“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of
the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).
So are you filled with joy and peace at
this moment? It is available to you. The key word here is trust. You must trust
God in order to feel this peace. I believe you are what you think. It is very
easy to let your negative thoughts get the upper hand in your life so that your
joy and peace is squelched. You have control of what you think. Thoughts about
your weight, your outward appearance, and your lack of self-esteem can only
bring you to a place of defeat. Satan loves to use these thoughts to cause you
to feel helpless and inadequate. You are so much more than your outward
appearance. God has given you a personality and when it is under His control it
can be used to glorify Him in beautiful ways. It has nothing to do with how you
look, but everything to do with who you are on the inside.
One time I was at a teacher’s seminar and a
lady came up to me and asked me if I was a Christian. I said, “Yes, what made
you ask me that.” She told me that she could tell by the glow in my face, my
smile, and the way I talked and behaved. Wow, that was an awe inspiring moment
for me. I had no idea that I had an aura of God about me. Isn’t that so
wonderful? You can have it too. It is found by surrendering all you are to the
Lord.
Is your life totally surrendered to the
Lord? Does His love shine from your eyes? Do the words you speak cause others
to be uplifted and happy? Christ is in you and don’t you ever forget that. His
power is there to overcome bad thoughts. But you must surrender all those bad
thoughts in order to find the joy and peace that is awaiting those who trust in
God. Please do it so that you can overflow with hope. The Holy Spirit can help
you with this also. Don’t allow those bad thoughts to rule your life any
longer. You are a child of the King and your inheritance lies in Heaven with
Jesus Christ.
Dear Lord,
I surrender to you all the
bad thoughts I have about myself. I know that your presence envelops me and
that I can have that joy and peace that only you can give.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
