by Joel Osteen
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CONSIDER GOD’S WORD IN THE LIGHT OF MOTHERHOOD
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God’s] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.
ROMANS 12:19 AMP
FIND STRENGTH Through Adversity
GOD HAS A DIVINE PURPOSE FOR EVERY CHALLENGE
THAT COMES INTO OUR LIVES. TRIALS TEST OUR CHARACTER
AND HELP SHAPE OUR FAITH.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT LOVE? MOTHER’S LOVE, THE LOVE OF CHILDREN— WHICH IS SO BEAUTIFUL, SO STRONG, SO JOYFUL.
—KIM PHUC
Get Up ON THE INSIDE
LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE NOW is downright difficult sometimes. Many of us give up far too easily when things don’t go our way or we face adversity. Instead of persevering, we get all bent out of shape. Before long we’re down and discouraged, which is understandable, especially when we’ve struggled with a family problem or a weakness for a long time. Eventually we acquiesce.
But we have to be more determined than that. Our circumstances in life may occasionally knock us down, but we must not stay down. Even if you can’t see up on the outside, get up on the inside. Have that victor’s attitude and mentality. Stay with an attitude of faith.
To live your best life now, you must act on your will, not simply your emotions. Sometimes that means you have to take steps of faith even when you are hurting, grieving, or still reeling from an attack of the enemy. Before David became king of Israel, he and his men returned home to find their homes burned, their possessions stolen, and their women and children kidnapped. Instead of sitting around devastated and mourning over what had been lost, David encouraged himself in the Lord and convinced his men to attack the enemy (1 Samuel 30:6). As they persevered, God supernaturally helped them to recover everything that had been stolen.
You may be sitting around waiting for God to change your husband’s behavior or your child’s attitude. Then you’re going to be happy; then you’re going to have a good attitude; then you’re going to give God praise. But God is waiting for you to get up on the inside as David did. It will take courage; it will definitely take determination, but you can do it if you decide to do so.
Develop a victor’s mentality and watch what God begins to do. Set your face like a flint and say, “God, I may not understand this, but I know You are still in control. And You said all things would work together for my good. You said You would take this evil and turn it around and use it to my advantage. So, Father, I thank You that You are going to bring me through this!” No matter what you may face in life, if you know how to get up on the inside, adversities cannot keep you down.
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CONSIDER GOD’S WORD IN THE LIGHT OF MOTHERHOOD
Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm.
EPHESIANS 6:13 NLT
[LOVE] ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, AND ALWAYS PERSEVERES.
—1 CORINTHIANS 13:7
THE MOST GLORIOUS SIGHT THAT ONE EVER SEES BENEATH THE STARS IS THE SIGHT OF WORTHY MOTHERHOOD.
—GEORGE W. TRUETT
TRUST God’s Timing
WHEN MANY PEOPLE FACE ADVERSITY, they allow their doubt to cloud their determination, thus weakening their faith. They don’t keep a good attitude. But life is too short to trudge through it depressed and defeated. No matter what has come against you or what is causing you to slip and fall, no matter who or what is trying to push you down, you need to keep getting up on the inside and learn to be happy.
Medical science tells us that people with a determined, feisty spirit get well quicker than people who are prone to be negative and discouraged. That’s because God made us to be determined, not to live in depression and defeat. A negative spirit dries up your energy; it weakens your immune system. Many people are living with physical ailments and emotional bondages because they are not standing up on the inside.
It is our nature to want everything to be right now. When we pray for our dreams to come to pass or for an adversity to pass, we want answers immediately. But we have to understand, God has an appointed time to answer our prayers. And the truth is, no matter how badly we want it sooner, it’s not going to change His appointed time.
When we misunderstand God’s timing, we live upset and frustrated, wondering when God is going to do something. But when you understand God’s timing, you won’t live all stressed out. You can relax knowing that God is in control of you and your family, and at the “appointed time” He is going to make it happen. It may be next week, next year, or ten years from now. But whenever it is, you can rest assured it will be in God’s timing.
God is not like an ATM machine, where you punch in the right prayer codes and receive what you requested within twenty-four hours. No, we all have to wait and learn to trust God. The key is, are we going to wait with a good attitude and expectancy, knowing God is at work whether we can see anything happening or not? We need to know that behind the scenes, God is putting all the pieces together. And one day, at the appointed time, you will see the culmination of everything that God has been doing. God often works the most when we see it and feel it the least.
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CONSIDER GOD’S WORD IN THE LIGHT OF MOTHERHOOD
For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
HABAKKUK 2:3 NKJV
THE MOTHER’S HEART IS THE CHILD’S SCHOOLROOM.
—HENRY WARD BEECHER
“FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS,” DECLARES THE LORD. “AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO ARE MY WAYS HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS AND MY THOUGHTS THAN YOUR THOUGHTS.”
