Sometimes, it’s easy to get wrapped up in taking care of the people around us. You may find that you’re always giving, taking care of the children, working overtime at the office, or helping that friend who is struggling. And that’s all good. But if you’re not careful, you can end up feeling rundown. That’s why you have to take time every day to get filled back up. Your first priority should be taking care of yourself and making time to get into the presence of Jesus.

Throughout scripture, we see that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy, fullness of peace, and fullness of victory. In His presence, you’re refreshed and restored. That’s why it’s so important to take time every day to read your Bible and meditate on His promises. We have to be diligent to have that quiet time with Him.

Today, take time to get alone with God and just say, “God, I love You today. Thank You for my life, for my family, for the opportunities You’ve given me. Lord, I know every good thing comes from You.” When you live like that, with your heart connected to His, you’ll be refreshed, restored, reenergized and filled up for the journey of life!

Do you need direction in your life? Ask yourself, “Am I acknowledging God in all my ways?” In other words, is He first place in your life? All throughout the day, we should be acknowledging God, asking for His help, seeking His wisdom, obeying His commands and thanking Him for His goodness.

In the morning, we should wake up and say, “Father, thank You for another beautiful day. I commit this day, my plans and my future into Your hands.” When you start the day like this, you are acknowledging God. He promises to crown your day with success. When you are driving on the freeway say, “Father, thank You for keeping me safe.” At the office say, “Lord, help me to be focused and productive today.” At home, “Father, bless my children.” Before you go to bed, “Lord, thank You for a good night’s rest.” When you’re acknowledging Him in all your ways, He promises to direct your paths. He promises to lead and guide you into paths of peace, joy and everlasting life! ~ Joel Osteen

If you’ve been waiting for a victory in any area of your life, I have good news for you today. 

Whether you’ve been praying for victory in your finances, your health, in a relationship, for a child, on your job, or in a dream you’re pursuing . . . 

Victory is closer than you think . . . much closer! 

Here is a truth I want you to get down in your spirit: Victory isn’t a year away, a month away, or even a week away . . . 

Victory is here!
You can experience it today!

God has already gone before you. He has already lined up the right people, arranged the right breaks, and put the right opportunities in place. 

Even when you don’t know it and even if you can’t see it, God has already given you the victory. 

Now, I know we all face situations from time to time that seem impossible. And I know it’s easy to become discouraged and think that things will never work out. 

But in the Scripture, God gives us a promise of great hope. He says: 

I will go before you and make the
crooked places straight . . .
Isaiah 45:2

That means the Most High God, the Creator of the universe, the One who controls it all has gone before you. He is fighting your battles. He will make the crooked places straight. 

God is your guarantee of victory — He is your hope today! 

You don’t have to know how it is all going to work out, and you don’t have to make it happen in your own strength. Your part is to just stay in faith. 

If you’ll stay on the high road and keep being your best each day, you will see the hand of God at work in amazing ways. 

God provides the victory before we even fight the battle! 

Maybe you’ve lost a job or had your hours cut back. Maybe you’re going through a relationship struggle or a financial uncertainty. It’s easy to get negative and think nothing will ever change. But you have to realize this struggle is not a surprise to God. He has gone before you and has prepared your victory. 

Before you ever had the problem,
God already had the solution.

Before you ever see it in the natural, victory has already been provided in the spiritual. Victory is here today! 

Believe bigger: “Many times there are barriers in our mind.”
Consider God, not your circumstances: “When you believe, all things are possible.”
Pray God-sized prayers: “A lot of times we pray over our food or pray for protection, but we don’t pray for our dreams.”
Keep the right perspective: “What we focus on is what gets bigger.”
Don’t let good enough be good enough: “God always wants us to be growing.”
The keys may be easy platitudes but, in his interview, Osteen clarifies that he’s “not saying it’s easy. But I’ve seen the power of faith and the goodness of God.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”
(Galatians 6:2, NIV)
When we live in peace and unity, it pleases God. When we love and serve others, putting their needs above our own, we are honoring Him. When we carry each other's burdens, we are fulfilling the law of Christ, which is to love others.
What does it mean to carry each other’s burdens? There are many ways to reach out to people and help shoulder their load of life. Just by giving an encouraging word or smile, you can help lighten the load for someone. When you pray and intercede for others in their day of difficulty, you are helping to carry their burdens. Maybe there are other ways to help the people around you. Maybe you can pay for someone’s groceries or give someone cash at the gas pump. Anytime you help others and reach out to those in need, scripture says you are directly lending a hand to God Himself.
Today, look for ways to lighten the load for the people around you. Be a burden lifter. Remember, in God’s kingdom what you sow, you shall reap. When you help others, God promises to repay you. He’ll pour out His victory and blessing upon you all the days of your life!

