At the beginning of the year, it's common for people to think about things they want to change and set goals to make those changes. It's good to "take stock" and evaluate yourself every now and then. We all have room to grow and progress to make.
But if our priorities aren't right, we'll end up striving to accomplish something that we don't have the ability to achieve. We'll end up like hamsters on the wheel - furiously scurrying but going nowhere.
In her latest devotional, Hearing from God Each Morning, Joyce talks about the one thing that should be the top priority for everyone: spending time with God.
The following is a devotion excerpted from her book that expounds on the importance of taking time for God each day. If you follow her advice, you'll set yourself up to finally have success in making the changes you long to make and achieving those goals you reset year after year.
Do you take time to hear God's voice every day?
"Those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired" (Isaiah 40:31).
We live in a time-crunched world and just about everything we do seems to be urgent. The enemy has been extremely successful in his scheme to keep people from praying and spending time in the Word by keeping us so terribly busy.
We live under incredible pressure and we run from one thing to the next to the next to the next - to the point that we often neglect the things that are really important in life:
- God
- Family and other relationships
- Our health
- Building up our spiritual lives
Then we get more and more stressed out - and the only way to deal with that and get life back in order is to get with God and listen to what He says to us.
It's true - we really cannot handle life apart from Him. We cannot handle the pressure, the confusion, and the stress without Him.
Our marriages will suffer, our children will suffer, our finances will get messed up, our relationships won't thrive - if we do not spend time in the Word and in prayer. God will strengthen us and enable us to handle life peacefully and wisely if we start praying about things instead of merely trying to get through the day.
When we take time with God and listen to His voice, He renews our strength and enables us to handle life and not be weary. But we have to start by using the time we have wisely and by always putting God first.
For more on this topic, you may order Joyce's devotional "Hearing from God Each Morning" by calling (800) 727-9673 or visiting http://www.joycemeyer.org/ .
Author/teacher Joyce Meyer has been helping people overcome life's problems through biblical keys to practical Christian living since 1976. Her radio and television programs are broadcast throughout the United States and much of the world. For additional information, you may contact Joyce Meyer Ministries at P.O. Box 655, Fenton, Missouri 63026 or visit http://www.joycemeyer.org/