—ISAIAH 55:8–9
BE Content
DAVID HAD A BIG DREAM FOR HIS LIFE. He had a desire to make a difference, but as a young man he spent many years as a shepherd, caring for his father’s sheep. I’m sure there were plenty of times when he must have thought, God, what am I doing here? There’s no future in this place.When are You going to change this situation? But David understood God’s timing. He knew that if he would be faithful in obscurity, God would promote him at the right time. He knew God would bring his dreams to pass in due season.
You know the story. God brought David out of those fields, he defeated Goliath, and eventually he was made king of Israel.
Perhaps you have a big dream in your heart—a dream to have a better marriage, to own your own business, to help hurting people—but like David, you don’t really see any human way your dream could happen.
We don’t always understand God’s methods. His ways don’t always make sense to us, but we have to realize that God sees the big picture. God isn’t limited to natural, human ways of doing things. Consider this possibility: You may be ready for what God has for you, but your child, who is going to be involved, is not ready yet. God has to do a work in your child or another situation before your prayer can be answered according to God’s will for your life. All the pieces have to come together for it to be God’s perfect time.
But never fear; God is getting everything lined up in your life. You may not feel it; you may not see it. Your situation may look just as it did for the past ten years, but then one day, in a split second of time, God will bring it all together. When it is God’s timing, all the forces of darkness can’t stop Him. When it’s your due season, God will bring it to pass.
Don’t grow impatient and try to force doors to open. Don’t try to make things happen in your own strength. Contentment starts in your attitude. The answer will come, and it will be right on time. He will bring your dreams to pass. Rest in Him! Let God do it His way.
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CONSIDER GOD’S WORD IN THE LIGHT O
F MOTHERHOOD
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”My times are in your hands.
PSALM 31:14–15
OUR GREATEST DANGER IN LIFE IS IN PERMITTING THE URGENT THINGS TO CROWD OUT THE IMPORTANT.
—CHARLES E. HUMMEL
MY MOTHER HAD A SLENDER, SMALL BODY, BUT A LARGE HEART—A HEART SO LARGE THAT EVERYBODY’S JOYS FOUND WELCOME IN IT, AND HOSPITABLE ACCOMMODATION.
—MARK TWAIN
TESTS OF Faith
WHEN ADVERSITY COMES KNOCKING AT THE DOOR or calamities occur within a family, some moms immediately think they have done something wrong, that God surely must be punishing them. They don’t understand that God has a divine purpose for every challenge that comes into our lives. He doesn’t send problems, but sometimes He allows us to go through them.
Why is that? The Bible says temptations, trials, and difficulties must come, because if we are to strengthen our spiritual muscles and grow stronger, we must have adversities to overcome and attacks to resist. Trials are intended to test our character, to test our faith. If you will learn to cooperate with God and be quick to change and correct the areas He brings to light, then you’ll pass that test and be promoted to a new level.
In the Bible, we read of Job, a good man who loved God and had a heart to do what’s right. Yet in a few weeks’ time, he lost his business, his flocks and herds, his family, and his health. Things could not get any worse for Job, and I’m sure he was tempted to be bitter. His own wife told him, “Curse God and die.”
But no, Job knew that God is a God of restoration. He knew God could turn any situation around. And his attitude was, Even if I die I’m going to die trusting God. I’m going to die believing for the best. Sustaining faith is what got Job through those dark nights of the soul when he didn’t know where to go or what to do . . . but because of his faith in God, he did. And, when it was all said and done, God not only turned Job’s calamity around, He brought Job out with twice that he had before.
God often allows you to go through difficult situations to draw out those impurities in your character. You can pray and resist it, but it’s not going to do any good. God is more interested in changing you than He is in changing the circumstances. You may not always like it; you may want to run from it; you may even resist it, but God is going to keep bringing up the issue again and again until you pass the test. Faith tells you the best is yet to come.
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CONSIDER GOD’S WORD IN THE LIGHT OF MOTHERHOOD
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.
1 PETER 4:12 NASB
LIVE to Give
GOD IS A GIVER, AND IF YOU WANT HIM TO POUR OUT HIS BLESSING AND FAVOR IN YOUR LIFE, THEN YOU MUST LEARN TO BE A GIVER AND NOT A TAKER.
I CANNOT FORGET MY MOTHER. SHE IS MY BRIDGE. WHEN I NEEDED TO GET ACROSS, SHE STEADIED HERSELF LONG ENOUGH FOR ME TO RUN ACROSS SAFELY.
—RENITA WEEMS
NO “Lone Ranger” MOMS
MANY PEOPLE NOWADAYS ARE blatantly and unashamedly living for themselves. Society teaches us to look out for number one. “What’s in it for me?” We readily acknowledge this as the “me” generation, and that same narcissism sometimes spills over into our relationship with God, our families, and one another. Ironically, this selfish attitude condemns us to living shallow, unrewarding lives. No matter how much we acquire for ourselves, we are never satisfied.
One of the greatest challenges we face in our quest to enjoy our best lives now is the temptation to live selfishly. Because we believe that God wants the best for us, and that He wants us to prosper, it is easy to slip into the subtle trap of selfishness. Not only will you avoid that pitfall, but you will have more joy than you dreamed possible when you live to give, which is the sixth step to living at your full potential.
