As a kid in Arlington, Texas, we often played a game called “Wolf and Sheep.” The “wolf” had to capture the “sheep” and put them in jail. While the wolf was away, other sheep could come and set the prisoners free.
I’ve had terrible things happen in my life, but they’ve just been momentary flashes. Any discouragement or depression I’ve felt has never lasted more than an hour or so. Since 1968, there hasn’t been a full day that I haven’t had peace and joy. Why? I place value and worth on the fact that God loves me.

As a kid in Arlington, Texas, we often played a game called “Wolf and Sheep.” The “wolf” had to capture the “sheep” and put them in jail. While the wolf was away, other sheep could come and set the prisoners free. The sheep had a home base. Often, home base was a tree. Whenever the sheep were touching home base, they were safe. The wolf couldn’t do anything to them and had to leave.

God is my Home Base. Whenever something bad happens, I just retreat and say, “Lord, You love me. Father,

You value me. You’re pleased with me.” I start thinking about how much God loves me and it makes every problem I have just melt away in comparison. Satan can’t touch me when I’m valuing God’s love for me.

I’ve spent a huge amount of time glorifying—esteeming, placing value and worth on—what God has done in my life. Because of that, it’s only grown stronger and better.

The reason you’re a leaky vessel is because you aren’t valuing what God has done in your life above all else. You’re esteeming other things equal to, close to, or greater than the Lord and His opinion of you. You need to get to a place where you can honestly say, “God, You’re more important to me than anyone or anything else. Nothing will compete with You.” Intentionally glorify God and disesteem everything else.

Focus on the Joy
Jesus disesteemed the shame that accompanied His crucifixion.
For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross, despising the shame.
(Heb. 12:2)
Jesus chose to focus on the joy. Most of us would have had such short-term thinking in that situation that we wouldn’t have seen any joy in it. But Jesus looked ahead to the resurrection. He knew the cross wasn’t going to be the end. He knew that He would triumph over Satan and liberate the human race. The Lord looked down through eternity and saw you and me. He saw our bondages, hurts, pains, sicknesses, diseases, and poverty. He said in His heart, “I’m going to die to redeem them. I’m going to bring them joy.”

He chose to magnify and glorify that, and to disesteem the shame, rejection, and physical suffering. He chose to disesteem the fact that they were going to strip Him naked, mock Him, and insult Him. He chose to minimize those things and maximize the other. He’s the One who placed that value on it.

You are the one who determines the value of everything in your life. You choose how you esteem or disesteem anything and everything. You’re the one who determines that you can’t live with or without all these things—but you can always change your determination.

Source: Discovering the Keys To Staying Full of God by Andrew Wommack
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers