When times are tough, our mentality can make us think we will never have enough.  After living with this mentality, we feel like we will never leave the land of not enough, but God wants to take us to the land of more than enough.  Deuteronomy 28 tells us, “If we honor God… the Lord will command the blessings on you and your storehouses and all that you put your hands to do.”  The creator of the universe has put a commanded blessing on us and when He commands something, it happens.  A flood of God’s goodness awaits us.

Whenever we walk in obedience, wherever we go, God’s blessing goes ahead of us.  Even when we are in the desert, we have the commanded blessing of God over our life and we will flourish.  Psalm 37:19 says, “Even in famine, the righteous will have more than enough.”  Our places of business should be grateful to have us because when we show up, the blessing of God shows up with us.  If we will simply continue doing our best, there is a commanded blessing that will cause us to prosper despite our circumstance.  God didn’t just create us to survive, He created to thrive; all that He asks is that we rely on Him.  God is waiting to increase us in such amazing ways that the whole world will know that we serve the Most High God.  We should go out each new day expecting God’s favor and blessings to chase us down.  It’s not because of who we are; it’s because of whose we are.

Our perspective is how we chose to see a situation and what we must understand is that the foundation of happiness is a joyful spirit.  Instead of complaining on what is wrong, we should start thanking God for all that is right and for what we do have.  Last night I was lying in bed frustrated that I could not fall asleep and then I began to think about all the people that don’t have beds.  If our perspective would change, so would our attitude.  If we could listen to ourselves sometimes, it would be like complaining about not having shoes to someone with no legs.  No matter how bad we think our life is, someone would love to have it and would be glad to change places.  If we complain about where we are, we will never get to where we want to be.   One of my favorite sayings is, “If you complain, you’ll remain, but if you’ll praise, you’ll be raised.”  There are endless things we have to be thankful for, so we need to get in the habit of meditating on all the times God showed up when there was no way.

When we meditate on the goodness of God, it not only helps us have the right perspective, but it also releases our faith, which activates the power of the Most High God to show up and add something else to our list to be thankful for.  When we focus on God’s goodness, our mind goes in the right direction and we begin to truly appreciate that every day is a gift from God.  I know that we all have obstacles and things to overcome, but God is still on the throne and He is in complete control and what the enemy meant for harm in your life, God will use for your good.  The next time traffic is bad, don’t get stressed, be thankful you have a car; the next time you have a bad day at work, don’t get angry, be grateful you have a job.  Staying grateful is the key to living life happy.  David knew a secret he revealed in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times.  His praise will continually be in my mouth.”  We cannot praise and complain at the same time and if we’re constantly thanking God for His goodness, meditating on what He’s done, thinking about how He’s blessed us, then we won’t have any time going around complaining about what’s going on in our life.

Every day we will be tested in these areas, but in everything we are to give thanks and in all things it is just a matter of perspective – how we chose to see things.  We should learn to enjoy life, not just endure it.  Even in our most challenging seasons, one day we will look back and miss the very season we are trying to hurry through.  We forget how fragile life is; we wait for Thanksgiving to give thanks, we wait for Christmas to give gifts, and we wait for Valentine’s Day to show love for those close to us.  I challenge you today to think if you had an hour to live, who would you call and what would you say?  Now do it because life is a gift from God!