Vision, passion, discipline and risk—these are the marks of a noble fellowship assembled by the Son of God down through the ages; men and women called out of mediocrity into magnificence; followers of Jesus from each generation who have left their world better than they found it. They each heard God's voice and followed Him with trusting hearts—marked by vision, passion, discipline and risk. And now it's your turn.
The Lord longs for you to answer the call on your life and be a part of this timeless Team. And in your heart you know it's what you want to do more than anything else in the world!
I pray, in the words of Paul, that God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness in your life, and bring to pass with His power each and every work of faith you perform for His honour! ~ Joel Osteen

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ ”(Isaiah 30:21, NIV)

God has put a promise inside each and every one of us. Oftentimes, we have to go through the wilderness before we reach our promised land. Oftentimes, like Joseph, we feel like we are in a pit long before we ever see the palace. Maybe you’re in a season right now where you don’t see anything happening. You think, “I’ve been praying and believing for a year, five years, ten years. It’s never going to work out.”

No, be encouraged today. Stay the course. Keep believing. You may be tired, discouraged and tempted to be frustrated, but don’t give up on your future. Stay on the high road. Our God is a faithful God. It may be taking a long time, but what He started He will finish in your life. Scripture says the eyes of the Lord search to and fro to find someone who will be faithful on His behalf. Be the person He finds faithful. Keep believing, keep praying, keep obeying and stay the course because He is leading you in the path of victory!

Father, thank You for leading and guiding me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. I choose to trust even when I don’t understand. I choose to believe that You are working behind the scenes for my good. I will stay the course knowing that You have blessing and victory in store for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

God has a place of victory in store for you today! You may be facing challenges. You may look around you and see impossible circumstances. In the natural, it may look like things won’t ever change. But God is saying today, “Quit looking at your circumstances and look up! Lift up your eyes of faith and look beyond where you are because there is victory as far as the eye can see!

Remember, those things you are facing today are only temporary, but God Almighty is eternal. He’s the God who spoke the world into existence, and He’s the God who set the stars in space. He is more powerful than every obstacle, bigger than any setback, and He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what you could ever imagine. Today, look beyond your circumstances and set your focus in the right direction. Lift up your eyes and look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith! ~ Joel Osteen

There's a man I read about who wasn't raised in a spiritual home. His parents were fine people, but they just didn't have anything to do with God. One summer when he was in junior high school, all of his friends invited him to a camp put on by the local church. When he arrived, he noticed a big trophy on the platform of the main gathering room. He was very competitive, great in both sports and academics. He made up his mind right then and there that he was going to win that trophy. He found out that it was going to be given to the person who could memorize the most scripture verses. This young man had never picked up the Bible; he'd never been to church before, but he was so competitive that in two days he memorized 30 verses of scripture and won that trophy.


Fifteen years later, he was an all-American football player headed to the NFL with a very bright future. One day he felt a terrible pain in his chest. He didn't know what was happening. He soon passed out. At 22 years of age, he had a massive heart attack. He woke up in the emergency room and lay there with tubes coming out of everywhere, scared to death. He didn't know what to do. But on that emergency room table, all of the sudden from deep inside, all those scriptures he had memorized fifteen years earlier began to come up once again. He started quoting scripture after scripture. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me." "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?"


The doctors didn't think he was going to make it, but today that young man is healthy and whole. In fact, he is a minister. He goes all over telling people what God has done for him. But it all started when he put the seed of God's Word on the inside.


Friends, God's Word is alive and full of power. Plant that seed in your heart. Meditate on His Word. Memorize scripture. The Word of God is the seed that always produces an abundant harvest. You may not understand it now, but you can rest assured that when you need it, God is going to cause it to come alive in your own life.


"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12, NIV)

 A woman shopping in Houston happily hummed a tune as she collected the items she wished to purchase and approached the cashier. The clerk just stared at her for a long moment, as though wondering what was wrong with her, offering an obligatory, “How are you doing today?”

That’s all it took. The woman nearly bubbled over. “How nice of you to ask! I’m doing great. I am so blessed!”

The clerk looked at the woman quizzically for a moment and then said, “Let me ask you a question. Do you go to Lakewood Church?”

“Why, yes I do. How did you guess?”

The clerk shook her head and smiled, “I should have known. Everybody that comes in here like you is from Lakewood.”

What a great compliment! That’s the way it should be. God’s people should be the happiest people on earth. So happy, in fact, that other people notice. Why? Because we not only have a fabulous future, we can enjoy life today!

Living your best life now means being excited about the life God has given you. It means believing for more good things in the days ahead, while living in the moment and enjoying it to the hilt.

Too often, we get comfortable with where we are in life and use that as an excuse to remain in mediocrity. “My parents were poor,” we say with a pout. “Before them, my grandparents were poor. Nobody in my family has ever amounted to much, so I guess I won’t either.”