Abraham waited 20 years for God to fulfill His promise to him. Romans 4:18 (NIV) says, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him…” When Isaac did finally come, God’s promise was fulfilled. Abraham had his own child, born in a supernatural way, to a woman who could not have children.

Tired of Waiting on God?

We have to guard against becoming weary during the wait. Along the way Abraham and Sarah became weary and took a detour from the promise of God. Tired of waiting, Sarah went to Abraham and suggested he have a baby with her maid, Hagar, because God had prevented Sarah from having children. She had an idea she thought was helping God’s plan, and Abraham listened to her and did what she said.

But when Hagar got pregnant, Sarah and Hagar were filled with contempt for one another. Sarah blamed Abraham for the whole thing and instead of a miracle, they had a mess. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael who did not live in covenant with God, and his life was filled with hostility (see Genesis 16:12; 17:20-21).

So you see, there are two ways we can live:

• The supernatural (Isaac)—God gives a promise, you make it all the way through the middle and receive that promise.
• The flesh (Ishmael)—You hear what God says, get tired of waiting and do your own thing.

Unfortunately, many of us create our own Ishmael’s. You may even be dealing with a mess right now because of something you got into, trying to make something happen in your timing instead of waiting on God for His timing. But the great news is that you don’t have to stay in that mess. God’s grace will help turn those situations around for good.

Make your mind up that whatever the middle consists of, you’re going to make it through and keep believing God. You’re going to have to roll up your spiritual sleeves, get ready to fight the good fight of faith, and be willing to say, “I am here to stay. I am not turning back. I am pressing through, and I am going to be what God wants me to be. I am going to do what He wants me to do, and I am going to have what He wants me to have…no matter how long it takes!”

One of the greatest revelations of my life is: I can choose my thoughts and think things on purpose. In other words, I don’t have to just think about whatever falls into my mind. This was a life-changing revelation for me because as Proverbs 23:7 (AMP) says, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he.” I like to say it like this: Where the mind goes, the man follows.

Now God is concerned about the hidden man of the heart, which is our inner life. Our inner life is what we think about. And like the scripture above says, the way we think determines how we live and who we are. That’s why we need to think about what we’re thinking about.

It’s so important for us to understand this because if we don’t learn how to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5), we won’t live the life Jesus died to give us – a life of peace with God, peace with ourselves, great relationships, real joy and the ability to become all God has created us to be. It comes down to choosing to believe what God says (the truth) more than we believe our feelings, what other people say or our circumstances.

God wants you to dream. He wants you to plan. He doesn’t want the demands and routines of life or things like fear to keep you from moving forward in life. So when those things come, we have to be ready to rise up against them. Even something as simple as waking up every morning and saying, “Something good is going to happen to me today,” can put fear and other distractions in their place.

That simple act has power because there is power in your words. Proverbs 18:21 says our words have the power of life or death in them, so we need to focus our words on proclaiming the promises of God over our lives.

When you spiritually connect with God by proclaiming His promises, that’s when your dreams start being fulfilled. You can be like Abraham and Sarah if you’ll just believe and press toward God’s best for you. They were old and having a child seemed impossible, but God gave Abraham a vision that he would be the father of many nations. Because Abraham believed God, that vision was fulfilled through Isaac and the many generations that followed. (Read Abraham’s story in Genesis, chapters 17-21.)

If you have a dream that seems impossible, start saying, “I will have everything God says I can have. I will do everything God says I can do. I will be everything God says I can be.” Because with God, all things are possible!

Maybe it’s time for you to make a new commitment today to start going after your dreams. I encourage you to decide right now to stir up your faith, shake off any fear, remember who you are in Christ, and make a decision to trust God to do the impossible every day you get out of bed. Then you’ll enjoy the journey, one day at a time, to the fulfillment of your dreams!

Now, it took time, and I had to be determined many times not to give up, but each time Dave confronted me and I made the choice to behave the way God wanted me to, I made progress. He’d say things like this, “Joyce, I’m not going to let you control me. You want me to agree with you and think the way you think about this, but I don’t.” Then I would throw a fit, feeling sorry for myself and trying to get him to feel sorry for me and give me what I wanted, but he didn’t. He would say, “I love you but I am not going to feel sorry for you because it’s not going to help you if I do.” It sure didn’t feel good at the time, but it was what I needed to get free from the bitterness, anger and resentment I had because of my past.

Confrontation is a boundary we set in our lives. It says “You can’t come any further than this.” When we set boundaries based upon godly wisdom and enforce them with a loving motivation, the initial reaction may not be fun to deal with, but outcome is worth it. The key is doing it in love, and that means being led by the Holy Spirit about what to say, how to say it and when to do it. Dave is a good example of this. He confronted me out of obedience to God and because he loved me.

If you’re facing a difficult situation with a relationship and know you need to confront it, I encourage you to spend time in prayer first. Let God deal with your heart before you try to deal with someone else. Ask God for wisdom, and be sure you’re following His direction in what you do when you talk to that person. James 1:5 promises if we need wisdom and ask God for it, He will give it to us. Then, when you know what to do and when to do it, trust God to help you follow through.

