Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life - a Daily DevotionalSample

A Sustainable Life Are you living a sustainable life? Maybe you've caught yourself saying things like, "I can't do this much longer. I just can't keep this up forever." When you make comments like these, what you're really saying is, "I know I have limits and that I've reached them, but I'm going to ignore them and see how long I can get by with it." Our body gives us warnings when we're pushing too hard, like an ache here or a pain there. But we think, "I'll be all right," and we ignore the warnings until we're too sick to ignore them. I'm not proud of this, but for the first twenty years of my ministry, I felt physically terrible a lot of the time. I ran to doctors and tried all kinds of pills and vitamins. The doctors tried to tell me that I was simply pushing myself too hard, but I ignored them. I kept pushing myself to do all the traveling, speaking engagements, meetings, and so on, simply exhausting myself. Finally, I realized that we can't ignore God's direction to take time to rest and not pay a price for it. So I made some changes and now I feel better than I ever have. If you are living an unsustainable life, stop putting off making the changes you need to make. Don't wait until something happens, like a nervous breakdown or a heart problem. Make changes now to live the kind of life God wants you to live. When you live God's way, I can guarantee you'll discover an overwhelming new level of peace in your life. Prayer Starter: Lord, show me the unsustainable areas of my life. I submit them to You. Lead me into Your rest and peace today, so that I can enjoy my life and serve You for years to come.