Surrender

In the same way, the Spirit helps us n our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ~Romans 8:26 The Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems. He even helps us pray. We can say, "Lord, this is so big I don't even know how to pray for it. All I have is this inner groaning, this longing to change. I don't know what I need, but you do. Holy Spirit, please pray for me. I so much want to become the person you want me to be." Don't be afraid to let the inner groaning come up. Let the Spirit pray for you while you are quiet. You may get words to ask for something. Maybe you'll just say,"Lord, I trust you. Help me." Or you may get no words. No problem. The Spirit knows what you need. How amazing is it that the Holy Spirit is praying for you right now! Food for Thought: Be still and be confident that he always helps you in your weakness. The Daniel Plan 365 Day Devotional: Daily Encouragement for a Healthier Life

“Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” —Genesis 41:38 We can’t judge our potential by our circumstances. God may be shaping us to do something powerful in his service. For example, Joseph spent much of his young adulthood as a slave in Egypt after his jealous brothers sold him to some slave traders. If he had judged his potential by those circumstances, he would have been discouraged indeed. But God had plans for Joseph. He used a chance meeting in prison to propel Joseph into the service of Egypt’s Pharaoh. Pharaoh recognized the spirit of God in Joseph, and Joseph became the number two man in the nation. He devoted his talents to planning for a famine that would have killed tens of thousands in Egypt and the surrounding nations. God used him to save countless lives, including those of the family who had sold him. God has purposes for your life that you may not see yet. Don’t underestimate what he can do with someone whose life is yielded to his service. The Daniel Plan 365 Day Devotional is a companion to the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Daniel Plan .

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! —1 John 3:1 The whole Trinity lavishes love on us. Our heavenly Father calls us his true children. Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for us. And in the Holy Spirit, love is within us. We are people who are loved, loved, loved. The apostle Paul says, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and how long and how high and how deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19). He wants us to know this love that surpasses knowledge, because only when we truly know it will we be able to struggle fruitfully toward change. We are surrounded by love, before us, above us, behind us. He has lavished his love on us; we are His! Mindset Challenge Take some time to think about someone you love and how much you love them. Do you feel that fullness in your heart when you think of them?  Now try to grasp the enormity of the fact that God loves you with a love that is immeasurably deeper than the love you feel in your heart now.  When you grasp even a fraction of how much God loves you, your mindset will change because you’ll realize the worth and value you have in Christ Jesus. Devotional taken from The Daniel Plan 365-Day Devotional – Daily Encouragement for a Healthier Life