.”
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Tuesdays With Tracy
“My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one.” John 10:27-30, NLT
As most of you know, it is a great passion of mine to encourage others to fulfill their destiny in Christ. Yet recently I have battled feelings of inadequacy in that particular area. I began to wonder if I am truly impacting others for eternity and I even considered stopping Tuesday’s with Tracy.
But before I made any rash decisions, I decided to take my questions and concerns to God. I needed to hear His thoughts for my life. Within twenty-four hours of running to God, He showed me that I had been listening to the accuser of the brethren (the devil) rather than Him. God also pointed out that the discouragement I was battling was due to the fact that I had entertained a pack of lies from the enemy. The Bible clearly states in John 10:10 that, “The devil has come to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to bring life and life more abundantly.”
With this revelation from God, I immediately rebuked the devil and his pack of lies. I ran to the truth of God’s Word and my spirit lifted as I encouraged myself through scripture. God even provided encouragement for me through an email to stay the course with all that God has called me to do at this time.
Now you have a choice to make: whose voice will you honor today? It is a choice that no one else can make for you. If you listen to a pack of lies from the devil you will feel overwhelmed, defeated, depressed and discouraged, but if you listen to the Truth from your heavenly Father, you will rest in His peace, love and encouragement, as you trust in Him.
Prayer:
“Lord, I take authority over the voice of the enemy this day. I want to hear only Your thoughts concerning the direction of my life. I bind confusion and call forth clarity in its place. Thank you for leading me in Your peace that passes all understanding today and forevermore. Amen.”
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!” Proverbs 3:5-8, The Message
One morning last week I was pondering the difficulties of my own life and those around me while driving down the road. And needless to say, my heart was extremely heavy as I could not figure out “why” these challenges were going on or “what” to do about them. These thoughts led me to feelings of helplessness, but then a thought came across my mind, “I may not know why these situations are going on or what to do about them, but I know who my God is.” Within an instant I began to feel better. I got my eyes off the problem and onto God – The Solution.
The truth is, we may never understand “why” we are walking through dark times, but we know who our God is! He is faithful and He is everything we need! Join me today in declaring who God is:
When my body is sick – He is my Healer.
When I cannot pay my bills – He is my Provider.
When my mind is filled with worry – He is my Peace.
When my family forsakes me – He is my Father, Mother, Sister and Brother.
When my heart is filled with anger – He is my Forgiving Father.
When strife is all around me – He is my Protector.
When my friend betrays me – He is my Loyal Companion.
When I am rejected – He is my Acceptance.
When I don’t know what to do – He is my Wisdom.
When I do or say the wrong thing – He is my Grace.
When I can barely get out of the bed – He is the Lifter of my head.
When I am afraid – He is my Perfect Love that casts out all fear.
No matter what you are going through, God is everything you need at this time. Run to Him and as the scripture states your body will glow with health and your bones will vibrate with life!
Prayer:
“Lord, You are everything I need today. I give you every situation on my heart. Please be my healer, provider, peace, protector, wisdom, grace and lifter of my head. I choose to get my eyes off of the problem and onto You – the Solution! I love you and I plead the Blood of Jesus over me, my family and those I love this day! Amen.”
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Tuesdays With Tracy
“But me, I’m not giving up. I’m sticking around to see what God will do. I’m waiting for God to make things right. I’m counting on God to listen to me.” -Micah 7:7, The Message
Does it ever seem like the unrighteous are continually prevailing over God’s people? Do you often feel like giving up? Well, hold on tight because although there are many upsetting things in this world, we have a God who loves to perform miracles on our behalf! Let’s stick around to see what God will do – shall we? I have personally experienced God’s restoration power and I have seen the wicked tremble and repent before God. And I am waiting expectantly for God to make things right on behalf of His people today. Remember that it is God who always gets the last word! Selah (pause and think about that for a moment).
“Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness.” -Psalm 37:1-3
Just the other day I was thinking about all the “wrongs” done by the unrighteous in my life, and I heard the Holy Spirit ask me, “What if your step-father had not abused you, what if your parents had stayed together and not divorced before you were one years old?” As these questions ran through my head, I realized that if these “wrongs” had not occurred, I would not have experienced the first hand power of God in my life, nor would I have my testimony of grace to share with you and others! Let me be clear with you today: whenever you see killing, stealing and destroying, the author of this is the devil, but whenever you see abundant life and restoration, the author of this is Jesus Christ (John 10:10). What the enemy meant to destroy you, God will turn it around for your good. The truth is, we would not be the person we are today without the difficulty of our past. It is through our pain by the unrighteous that Jesus can became OUR EVERYTHING!
I love our scripture today. No matter what you are going through at this time, you have an important choice to make that can alter your destiny: Will you choose to give up or will you choose to trust in the faithfulness of God? If you choose to wait and see what God will do on your behalf, then God’s best is just ahead of you!
Prayer:
“Lord, I will not give up. I choose to stick around and see what you will do on my behalf. Thank you for listening to my heart’s cry and making things right for your people. I will not fret over evildoers, but I will trust in You and feed on Your faithfulness. You are an awesome God and I set my eyes upon you today. Amen.”
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19-20
For me personally, there is no greater joy than to help someone succeed and go higher in the things of God. I love to speak encouragement into a dream of a friend and pray with them until their dream becomes a reality! It is a “high” that no amount of money or chemical substance can give you. When we freely give, we are being used by God to bless another individual. And I have found that as God leads and I help others, He always takes care of my needs in abundance!
Giving – isn’t that what we are here to do anyway? We are here to give people the good news of Jesus Christ. We are also here to give of our gifts and talents to the body of Christ so that all can fulfill what God has called them to do on earth. How would our world be impacted if everyone (including you and me) gave freely to one another? Selah (pause and think about that for a moment).
So, if you happen to be feeling a little blue today, I encourage you to help and pray for someone else! It will get your mind off of “you” and onto someone else who is in need. Self-absorption equals misery, but helping someone else is sure to turn your day around and bring joy to your spirit! We have the privilege of being an extension of God’s love to those around us today.
Prayer:
“Lord, forgive me for being self-absorbed. I choose to get my eyes off of myself and onto The King of Kings, who will perfect everything that concerns me today. Open my eyes to see how I can help someone today. Thank You God for filling my spirit with joy unspeakable. Amen.”
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Tuesdays With Tracy
What if I were to tell you that God loves you, He created you and He thinks you’re gorgeous? Would you believe me or would your mind quickly come up with all the “reasons” why this cannot be true? Statistics state that 85% of Americans struggle with low self-worth. And if you are one of these individuals you may have a hard time believing that God loves you, created you and thinks you’re gorgeous! Unfortunately, many of us treat our “feelings” as truth rather than God’s Word. And it is our “feelings” of low self-worth that can cause us to stumble in life over and over again.
Why is it that we receive the lies of the devil, but we resist the truth of God’s Word concerning our worth? I am here to challenge you today – I want you to press into God’s Truth concerning you. It is time to receive from God and resist the devil and his pack of lies! Let’s start by declaring these truths over your life today:
1. God loves me.
John 3:16 states, “For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only Begotten son that none should perish, but have everlasting life.”
2. God created me.
Ephesians 2:10 states, “For you are God’s workmanship, CREATED in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that you should walk in them.”
3. God thinks I’m gorgeous.
Psalm 45:10-11 states, “Listen O Daughter, consider and give ear; forget your people, forget your father’s house. The King is ENTHRALLED WITH YOUR BEAUTY; honor Him for He is your Lord” (NIV Version).
IF you choose to meditate on these truths today – you will have an awesome day! Although low self-esteem will not go away overnight, if you choose to daily meditate on God’s Word concerning you and determine that what He says about you is TRUTH – you will be walking in worth before you know it!
Prayer:
Lord, help me to receive Your Word as truth and resist the lies of the devil. No matter what man says about me, I can rest in the fact that You love me. I ask that you reveal to me any mindset that is contrary to what the Bible says. I want to walk in worth and fulfill my destiny. I declare today that God loves me, He created me and He thinks I am gorgeous! Amen.
*I’d like to give a “shout out” to the precious women of FBC of Alpharetta: Thank you for the honor of being with you for your 2008 “Girl Talk” Retreat. I love you ladies and hope you always remember that: God loves you. He created you and He thinks you’re gorgeous!
Photo above is from: www.freefoto.com
