Everyday there are opportunities in life to get upset and loose your joy and peace. There are many things that can steal your joy – people, traffic, disappointments. But if you are going to live in victory you have to have to choose the right approach to life. It’s good to have plans, but submit your plans to God and decide in advance to stay in peace no matter what happens.
The Scripture says, “No man can take your joy.” That means no person can make you be unhappy. No circumstance can force you to get upset. It’s totally up to you. You have complete control of how peaceful and happy you want to live. When those inconveniences come, when your plans don’t work out or when somebody irritates you, you can decide, “I am not going to get upset. I am not going to lose my joy. I have the power to stay in peace.” Jesus put it this way in John 14:27, “Stop allowing yourself to be upset and disturbed.” Notice it’s a decision you have to make. Decide today to keep your joy and peace.
Change your approach and believe that God is directing your steps....
We hear a lot about detoxing our physical bodies today from all the chemicals, bacteria and pesticides in our foods. It does our body good to go through deep cleanses and rid our bodies of toxins. In the same way, there are all kinds of toxins that can build up in our mind. When we go around dwelling on the wrong thoughts, thinking about what we can’t do, how somebody hurt us, what someone said we couldn’t do, and how we’ll never get ahead; those thoughts are toxic thoughts. And toxic thoughts left alone become like toxic waste. It will eventually contaminate our whole life. It affects our self-image. It affects our attitude and our level of confidence. It becomes a part of who we are.
That’s why it says in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else guard your heart for it affects everything you do.” The writer is saying to make guarding your mind a priority. Put this at the top of your “To Do” list because if your mind gets polluted, your whole life is going to be polluted. Every morning when we get up, we should go through this cleansing and detoxing. Forgive the people that have hurt us. Let go of...
