There are not a lot of things that are for certain in this life, but there is one thing that will continue to happen as long as we are on this earth – change. Changes occur every day, in all things and in many ways, and if you don’t embrace the necessary changes in your own life, you will never experience the benefits that change provides. Many people are stuck in the past. They hang onto past hurts and failures that only hinder them from moving to the next level. The Apostle Paul told us to forget those things that are behind us and to press forward, look ahead, to those things that are before us.

Changes take people out of their comfort zone and some people are unwilling to take the risk of moving forward. Past hurts and failures do not define who you are today. God wants us to learn from our mistakes but not be limited in how we think and live in the future. Jesus Christ sacrificed his life so that we all can live in freedom. Freedom has its price – it will cost someone something. Many brave men and women have paid the ultimate price for the freedom Americans enjoy today and we should not take the freedom we have, either as a US citizen or as a child of God for granted.

Rear view mirrors are small for a reason. They do not over-shadow the large front windshield of our cars. Embrace change; move forward and become the individual that your heavenly Father desires for you.

In order to live a successful life, the Bible tells us that we should first seek the kingdom of God and then God would add to us everything else we need. Solomon is a good example of this principle. One day God asked Solomon what could He (God) do for him. (2 Chronicles 1:7). Of all the things Solomon could have asked for, he asked for wisdom and knowledge so that he could judge over the nation of Israel. His response so touched the heart of God, that God not only gave him what he asked for, but also gave Solomon great wealth and honor.

Many Christians today are more focused on seeking ways to obtain wealth than they are with developing their relationship with Almighty God. There is nothing wrong in having wealth as long as your wealth does not control you. Money cannot save you; money cannot heal you. Only the blood of Jesus Christ brings salvation and this salvation is available to every one whether you are rich or poor, black or white, male or female, young or old. Money has its place and purpose but it has to be controlled and not be the one thing that controls people. Much can be done for the kingdom of God with money, but God is more concerned with the heart attitude of the giver. As long as God remains the center of your life, God will not withhold blessing you with the desires of your heart.

Have the heart of Solomon and make it a priority in your life that you will do what you can to serve God and His people. This kind of attitude will impress God and cause you to live under an open Heaven and you will also become a role model for others to follow.

The Bible tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)  Let me add that faith is the knowledge in your heart that what you believe will come to pass.  Faith is not contrary to our circumstances – it is above our circumstances.  Faith takes you to a level that is not reached by everyone.  Many people choose to live in doubt and worry about what may or may not happen, but people of faith are thoroughly convinced that nothing is impossible with God.

After doing all you can do, stand on the Word of God believing that God will do what He has promised.  It takes as much energy to believe as it does to doubt.  The question becomes is your energy going to good use as it reaches up toward Heaven believing in God, or is your energy negative and taking you down into the realm of doubt, fear and unbelief?

Every one of us is either in the middle of a problem or we just came out of one, and the key to getting through our problems is to focus on the solution and not become over-whelmed by the problem itself.  Jesus showed us how to successfully do this when he fed 5,000 men with just five loaves of bread and two fish.  After instructing his disciples to divide the crowd into groups, he took the bread and the fish in his hand and he looked to Heaven before blessing the food.

Heaven is where all of our answers dwell.  Heaven is where we are to look before we do anything else.  God is our source and as Job declared ‘God, I know that you can do everything.’ Jesus commands us over and over again not to fear, only believe.  Allow your problems to drive you towards God and you will experience for yourself that nothing is impossible with Him.