God is a giver, and if you want to experience a new level of God’s joy, if you want Him to pour out His blessing and favor in your life, then you must learn to be a giver and not a taker. We were not made to function as self-involved people, thinking only of ourselves. No, God created us to be givers. And you will never be truly fulfilled as a human being until you learn the simple secret of how to give your life away.
The spiritual principle is that when we reach out to other people in need, God will make sure that your own needs are supplied. If you want your dreams to come to pass, help someone else fulfill his or her dreams. If you’re down and discouraged, get your mind off yourself and go help meet your child’s need. Sow the seed that will bring you a harvest.
Perhaps you feel you have nothing to give. Sure you do! You can give a smile or a hug. You can do some menial but meaningful task to help someone. You can visit someone in the hospital or make a meal for a person who is shut in. You can write an encouraging letter. Your child needs what you have to share. Your husband needs your love and friendship. God created us to be free, but He didn’t make us to function as “Lone Ranger” moms. We need one another.
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CONSIDER GOD’S WORD IN THE LIGHT OF MOTHERHOOD
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
ACTS 20:35 KJV
THE ONE THING WE NEVER GIVE ENOUGH OF IS LOVE.
—HENRY MILLER
THE ANGELS, WHISPERING TO ONE ANOTHER, CAN FIND AMONG THEIR BURNING TERMS OF LOVE, NONE
SO DEVOTIONAL AS THAT OF MOTHER.
—EDGAR ALLAN POE
WALK in Love
If anybody had a right to return evil instead of love, it was Joseph. His brothers hated him so much, they purposed to kill him but then sold him into slavery. Years went by, and Joseph experienced all sorts of troubles and heartaches. But Joseph kept a good attitude, and God continued to bless him. After thirteen years of being in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, God supernaturally promoted him to the second highest position in Egypt.
When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt and suddenly found their lives were in Joseph’s hands, can you imagine the fear that gripped their hearts? This was Joseph’s opportunity to pay them back. Yet Joseph extended his mercy. Is it any wonder he was so blessed with God’s favor? Joseph knew how to treat people right.
How you treat other people can have a great impact on the degree of blessings and favor of God you will experience in your life. You may have children who have done you great wrong. You may feel as though your whole life has been stolen away by somebody. But if you will choose to forgive them, you can overcome that evil with good. You can get to the point where you can look at the people who have hurt you and return good for evil. If you do that, God will pour out His favor in your life in a fresh way. He will honor you; He will reward you, and He’ll make those wrongs right.
The Bible says we are to “aim to show kindness and seek to do good” (1 Thessalonians 5:15 AMP). We must be proactive. We should be on the lookout to share His mercy, kindness, and goodness with people. Moreover, we need to be kind and do good to people even when somebody is unkind to us, including our children. The last thing they need is for you to respond angrily.
Keep taking the high road and be kind and courteous. Walk in love and have a good attitude. God sees what you’re doing, and He is our vindicator. He will make sure your good actions and attitude will overcome that evil. If you’ll keep doing the right thing, you will come out far ahead of where you would have been had you fought fire with fire. God wants His people to help heal wounded hearts.
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CONSIDER GOD’S WORD IN THE LIGHT OF MOTHERHOOD
Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evild one to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
1 CORINTHIANS 13:5 AMP
“YOU MEANT EVIL AGAINST ME, BUT GOD ME
ANT IT FOR GOOD IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT THIS PRESENT RESULT, TO PRESERVE MANY PEOPLE ALIVE.”
—GENESIS 50:20 NASB
A MOTHER IS SOMEONE WHO DREAMS FOR YOU, BUT THEN LETS YOU CHASE THE DREAMS YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF AND LOVES YOU JUST THE SAME.
—UNKNOWN
KEEP AN Open Heart
EVERYWHERE YOU GO THESE DAYS people are hurting and discouraged; many have broken dreams. They’ve made mistakes; their lives are in a mess. They need to feel God’s compassion and His unconditional love. They don’t need somebody to judge and criticize them. They need somebody to bring hope, to bring healing, to show God’s mercy. Really, they are looking for a friend, somebody who will be there to encourage them, who will take the time to listen to their story and genuinely care.
Our world is crying out for people with compassion, people who love unconditionally, people who will take some time to help. Certainly, when God created us, He put His supernatural love in all of our hearts. He’s placed in you the potential to have a kind, caring, gentle, loving spirit. Because you are created in God’s image, you have the moral capacity to experience God’s compassion in your heart.
If you study the life of Jesus, you will discover that He always took time for people. He was never too busy with His own agenda, with His own plans. He wasn’t so caught up in Himself that He was unwilling to stop and help a person in need. He could have easily said, “Listen, I’m busy. I have a schedule to keep.” But no, Jesus had compassion on people. He was concerned about what they were going through, and He willingly took time to meet their needs. He freely gave of His life.