There is a story about a young boy who kept standing up on the pew in his church and no matter how many times his mother told him to sit down, he would stand up anyway.  His mother took him out of the service and had him sit down in a corner outside the sanctuary because of his behavior.  The little boy angrily told his mother “I might be sitting down but I’m standing up on the inside!”

That’s the attitude Christians should have in our world today.  Many challenges will come your way but you must get back up and ‘stand up’ on the inside.  The enemy of your soul would like to discourage you and cause you to give up, but in order to fight the good fight of faith, you must keep your eyes on the Lord and run your course with endurance.  The Bible tells us not to put away our confidence and after we have done all we can do, we are told to stand.

At a low point in his life after returning from war and finding his family and all the other women belonging to the men in his army had been taken by their enemy, David did not give up.  It would have been easy to give up especially when everyone around him wanted to stone him because they blamed him for their pain, but David did not rely on anyone for support.  He encouraged himself in the Lord and we all need to learn how to do that.  David was a warrior; he was a fighter and that spirit within himself is what caused him to ‘stand up’ on the inside.

Paul and SIlas were in prison praying at midnight and at a time when their circumstances were bleak, they praised their heavenly Father.  These two men showed us that your circumstances do not define who you are.  Who you really are comes out in a time of crisis.  They had something on the inside that surpassed what was going on around them.  The spirit of God cannot be imprisoned or held back by chains.  Prayer and praise not only set them free but released the chains of everybody around them.

Purpose in your heart that no matter what you are going to encourage yourself in the Lord and ‘stand up’ on the inside.  God sees all things and God knows all things and He knows exactly how to set you free.  Don’t worry about what is going on around you. You have a freedom in Christ that no one can take away from you.  “Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6).

Many believers do not realize the daily battles they fight are all orchestrated by Satan and they are designed to discourage us and steal our joy, peace and especially our faith in God.  God knew that man, in his own strength, is no match for Satan so God has provided us with armor that we are to put on every day.  With this armor nothing can defeat us; without this armor we will lose.

God’s armor consists of truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, Spirit of God and prayer.  Living in truth is the only thing that will truly set us free.  God gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the gospel of peace leads us to salvation.  Faith will cause Satan’s fiery darts to have no affect and the Word of God is a lamp to our feet.  Praying without ceasing causes us to maintain that daily connection with our heavenly Father.  If we remember to clothe ourselves in this armor, we will not only win the spiritual battle we must fight, but we will be able to die to our flesh and live the godly life that God expects of His children.

Putting on the whole armor of God should become as natural as putting on our clothes every morning.  Satan wants believers to be so weak that they give in to every temptation that he puts in their path, and that is why we must be diligent in preparing ourselves each and every day.  Some people may not recognize the schemes of the enemy but when you live in fear for your marriage, children, job, finances and your health Satan will take advantage of you hoping that you will turn away from God and live for self.

God’s Word tells us that after we have done all, we are to stand.  When your journey on this earth is finished, the only one standing should be you, the child of the Most High God.

Have you ever wondered why the wicked seem to prosper while the righteous seem to suffer?  No one can control what happens to them, but we do control how we respond to our trials and tribulations.  Psalm 37, written by David, gives us a divine prescription on how we are to handle ourselves, especially when we look at the life of a believer versus the life of the wicked.  The grass might look like it is greener on the other side, but what we must remember is this is not Heaven.  We are heavenly beings having a spiritual experience and our reward is living in eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Earth is the closest the wicked will ever get to Heaven.  They will spend eternity in a lost state separated from God. God has given us instructions on how to live successfully while on this earth in Psalm 37.

Believers are to:

1) Trust in the Lord

2) Delight ourselves in the Lord

3) Commit our way to the Lord

4) Be still before the Lord

5) Do not fret

6) Do not become an angry person

Trusting God means we are submitted to obeying God and doing His will in all things and at all times.  Delighting ourselves in the Lord means that we are doing what pleases God, dying to ourselves.  Commiting our way to the Lord is daily putting ourselves, everyone we love and our businesses into God’s hands so He can order our steps.  It’s also important to be still in the presence of God; waiting on the Lord and not try to get ahead of God.  God does not want us to fret or become hot and bothered or frustrated because we are not where we want to be at this very moment. Last but not least, we are not to become an angry person or harbor bitterness in our hearts over anyone or any situation. Release people to God and let go of the pain they brought into your life.

We all know that it is better to be saved by the blood of Jesus than to live this life without knowing Him.  This Psalm tells us that evil men will be cut off but those who wait on the Lord will inherit the earth.  That is one of the amazing promises that we have and we must hold onto it.  We must purpose in our hearts that we are going to take God’s prescription every day just like we take a prescription from our doctor if we want to get well.  Your doctor wants to take good care of you so that you live a long time.  He will not do anything to harm you.  How much more is God’s love for you when He knew you before you were born.  He wants you to have life and life more abundantly not just here on this earth, but for all eternity and God’s prescription will never expire.  It was good enough for David, and it will still be good for your children’s children.

One word from God will change your life forever.  However, you must believe what God has told you and most importantly, you will have to fight for its manifestation.  Satan will always challenge the word God has given to you, but the truth of the matter is he can’t change the word.  You must fight the good fight of faith every day, and one way to do this is to not allow anger, jealousy or a critical spirit into your life.

In this life you will have trouble.  In this life you will have people disappoint you, lie about you and prove to be unfaithful especially when you need them the most.  God is the only one who can change another person and you must release people who hurt you to the Lord.  Don’t let negative feelings hinder you from receiving all that God has for you.  Jesus came to this world to give you life and life more abundantly and an abundant life can be yours if you let the Holy Spirit control everything you do.

After you receive a word from God, don’t just write it down and put it away in your dresser drawer.  Speak over that word; prophecy over that word and declare that God’s word will come to pass in your life.  God’s word, whether it is His written word, the Bible, or a rhema word given personally to you, guard it in your heart and always believe it will come in God’s timing.

One word from God changes everything.  You don’t need 100 words because God’s word brings life just as it did in the beginning when He created the heavens and the earth.  God’s word is powerful and He is not man that he can lie.  God is God and He is so good at it.  You must live your life walking by faith and not by sight and you will see the goodness of the Lord upon your life.

This question was first asked of by the Lord after telling Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son in the following year.  What made this question so meaningful was the fact that Abraham was 99 years old and his wife, Sarah was 90 years old.  Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when told this news because it was humanly impossible for this to happen.  But the Lord had to remind them that there is nothing God can’t do, and because God is a promise-keeper, one year later Isaac was born just as had been promised.

That is a vital question for every Believer to ask themselves today.  If you have yet to see a promise that God made to you maybe last year or five, ten years ago, do you still have faith that it will come to pass?  God has a way of doing things so that no one else can take the glory for it.  This is what He did with Abraham and Sarah and it is the same with us today.  How could anyone look at the baby Isaac without accepting the fact that Isaac was a miracle.  Abraham and Sarah were well beyond the child bearing years but the truth is there is nothing too hard for the Lord!

You must walk in faith and continue to believe in the promises of God because they will come to pass – they must because God is God and if He said it, it will happen.  Have no doubt about it.  It’s never too late with God.  Believers must accept the fact that God’s timing is different than their own, but in due season God will show you His faithfulness and He will show you that He will do exceedingly more than what you have asked for or even thought of.