Day Forty-Six.

Verses: "'Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.'"

Psalm 37:3-9

In my last devotional I talked about how my pain is better. Feeling better, lasted for a day. But I have decided I am done being depressed, focusing on my pain, and feeling horrible mentally. Even though I am still in physical pain, I CAN and WILL have hope and joy in God.

Maybe right now, you are really struggling. No matter what you are facing: we (you and me) can always have hope and joy in God despite what we are struggling with.

How do you have hope and joy in the Lord when you are struggling Caty? I am really struggling Caty!

1. Spend time reading in the Bible.

I have actually been reading my Bible almost everyday. It has truly helped me. Reading God's word shows me that I can be joyful and hopeful despite the physical pain I am feeling. I have been reading the story of Paul who had a thorn in his side that God would not remove. (You read this story in Acts 12-19) Paul loved to serve God despite his thorn. So no matter what you are facing: you can have hope and joy in the Lord. You get that hope and joy by spending time reading God's word.

2. By listening to God.

To listen to God you just have to let God speak. You need to read your Bible but also you need be quiet and listen to God. Today I just stopped talked and just listened. I was quiet and peaceful and God spoke to me. I am doing a Bible study with my prayer group and the book we are reading is all about how to hear from God. In the first chapter, the writer asked us: "Have you been listening to God? Have you sat down and just listened?" I haven't been but today I did and it helped me so much.

3. Talking with God.

Tell God want you need and He will help you. Just talk open and honest with God. Just spend time with God by listening to Him, reading your Bible, and talking with God.

4. You have to change your mindset.

We (you and me) need to stop focusing on our problems and focus on God. When we lift our eyes above our problems and on to God, we get a new mindset. I know I have been focusing on my physical pain so much but today I have decided I am not going to focus on my pain anymore. I am going to focus on God and His goodness. That doesn't mean I still don't have pain but if all I think is how horrible I feel, I will only feel horrible.

Lift your eyes above your circumstance and focus on God. Focus on being joyful and having hope. As my Dad says: "you find what you are looking for". If you focus on sadness, you will feel sad. But if you focus on positive things, you will find it to. I am not saying your problems will disappear but if you change your mindset to a positive mindset, you will find God's hope and joy. If you change your mindset, you can change your life.

If you focus on God, read His word, listen to Him, talk with Him, and change your mindset, you will be unstoppable! Why? Because you have God on your side and with God on your side, you CAN and WILL have joy and hope in God! Because with God on your side, you can do anything!

Prayer:

Dear God,

I pray that as I spend time listening to you, talking to you, reading your word, and changing my mindset that I become closer to you. I pray that you bless me with you joy and hope. Because with your hope and joy Lord, I know that I can do anything! I pray that I continue to build a close relationship with you. I love you Lord. I will follow you for the rest of my days. I will live to serve you Lord. So God just lead me where you want me to go and I will follow.

I thank you for all my many blessings and for Your Son.

In Jesus's name, I pray, Amen!

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Hey beautiful❤️ I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you so much for reading! I love you all❤️

-xoxo Caty❤️