You have a relationship with yourself

**Joyce Meyer

Did it ever occur to you that you have a relationship with yourself? You may have never given it much thought, but you spend more time with yourself than anyone else, and it is vital that you get along well with you because you are the one person you never get away from.

We should love ourselves, not in a selfish, self-centered way that produces a lifestyle of self-indulgence, but in a balanced, godly way that affirms God's creation as essentially good and right. We may be flawed by unfortunate experiences we have gone through, but that does not mean we are worthless and good-for -nothing.

We must have the kind of love for ourselves that says, "I know God loves me, so I can love what God chooses to love. I do not love everything I do, but I accept myself because God accepts me." We must develop the kind of mature love that says, "I believe God is changing me daily, but during this process, I will not reject what God accepts. I will accept myself as I am right now, knowing that I will not always remain this way."

Prayer starter: God, like Isaiah 43:25 says, You blot out my sins and accept me, which means that I do not have to reject myself. I am free to love myself in a healthy way because You love me!

Isaiah 43:25

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my won sake, and remembers your sins no more.

A need for brokenness

**Joyce Meyer

The word brokenness may strike fear in some people, but it is really not a bad word. God does not desire to break our spirits, but He wants to break that outer shell, the flesh that prevents Him from being all He wants to be in and through us. He wants to break off things like pride, rebellion, selfishness and independence. God wants us to be totally dependent on Him, and suffering seems to bring us to that point.

Sometimes people seem surprised that they must go through a time of trial or suffering. Perhaps they have been faithful to learn and obey the Word, and the trials still come. Sometimes trials come simply to test and purify our faith.

When these trials come your way, embrace them, because they lead to real, true brokenness. God wants us to live by the Spirit, not the flesh, and this is so much easier when we allow Him to break off our lives any sinful or selfish habit or trait that would keep us from Him.

Do you want to be close to God today? Then embrace brokenness, knowing that it will lead to greater things in your future.

Prayer starter: Holy Spirit, I realize that sometimes I need brokenness. It may be not comfortable, but I invite You to break off and get rid of anything that is keeping me form You.

1 Peter 1:6-7

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perished even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Perseverance pays

**Joyce Meyer

In the early years when we were building our ministry, Dave and I went through a lot of difficult tests. I needed to work on my attitude. We needed to work on our marriage and how we handled money.

For six years I bought my socks and underwear at garage sales. We were totally broke, and I was teaching prosperity!

Not only that, it just was not popular for women to preach back then. We lost friends and had family members who did not want anything to do with us.

It was just hard and sometimes I wanted to quit. But today I am so glad that I stuck with God because there are people all over the world who have been helped because of our ministry.

Scripture tells us in Matthew 19 that we will have to leave 'important' things behind for the sake of following Him. We did not have everything we thought we needed back then, but the trade-off ended up being more than worth it.

Persevere in your walk with God, even it is hard. Stay focused on Him, and it will all pay off when you enter the victory He has for you.

Prayer starter: God, sometimes it is hard to persevere in the Christian life, but I know that the perseverance will pay off. I will follow You alone, because You are all that matters.

Matthew 19:29

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Does God prefer polyester or denim?

**Joyce Meyer

I used to be so judgmental about the way some people dresses. Not long ago, I thought that I could not wear jeans while I was teaching at a conference, but my son said to me, "Do you really think that God anoints polyester more than denim?

It took some things like that to shock me into the realization that I was just holding on to a religious attitude when God wanted me to freshen up my look in order to reach more people.

Sure, it is good to dress nicely when we go to church. But the bottom line is, we should not be so focused on our outward appearance that we lose sight of our main goal: developing a close, personal relationship with God. 

God simply wants us to fellowship with Him, which means communicating with Him throughout our day just like we do with someone who is our close friend or family member. He does not care about the outward appearance, only real relationship.

Spend time with Him, being grateful for what He has done and is doing in your life. Have a real relationship with Him.

Prayer starter: God, help me to have You attitude about outward appearance. Help me not to judge others who do not dress the way I think they should, and help me to develop a strong inner relationship with You.

1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Does Your inside match you outside?

**Joyce Meyer

Sometimes we wish for things to change but are unwilling to do what it takes to make things better.

I was always upset about my circumstances. I wanted God to change them for me, and I wanted Him to change the people around me too. But then He showed me that I needed to work on changing my inner life before I could expect real change in my outer life.

Matthew 6:33 (NLT) says, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

So what is God's kingdom? The Bible says the kingdom of God is in us. If you have accepted Christ, that means He is living in you, and He wants to live in a good spiritual home. That is why your inner life is so important to God.

We must seek first His kingdom, letting His Holy Spirit take hold of us on the inside. When we allow Him to work in us, eventually we would not be able to contain it, and it will spill out and change the world around us!

Prayer starter: Holy Spirit, help me not to get caught up in trying to change external things when You are asking me to focus on developing Your kingdom in my heart. I invite You to work in my inner life.

Luke 17:21

nor will people say, 'He re it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Prudence

**Joyce Meyer

A word we do not hear much about today is prudence. It means "careful management: economy."

In the Bible, prudence, or prudent, means "being good stewards or managers of the gifts God has given us to use." Those gifts include time, energy, strength and health, even material possessions. They include our bodies, as well as our minds and spirits.

Just as each one of us has been given a different set of gifts, each of us has been given different levels of ability to manage those gifts.

Too many people burn themselves out, constantly using their gifts and abilities in ways that God did not intend them to. Instead of pushing ourselves too hard to please others or reach our own personal goals, we need to listen to God and do what He is telling us is wise. 

Trying to impress people and live up to their standards is not prudence. Prudence means asking God how He wants you to use your gifts and then obeying. Learn God's prudence today and put it into practice so you can enjoy your life the way He intended.

Prayer starter: God, I desire to be a good steward of all that You have given me. I decide now to only use my gifts and abilities for You. Show me how to use them with Your prudence and wisdom.

Proverbs 16:21

The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.

A great trade

**Joyce Meyer

Did you know that God wants to make a trade with you? He has a standing offer every minute of every day, and it is amazing how few of us actually take Him up on it. He wants you to give Him all you cares, problems and failures. In return He will give you His peace and joy.

God really does want to take care of us, but in order to let Him, we have got to stop trying to take care of ourselves and worrying about every little thing we cannot control. Many people would like for God to take care of them, but they insist on worrying or trying to figure out an answer on their own, instead of waiting for God's direction.

God will give us peace, but we must first give Him our worries. What a great trade! We give God our worry, and He gives us His peace. We give Him all our cares and concerns, and He gives us His protection, stability and joy. That is the amazing blessing and privilege of being cared for by Him.

Prayer starter: Lord, You have offered me an amazing trade. You are so much more capable than I am, so I give You all of my cares and receive all of the peace and joy that You offer me!

Psalms 55:22

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.