The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honor and life. Proverbs 22:4.
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, but humility goes before honor. Proverbs 18:12.
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10-11.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
The harder you hit the ball down, the higher it will bounce. Humility goes before honor. Many of you are going through humbling experiences and have been hit hard, but you will bounce (rebound) very high, much higher than before your suffering. For I Myself will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
My servant Paul wrote this: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-10. Struck down, but not destroyed.
If you let the suffering you are experiencing deflate you, however, you will not bounce. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit you cannot be deflated and nothing can keep you down. Why? Resurrection power is at work in you even now. And how do you get filled? Sing praise, pray in tongues, and drink deeply of the living water of the Spirit. Declare My Word. Prophesy the good things I promise over your life.
Job got struck down from his place of self-righteousness but he bounced up to two times what he had before, and not only had he been the richest man in the East, he became double that, but also he then had peace with Me.
David was struck down to the humble lot of a fugitive from justice under the reign of Saul, but he bounced up to become the king of Judah and Israel, victorious over all his enemies on every side.
Samson was struck down to a helpless prisoner, but he bounced back up to destroy an opposing nation and win the biggest victory of his life.
Mary was struck down to shame with Joseph but bounced up to be the highest honor of your race.
Jesus was struck down to hell for your sins, but I raised Him from the dead to bounce up all the way to the high place Heaven where I exalted His Name above every other name.
Empowered by My grace you can do all things in Him who strengthens you. From henceforth, you will live a sinless life. Declare that and be serious about it. I have equipped you in Jesus to do so. You can live a sinless life, walking in all perfection, beauty and light. In Jesus, you are complete, perfect, lacking in no good thing. Live your life through Him and He never sinned and never will. He kept all My commandments. He lived a sinless, perfect life, and in Him so can you. He has perfected you for all time by His one sacrifice of Himself. Hebrews 10:14. Never settle for less. He died to give you abundant, sinless, perfect life. A sinless perfect life is yours in Him. I gave Him to you.
What is it that deflates you? Your thoughts. You must bring every thought into captivity in obedience to Christ. A mind stayed on Me has peace. If you look elsewhere you will have no peace.
YOU CANNOT BE TEMPTED BY SOMETHING YOU REFUSE TO THINK ABOUT. And that includes anger, fear and doubt, not just lusts of the flesh. You can control temptation by not letting yourself think on things that deflate and bring you down or cause you to lose ground.
Your heart goes in the direction of your dominant thought. If you are allowing fear and shame to dominate your thoughts, you will ruin your day and your life. You will not go forward to your high calling in Christ.
Henceforth decide that your mind, your body, your heart have been given to you in order to live a beautiful life—you need them to function on the earth so you cannot just ignore them, but you can keep yourself from the deeds of darkness by staying in My light. Let your body work for you and not against you. The same with your mind and emotions. You need to discipline them if you want to live a happy life. They need to be working for you and not against you.
Give Me your whole self, spirit, soul and body, so I can do something wonderful with you. Do not give your members to sin, the wages of which are death, but give them to Me in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. I want to set you free from the body of death to a body in conformity to My Son. My servant Paul understood and he wrote, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2.
I have told you to ask and you shall receive, to seek and you shall find, to knock and it shall be opened to you. I am a good Father to those who come to Me and I give you good things. I have given you everything on your “wish list,” that is, your praise bucket list. I make all things new and when you delight in Me, I give you your heart’s desires. I can make things work out in your favor. I already did in Jesus, and I gave you the victory in Him over sin and death. And Jesus made you an amazing promise and I back it up, anything you ask in His Name, He will do, and I will grant it. John 14:13-14; John 16:23-24. My promises are all “yes” to you in Christ Jesus. Decree them and take possession of your possessions. It is time you started enjoying your life and making it beautiful. It is time you stopped letting your thoughts terrorize you with fear and regret. It is time you put your life and all I have given you to work for you instead of against you. It is time to start enjoying your life and resting in Me. I am working on your behalf.
Walk before Me and be blameless. Let Me direct your steps. For I will always guide you in right paths.
I love you. Let Me make your life beautiful, the most beautiful life ever lived. But to do this, you must trust My love for you and My ability to keep you and deliver you from evil. You must be willing to offer all to Me so that I can work on your behalf. It is called Covenant. All I have is yours and all you have is Mine. You must also be willing to take your thoughts captive and cast out every disobedient one. What you think on is what you will become, for the mouth speaks from your heart’s abundance. Make sure you are filling it with love, peace and joy and not hatred, stress, and sorrow.