Category: Desiring God

What Is Success?

Child, you think success is accomplishing goals. And your focus has been on your own created goals. Do you not know yet, I have My goals for your life?

I say success is being full of My Presence and walking in My Presence. Success is being full of My Holy Spirit. Success is fulfilling all I have called you to.

What is success?
This is success. (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

You think success is your accomplishments. But I say unto you, success is not in your accomplishments. Rather success is found as you yield yourself to My will. For I do indeed have plans for you, plans to give you a hope and a future. I have plans not to harm you, but to prosper you.

You think prosperity is abundant money, having all your needs and desires for pleasure fulfilled. But no, I tell you prosperity is peace, peace of mind, heart, and soul. Prosperity is assurance that I am with you always guiding all your steps and your ways.

True success and prosperity is knowing how much I love you.

Lord, I miss the quiet days when I was able to spend more time with You.

Child, it’s not the quiet days you miss so much. Rather it’s My Presence with you that you miss. During those past quiet days at home, you focused on My Presence. Now you’re too busy with your “to do” lists, your self-created goal lists, and Your diversions of entertainment and pleasure.

You focus on secular news and lament over what you see or hear reported. You eat for pleasure. In fact you look at and focus on many different things.

But it is My Presence you need, not your accomplishments. It is My Presence you need for fulfillment.

So Lord, what am I to do?

Come to Me, all throughout your day. Not just during your morning quiet time, but all throughout your day.

And no, I will not be another item on your “to do” list, checking off your time spent with the Lord. In fact, I want to be by your side all your days, not something on your “to do” list.

Rather I want to be your Helper, your confident and your friend, In fact, I want to be your everything. Make My Presence the center of your life.

This this success.
This is success. (Photo by Deborah Crocker.)

Then you will see all the blessings I have for you instead of being frustrated over your lack of accomplishments and resenting others for theirs.

Don’t look at others ,look at Me for I will meet and fulfill all your needs. Because right now, your greatest need is peace of mind and a quiet spirit. Those can only be found in My Presence. So come to Me for I am the answer you’re seeking.

Because only I can fulfill your needs and give you a quietness within your soul, mind, and heart. That My Child, is where true peace is found, in My Presence.

FEED ON THIS

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made to God; and the peace of god, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:7

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 2 John 1:3

Never Give Up! (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

Act Like It, Believe It.

Child, act like it and believe all the words I speak.

Lord, help me believe. Increase my faith.

Act like it
Hope brings faith. (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory. . . . Ephesians 3:20-21

Child, do you believe this?

Yes, Lord, I do.

Then act like it, believe it. Now get up, wash your face, and go forth in Your victory.

You are of children, you belong to God. So you have defeated them because God’s spirit is greater than the devil who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

Child, do you believe this?

Yes Lord.

Then act like it, Believe it. So get up, wash your face, and go forth in your victory.

Act like it
Believe it. (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you Luke 10:19

Child, do you believe this?

Yes Lord, I do.

Then act like it, Believe it. Now get up, wash your face. Get up and go forth in your victory.

Create in me a clean heart and a steadfast spirit. Psalms 51:10

Lord, I ask for Your forgiveness for all my doubts, worries, and failures to obey You. Help me to be steadfast and strong in following Your will in all things. Furthermore, help me to yield my selfish desires to Your desires and Your plans for my victory.

Make my heart clean and yielded to You Lord. Help me to be strong and steadfast in obedience to Your will for my life. Because I know you have great and wonderful plans for me, better than I could imagine.

So help me focus on You and seek Your will in all things. Because You work all things out for my good. Overall, I trust You, Lord. Change me, my heart, and all my desires. I desire Your Presence more than anything. After all, You are El Shaddai, God Almighty.

Make me steadfast. Grant me strength to be strong in Your Presence. I want You for therein is my victory, You and Your Presence. Therefore, I want to walk in Your will, not mine. For I am weak, but You are strong.

Believe it.
Believe it. (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

Therefore I give myself to thee. So take me for I am Yours. Help me obey Your will in all things, even to what I eat and drink.

Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

So Child, do you believe this?

Yes, Lord, I do.

Now at this time, get up , wash your face and go forth in your victory. Because I have already designed your victory.

Never Give Up! (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

Are You For Real, Lord?

Lord, are You for real?

Yes, I Am the most real you’ll ever know. I am more real than all you can see. I am indeed the realist Presence you’ll ever know.

Are you for real
Are You for real, Lord? (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

Are You my imagination or maybe, are you’re just my inner voice? Are You for real?

Child, I AM the realist of all. I am the beginning of all and the end of all. And I am the before and the after too. I am all around you and in you too. Overall I am everything and all encompassing. In fact I am the answer to all your questions.

Lord, there is so much I don’t understand.  

Trust me child. Walk with Me. Talk with Me, for I will lead you as you lean on Me. And I will teach you as you listen. I only ask that you love Me for I love you more than you can ever know.

But Lord, what about all those promises You gave me? They haven’t come through. As a matter of fact, as I look back, some of them are far-fetched.

Child, life is a series of ups and downs. Mostly much ado about nothing. People tend to make little things big and unsurmountable. But I can do all things, even what you consider impossible. For I am a God of the impossible. I take the impossible and create wonders of amazement.

Are you for real Lord?
God created this. (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

Look at My creations. It has not even entered into man’s heart all the wonders of My creation. So open your eyes to behold what I have done.

As your body ages, it is in the process of dying. But those, as you say, who have died are now more alive than you.

What about those still struggling with their life issues and wrong choices? I’ve prayed so much for them to find you. But so far nothing. Therefore, they’re still struggling and lost.

Oh My child, again you are wrong. I know exactly where each one is. And I know their hearts. Yes it’s true their wrong choices brought much heartache, both to them and the others in their lives. Just as your wrong choices bring you heartache and struggle.

But I know exactly where each one is. They are not totally lost. They need to find Me, for they do not know where I am. Therefore they feel lost.

But the “Great I Am” is calling their name. I’m calling them to come to Me. And as they come, they will be found. As they open their hearts to Me, I will draw them into My love.

Child, I love each one, even those you consider unlovable. And when they find Me, they will find My love for them. As they come I will fill their hearts with love, peace, joy, and yes, even My wisdom so they can make better choices next time.

Child, do you believe Romans 8:28?

Feed On This

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 1:8

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16,17

We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Never Give Up! (Photo by Deborah Crocker)

40 Days of Victory- Starting Over

40 Days of Victory, (a semi-fast) was the plan God and I talked about. Due to foot surgery, I’m confined to my chair for the most part. So due to inactivity, I didn’t want to gain any more weight, especially now.

In fact, I want to lose weight and focus on getting closer to God.

After the wonderful victory God gave me several years ago of losing 90 pounds, I’m ashamed to say for the past several years I have gained some back. So now it’s back to the beginning again.

Because I know God is my source for victory, I went back to Him again for weight loss counseling. After all, He is the best counselor ever. 

His Instructions:

Go back to the way I instructed you to eat in the beginning. Eat only three meals a day with half portions and no snacks at all.

There was a time when you wouldn’t have overate even one bite beyond My instructions. Get back to that. Eat how you know I told you to. Make the wise choices you know.

At your favorite places to eat out, choose vegetables and broiled meats instead of all that fried stuff. At supper cut down your serving size and lay off your sweets for a while.

This is a fasting time for you. 40 days of victory with no sweets.

Lord, I can’t do this.

Yes Child, you can do this. With My help you can defeat this enemy of yours, compulsive overeating. You can defeat this enemy that robs you of your joy, your strength, and your victory.

Child, do you want My power or your sweets? If you follow, then I will lead. But you must be willing to submit, obey, and follow. Do you accept this challenge?

Yes Sir. But Lord, I need Your help. I can’t do this on my own.

But Child, know I am here with you. I will help you.

Now for your homework assignment- Find, search out 40 scriptures, affirmations to feed your spirit, your mind, and your soul, one for each day.

Photo by Rachel Strong on Unsplash

So I began with Day 1, two days before my birthday. No problem. At least that’s what I thought. Made it two days, then my sweet husband came in with a small birthday cake and ice cream. Sigh. 

For future reference, any time you decide to go on a fast or sem-fast, be sure to inform your family. He was so proud to give me that cake. He was smiling as he handed it to me.

I thought, “Oh Lord. what do I do now? He bought me that cake. Do I eat it or just tell him I started a semi fast of only 3 meals, no snacks, or desserts for 40 days? Do I hurt his feelings? He’s so happy to give me that cake and ice cream. What do I do?

Hubby was smiling so big about it. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. So I ate it. Yep, I ate it. but I only ate one ice cream. What would you do?

40 days of victory

Later I’m lying awake in the middle of the night talking to God about it. I felt so guilty. But I just couldn’t hurt Hubby’s feelings.

Here’s how this conversation went:

So Lord, it’s me and You. The house is all quiet. What do You say?

Child, I love you.

Lord, You knew all about this cake before I wrote about “40 Days of Victory”. Hubby was smiling so big at his surprise gift.

(Check out this link to previous 40 Days of Victory-https://talkingtomyweightlosscounselor.com/40-days-of-victory-2/)

Child, he loves you.

Yes Lord, I praise You for this man you gave me. When Hubby gave me that cake, he was expressing his love for me.

Child, it was not just a dessert. Instead, it was a gift of love. Rejoice in his love.

So do I start over again? What about the upcoming Christmas family gathering? Should I just wait until after Christmas to begin?

Lord, I decided I will start over because I do want total victory. And I want a closer relationship with You too. As a matter of fact, I know the sweets I could have now are nothing compared to the sweetness I have in Your Presence. So I will start over.

My deepest desire is to have more of Your Presence in my life. Also, I want all my children and grandchildren to have a real relationship with You. That’s the most important thing I’m praying for now.

In fact, that’s the most important decision one can make in life- to choose a relationship with You, Lord Jesus, Almighty God, and Holy Spirit.

Child, I’m going to work this all out for your good. Then, you will emerge from this journey victorious over food addiction, and overflowing with My Holy Spirit.

In fact, the fragrance of My Holy Spirit over you will be so sweet it’ll attract others to you. Then you will be able to share My love with them. See how that works.

I bless you so you can bless others. It’s all part of My plan.

Feed On This – 40 Days of Victory

Day 1: Thank you Lord for telling me, “It is a gift, not dessert, accept it in love”.

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Matthew 6:10

Day 2: Thank you Lord for removing the guilt from me. Instead, You granted me peace.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

40 Days Of Victory

New Day of Victory

Today’s a new day of victory for you, My child. In fact, you’re going to have both new victory and new strength through My power.

After all, it’s the power of My shed blood that gives My children victory. Self is your greatest enemy and it’s My blood that defeats your enemy. 

Now come to Me. Allow Me to control your “self”. Give yourself to Me. Then I can set you free with more freedom and more victory than you ever thought possible. 

Here I am, Lord. I give my “self” to You. Do with me as you please. Only help me tonight when the gluttony monster shows up.

Child, watch and see what I do. Today is a new day of victory for you.  This victory is guaranteed through total surrender. Now surrender your “self” and it’s fleshly desires for gratification to Me. As you surrender, I will increase your strength with My strength. Thereby increasing your victory. See, your victory is guaranteed through the power of My victory. 

———————————-

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.            1 Corinthians 15:57 NKJV 

Before you do anything, put yourself totally in God and not in yourself. Then every plan you make will succeed. Proverbs 16: 3 TPT

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  Mark 9:23 NKJV 

————————————

Thank you Lord. So far, it’s been seven (7/40) days of victory both in my eating and the routine of life. Everyday has been a new day of victory throughout this week. Now I’ve lost three pounds while eating in submission to Your will instead of mine. In addition to weight loss, I’ve experienced other blessings as well. Too many to list here. Thank you Lord for granting me your love and mercy, a second chance with a victory life.