We all need boundaries in our lives, and we’ll all have to confront people at times to stay within them. We also need to realize that other people will have some different needs and boundaries than we do, and we need to respect that and treat people right. When we do, we’re really living for God and He can change our lives!

Isaiah 40:31 says, “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.…”

There’s nothing passive about waiting on God. Faith always expects something to happen. It has a vision, it has a dream, it sees something in the spirit and puts the Word of God to work—it looks, longs for and expects God to act on our behalf.

All too often, we choose to give up on what God wants for us because we don’t see a way. We need to recognize that God is the Way.

Don’t Ever Worry About Finding Your Own Way

In Isaiah 43:19, God says, “I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

What I’m challenging you to do today is to pick an “impossible” scenario in your life and say, “I’m not worried because God can handle it. He’ll show me a way where there is no way.”

It might be your health, finances, marriage or your relationships. Step out and do what you believe in your heart God wants you to do. If you make a mistake, just remember that God isn’t asking you to be perfect—He’s simply asking you not to give up.

If you’ve lost that wonderful spirit of determination, spend some time in prayer asking God to resurrect it. Wake up every day and say, “God’s given me a brand-new day and I’m determined to enjoy it. Nothing is going to keep me from pursuing the good things God has for me.”

Faith is stepping out into the unknown. The beauty of it is, you never have to know how everything will work out. All you need is to know is that God has a good plan for you and it’s absolutely worth pursuing.

Have you ever prayed for days, weeks, or even years at a time and still found yourself wondering, When is God going to answer this prayer?

When I pray, I really want my prayers to get answered. I know faith and patience and timing are all in the mix, but sooner or later, I need to hear from God because―let’s face it―there are some pretty outrageous promises in His Word, and if we’re not experiencing them for ourselves, we need to start asking why.

It could be one of the following three reasons.

1. You’re Unaware of God’s Will

John 15:7 says, “If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”

Well, I thought I knew that scripture up and down and then one day, I just got bold enough to ask God, “Why is this not working?”

It turned out there was a word in that scripture I hadn’t paid much attention to―abiding. It means “to live in, dwell in, and remain in.” When you have that kind of close relationship with God, you get to know His heart and you have a greater sense of the things you should pray for, and what His will truly is.

Have you ever been in a room full of people who seemed smarter or more talented than you, and you started to feel insignificant and small?

When you feel that sense of “smallness” come over you, that’s Satan trying to diminish you. But the Bible clearly states that Satan is a liar, and “the accuser of the brethren” (see Revelation 12:10). Don’t ever spoil your day by sitting around arguing with a liar. Turn away from him and go about your business.

I can tell you right now, you don’t have to feel intimidated by anybody or anything because your worth isn’t in what you do, it’s in who you are in Christ. And here’s something else to think about: If you really want to do something for God, you might as well get used to people telling you what you can’t do because the devil wants you to think it’s impossible.

You need to know in your heart that God called you—and He’s with you.

God Is Here to Help You

It’s amazing what God will do if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other and just refuse to give up. I know because when God called me to this ministry, I was a mess. But I have learned through the years that it’s never about what we can’t do—it’s always about Who God is and what He is and what He can do and what He’s done.

In Christ, every day is a brand-new beginning.

I encourage you to get up every day and press on. Take hold of what Jesus died to give you. Keep studying God’s Word. Keep letting the Holy Ghost correct you. Keep repenting. Keep growing. Square your shoulders and say, “I don’t care how many times I’ve failed in the past, this is a new day. If ANY man be in Christ, he is a new creature. And that’s me—I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away and all things have become new.”

Get in touch with the greatness God put inside you. He’s wants to help you slay your giants.

Exodus 15:26 (AMP) says, “If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God and will do what is right in His sight, and will listen to and obey His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you…for I am the Lord Who heals you.” We need to listen to God. And we need to get back to the foundation of God as “the Lord Who heals you.” God is the physician. His Word is the medicine that heals you. And not only can God heal you, He can keep you healthy.

Every time you have the opportunity, pray and meditate on God’s Word. Learn different Scriptures about healing, the goodness of God and how God wants to meet your needs. Tell God you’re looking to Him, depending on Him, believing in Him and waiting on Him to provide every need in your life. Let God know that you’re expecting Him to heal you, whether He does it through your fellowship with Him alone or gives you access to doctors and medicine.

Pray, “God, You’re my Healer. By Your stripes I’m healed. I thank You that Your Word is my medicine and the more I mediate on it, the better I feel. You’re my energy, Your strength is in me, and I thank You that I’m getting better right now.”

God’s all powerful. There’s nothing that’s impossible to Him. When we realize He’s really with us, we can be peaceful because we know that if our trust is in Him, whatever needs to be done, He’s going to do it. He is our Healer!