Keeping your heart is absolutely no one else's responsibility but your own (Proverbs 4:23). No one can guard it but you:

A good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights].
(Prov. 14:14 AMP)

Notice that the good man is satisfied from himself with his own holy thoughts and actions that are prompted by his heart.

You know, your husband or your wife is not the one who can make you happy and full of joy. Your spouse can certainly help make you happy.

But when it comes right down to it, no one can affect what is on the inside of you except you.

If you want to walk with God and live in the joy of the Lord, you can do it. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are around you or how much pressure you face.

You can be moved by God and His Word alone instead of what you see.

You may be facing trouble. Circumstances may not be getting any better. But what you do with the Word while you're walking through trouble determines the peace and joy you will experience despite the circumstances.

How do you walk joyfully in the midst of tribulation? You spend time in the Word. You meditate on the things of God. You depend on the Word for God's answers to your situation.

But what you don't do is look at the problem. When the problem becomes your focus, the joy of the Lord doesn't rise up in you and become your strength.

So as you go through your day, focus on the scriptures that give you the answer. Let all of your thoughts and your words center on what the Word says, not on what the circumstances look like.

Most people don't do that. Even when they pray, they focus on the problem. They tell God all about the problem in great detail, and that's the extent of their prayer.

There is a much more effective way to pray. Speak the Word in prayer. Tell God, "Father, I thank You for helping me. I'm not looking at the problem. I'm looking to You as my Source of deliverance.

I'm looking at Your Word for my answer. The Word says so-and-so about my deliverance from this situation, and that's what I am standing on!"

When you focus on the Word, you can walk in the peace of God and the joy of the Lord through any test or trial. But focusing on the trial only causes you to walk in defeat.

You won't have any supernatural help to bring you out of the trial because your faith is activated by the Word.

When you are absorbed by the problem instead of the Word, you will always operate on a natural level.


Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries