Hope: The Happy Anticipation of Good Things

**Joyce Meyer

I define hope as "the happy anticipation of good things." When we anticipate the goodness of God in our lives, it opens the door to greater happiness. So are you aggressively hoping for something good to happen to you?

As long as we live, you and I are always going to be heading somewhere. God created us to be goal-oriented visionaries. Without a vision, we become bored and hopeless. And "hope deferred makes the heart sick," according to Proverbs 13:12, "but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life." 

God wants us to live by His hope so that we can enjoy life.

You're not going to be happy if you don't have hope. The more hope you have in God, the happier you become. Hope believes everything is going to turn out all right, hope is positive! To enjoy life you must maintain a good, hopeful attitude. God is positive, and He wants positive things to happen to each of us, so fill yourself with His hope today and live with the happy anticipation of good things.

Prayer Starter: God, I make the choice today to happily anticipate Your goodness in my life. And as my hope increases, I know that my joy will increase too. Lord, I put my hope in You!

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Press on and Enjoy Your Progress

**Joyce Meyer

It's true that we all still have a long way to go. I used to get discouraged about how far I had to go, and it seemed like I was reminded of it every day, sometimes every hour. I carried a constant sense of failure, a feeling that I just wasn't who I needed to be, I wasn't doing enough and I needed to try harder. Yet, when I did try harder, I only failed again. 

I've now adopted a new attitude: "I'm not where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. I'm OK, and I'm on my way!" I now know with all my heart that God isn't angry with me just because I haven't arrived yet. He's pleased that I'm pressing on and staying on the path. 

If you and I will just "keep on keeping on," God will be pleased with our progress. He has promised to light the path before us. We may not know the way, and we may stumble from time to time, but God is faithful. He sees your progress, He's proud of you, and He's going to help you stay on the right path! 

Prayer Starter: God, I won't get discouraged about where I am. You've already brought me so far, and I know that You will continue to light my way.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Overcoming the Fear of Lack

**Joyce Meyer

One of the biggest fears that people face is the fear of lack. It's the fear that your needs won't be met - that you'll run out of resources and that God won't come through for you in time. 

You may be in a situation of lack that you've never been in before, in desperate need of finances or other resources to simply meet your basic needs. Maybe you're facing an emotional or spiritual lack. The spirit of fear might be attacking you, telling you that God cannot meet your needs and that you won't make it. 

You need to know today that the enemy is a liar, and God cares about your situation. He has a plan and He is working on your behalf to provide what you need at the right time. Even when it seems like nothing is coming your way, God always knows how to miraculously provide.

Whatever your needs may be - financial, physical, emotional, spiritual - you don't have to fear lack. God will provide for you, comfort you, nourish you and bring you back to a place of strength. Trust in His provision.

Prayer Starter: God, Your Word says that You will supply all my needs, so I won't give in to the fear of lack. I believe that You love me and that You will come through and provide for me.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

God Can Use Your Greatest Trials for Good

**Joyce Meyer

God spoke this to my heart awhile ago: "Joyce, you see to the end of your nose (which isn't very far), and you assume that anything that doesn't feel good isn't good. But I see from beginning to end because I am The Beginning and The End, and I know many things you don't know." 

We know in part, but God knows all.

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph is speaking to his brothers, who had severely mistreated him. When they threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery, they thought they were working against him, but really, God had a plan to use those trials to promote Joseph to a place of great influence.

Sometimes the very things we think are awful turn out to be a great blessing. The greatest trial can develop in you the greatest faith. You might be at the bottom of a pit, but God has a plan to use that pit to promote you in His call on your life. Remember, God can see all, and He will use those trials for your good.

Prayer Starter: God, I can't see 'past my nose,' but I trust You because I know that You see all. I believe that You can take my trials and bring good out of them.

Genesis 50:20

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Receive God's Grace

**Joyce Meyer

Grace is the power of God to live the way He's called you to live. God, however, won't give us the grace to be disobedient. If He's telling us not to do something that we decide to do anyway, we'll experience the painful loss of His anointing.

Grace equals ability. God gives us grace to match our call. When we do our own thing, we do it on our own. When we follow His leading, He always supplies the grace and the energy to do what He's calling us to do.

The best part is that while we do have to choose to receive His grace, we don't have to do anything to earn it. When you choose to follow God's call, He's ready and willing to help you. Jesus died to cover your sins so that you can walk righteously before God with access to the Holy Spirit who can help you navigate everyday life.

I urge you today to make sure you're in a position to receive His grace and ability. If you're trying to pursue your own path, tell God that you want to follow Him and ask Him for help. He will always be faithful to provide His grace to you.

Prayer Starter: Holy Spirit, I can't live life successfully without Your grace in my life. I want to follow Your call, and I ask You to help me to daily live the way You want me to live.

Romans 5:15

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

Love Yourself So You Can Love Others

**Joyce Meyer

It's tough to enjoy life when you don't like yourself. People who haven't learned to accept and get along with themselves tend to have more difficulty accepting and getting along with others. 

I personally spent years having a hard time getting along with people, until I finally realized through the Word of God how my difficulty with other people was actually "rooted" in my difficulties with myself. 

The Bible says a good tree will bear good fruit, and a rotten tree will bear rotten fruit. Likewise, the "fruit" of our lives comes from the "root" within us. If you're rooted in shame, guilt, inferiority, rejection, lack of love and acceptance, etc., the fruit of your relationships will suffer. 

However, once you have a revelation of God's unconditional love for you and begin to accept yourself and others, eventually these new roots will produce good fruit, and your relationships will thrive. 

What are your roots planted in? Examine your heart today and pray that God will firmly plant you in the soil of His love, so that you can genuinely love yourself and then love others. Make sure you are rooted in Him today.

Prayer Starter: God, I want to be rooted in Your love for me. Without Your love, I can't love myself or others, so I receive it today.

Mark 12:31

The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.

Do Unto Others

**Joyce Meyer

I'm sure we lose a lot of blessings we never even know about simply because we fail to do for others what we would like to have done for us. We always want to be blessed by others, but do we take the initiative to unselfishly bless them first?

If your marriage, family, or friendships aren't what you would like them to be, you could literally turn them around by adopting this one principle right now. 

You may have been waiting for your spouse to do something for you. Maybe you have even been stubbornly refusing to help a friend because you want them to help you first. Living this way can be selfishly comfortable, but things will never change until you decide to actively change them. It's time to swallow your pride and save your relationships.

Instead of sitting around, focusing on yourself, waiting for blessings to come your way, it's time to actively make sacrifices and serve the people God has placed in your life. Be a servant and make others the focus.

Instead of feeling rejected and ignored, you'll be amazed at how your relationships improve when you treat others the way you want to be treated.

Prayer Starter: God, I have nothing to gain by living a selfish life. Instead of waiting for people to be good to me, I'm going to be good to them first, treating them the way I want to be treated.

Matthew 7:12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.