365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 334: God Whose Word Is True

God Whose Word Is True

"For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does." (Psalm 33:4 NIV)

I've confessed before that I'm the queen of bad days. This is, however, a throne I'd like to abdicate.

Proverbs 23:7 (NAS) tells us that as a person “thinks within himself, so he is.” So often, what I tell myself in my head makes its way to my heart, and that's how I am.

The next time I'm having a day that could use a reset, I need to tell my head to tell my heart these truths, according to God's Word.

1. With God, I can get through this.

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

“With God” is the hinge here. I can tell myself, “You'll get through this,” but myself may beg to differ. With God, though, I can be who I’m not, do what I can't, and feel what I don't.

2. Take a deep breath.

“The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).

The simple, deliberate act of intentionally taking a slow breath in and then letting it out is like hitting the pause button on a day that’s headed south. It calms and quiets my racing mind so I can ask God to help me fix the problem, not feed it.

3. Pause, praise, and pray.

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray” (James 5:13).

When I'm having a bad day, I tend to get frantic, pinging from one thing to the next in an attempt to right whatever is wrong. This almost always backfires. A  better plan is to stop for a moment, tell God Who He is and what He’s like so I can remind myself, and then have a conversation with Him about what's going on.

4. Remember what God has already done.

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11, 12).

So far, with God's help, I have a 100% success rate of surviving days I never thought I'd make it through. Yahweh has been faithful before; He will be faithful again.

5. This is not my whole story.

“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).

Whatever is happening in my life right now is not all there is to my life right now. And it is not all there will ever be. I need to choose to be grateful for today’s good and to hold onto the hope of better tomorrow.

6. Just do the next thing.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

I do not have to know how this entire day is going to play out to take a step forward. I need to just do the next thing that needs doing, the next thing I think God is telling me to do, the next thing that seems wise and productive…the next one thing, not the next ten things.

7. One day, everything is going to be so much better than okay.

“Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isaiah 35:10).

God does not waste time, and so I know He has good days written on the pages of His story between now and forever. I also know that the happiest ending has already been written. On any kind of day, that's the best true story of all.