The Best Way To Start Your Day
This statement may shock you. Think about it.
Without Him – we cannot. Without you – He will not.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing” John 15:5.
Simply stated, if we do not depend on Jesus, there is no long-lasting and real success so….without Him, we cannot.
Start Your Day This Way
Some believe that without Him they can succeed but they will never reach the level of success that God designed for them. In that place, it is easy to fall from God’s grace back into the law by trying to merit success by their efforts.
“If you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ. You have fallen away from God’s grace (unmerited favor)” Galatians 5:4.
These are STRONG words of warning. Once you start depending on your merits and efforts to deserve God’s favor, you are back under the system of the law.
Don’t misunderstand me, Jesus is still with you (He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), but by depending on your self-efforts, you effectively cut off His unmerited favor in your life.
So, what does it mean - without us, He will not? Jesus will not force His unmerited favor and success down your throat.
God's Unmerited Favor
He needs you to allow Him to work in your life. He waits patiently for you to trust Him and to depend on His unmerited favor the same way Joseph trusted wholly on the Lord’s presence until His manifested presence took over and His glory radiated from everything that Joseph touched. (Genesis 39:4-6)
God's unmerited favor is ever flowing toward us and Jesus is waiting for us to come to the end of ourselves.
He is waiting for us to stop struggling in our attempts to somehow ‘deserve’ His favor and just depend on Him.
In the areas where you still depend on your efforts to succeed, start resting in Jesus’ unmerited favor and begin experiencing His manifested presence and glory upon everything you touch!
Our Source Of Strength
Are you the type of person who is confident that you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to do? Is it difficult for you to depend on anyone else or to ask for help?
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength . . . For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes” Jeremiah 17:5–6.
The key is we must know our source of strength comes from God. “We can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens us” Philippians 4:13.
Many people use their self-efforts to fix anything in their lives - marriage, finances, relationships, etc. They are determined to trust in their efforts and have limited ability to receive blessings from God. They only believe in the ‘good’ that can come from their efforts.
This can bring in pride. They feel like they are entitled to and deserve whatever they receive.
In contrast, people who live under grace and trust in the Lord’s unmerited favor are constantly thanking and praising God.
What Happens When You Live Under Grace
After fifty-two years of marriage, I am grateful every day for the man God gave me as a husband. When I look at my daughter, I know that I don’t deserve such a beautiful daughter, and yet the Lord gave this precious girl to me. I did nothing to deserve them, but the Lord blessed me with an amazing family.
When you live under grace, you can enjoy the blessings around you because you know that they are undeserved.
This is the true message of grace - we don't deserve it. We have God's favor in our lives because we choose to trust Him.
When we encounter a mountain in front of us, we trust God to give us the wisdom and the strength to overcome the battle.
Make listening to the good news of Jesus a daily priority no matter how busy your day is. At the end of the day, it will be those moments of spending time with God that gets you through.
God's Message To You
God’s message to you is simple. We need not complicate it. Remember the woman who suffered for twelve years? When she heard about Jesus, His grace infused her with hope. She received her healing when she heard, responded, and believed. (Mark 5:25-34)
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” Psalms 90.12. The secret to not wasting a day in your life is in verse 14 which says “Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy.”
The word mercy is the Hebrew word hesed which means God’s grace. God satisfies us every day with His grace.
When we begin each day with Jesus by meditating on His Word we will be fulfilled. He loves having a relationship with us and gives us His grace, peace, wisdom, and joy.
Start Your Day With Jesus
God has promised that no weapon formed against you can prosper (Isaiah 54:17). In the days we are living, many types of weapons are formed against us. The news reports wars, unrest, disasters, financial collapses, violence, famines, unemployment, or a deadly virus.
Many people turn on the television first thing in the morning and listen to the bad news of the day. Of course, we must be aware of what is happening in our world but balance it with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Better yet, when we go to sleep at night thinking about Jesus, our first thoughts in the morning are positive ones – not ones of concern or anxiety.
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name. O Most High, to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night” Psalm 92:1 – 2.
Start and end your day with Jesus on your mind. It changes everything.