Living A Life You Love

Embracing the adventure of being led by the Holy Spirit

Joyce Meyer

• Publisher: Hodder Faith
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781473682894
• eBook ISBN: 9781473682900
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Mental Health & Wellbeing

Like many people, you may find it easy to express love for your family, your spouse, your church, the Lord-or for more temporal things like a good cup of tea, your home, or a nice dinner at your favorite restaurant. But you may struggle to truly say "I love my life!"
Routines and responsibilities can become a grind, making you dread today, rather than look forward to it. Privileges can become burdens that rob you of the joy and fulfillment you're meant to have as a child of God. But you can be hopeful, learn to rise above your challenges, and become filled with wonder at what God can do in your life.
Written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer, who went from being in pain and miserable to peaceful and satisfied through Christ, this book is the key to shifting your perspective so that you may also relish every moment and every part of life.
Joyce explains how to love life fully, in spite of your obstacles, so you can experience the joy and fulfillment God has for you!
Chapters include:
God Has an Amazing Plan for You, Refuse to Let Fear Determine Your Destiny, See Each Day as an Opportunity, and Be the You God Created You to Be! The key to loving your life is found in God's love for you. When you make Him the focus of all you do it will transform your attitude, so that you can really enjoy each day. Learn how God can help you maintain a joyful attitude, making love and kindness top priorities, and what you give away will come back to you immeasurably. As Joyce explains, God has already blessed you with what it takes to start LIVING A LIFE YOU LOVE. And this book will show you how.

SECTION II

Love Yourself and You Will Love Your Life

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

CHAPTER 7

Give Yourself a Break

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

George Eliot

Imagine with me that you are volunteering at a local elementary school. Your schedule opened up and you decided to sign up to lead a reading group and help with crafts for the school’s kindergarten class. After about a month, you’ve learned the names of all the children, you’ve discovered their cute, individual personalities, and you absolutely love the experience of working with these minds of the future. However, there is one thing that is bothering you … it’s little Timmy.

Timmy is an enthusiastic student. He gets along well with his classmates. And he greets you every day with a big hug. Timmy loves school, and you certainly enjoy helping him learn. But Timmy pushes himself so hard to succeed that he becomes easily frustrated with himself.

Some days you find Timmy muttering to himself, “I wish I was smart like my brother.” Other days you see him practicing his letters during recess while the other children are playing games in the schoolyard. And sometimes during class, Timmy will begin to cry if he colors outside the lines or messes up his art project.

You tell him, “It’s okay, Timmy. Don’t worry; it’s not a big deal. We can fix it.” But Timmy rarely accepts your encouragement. He wants so badly to do well, to please his parents and impress his teachers, that he internalizes every mistake. Timmy is such a perfectionist that he is unhappy most days. You wonder how a child could put so much pressure on himself. And it breaks your heart when you see him struggling.

I paint that picture for you because I believe it breaks God’s heart when He sees you struggling. You’re a child of God—He doesn’t want you putting so much pressure on yourself. When you make a mistake, lose your temper, forget an appointment—whatever it is—to God, it’s the equivalent of coloring outside the lines. You’re beating yourself up over it, but God is saying, “It’s okay. It’s not a big deal. We can fix it.” God knows you’re not perfect and He loves and accepts you in your imperfection … isn’t it time you did the same?

***

God doesn’t want you putting so much pressure on yourself.

***

I believe one of the best ways to love your life is to give yourself a break. Do not get angry with yourself if you occasionally color outside the lines! Of course, we all want to do our best in our spiritual and personal lives. Yes, we strive to obey the Word of God, and of course we always want to learn and grow in Christ every day. But we’ll never do any of these things perfectly. We’re all going to make mistakes and occasionally trip in this journey of life. Instead of heaping pressure on ourselves to live perfectly—then feeling ashamed and condemned when we don’t—we would be wise to trust God to help us become the best people He wants us to be.

Philippians 1:6 says this:

I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].

I love this promise in the Word of God, because it takes the pressure off. Even though we should try our best in all areas of our lives, God is the one “who has begun a good work” in us, and He is the one Who “will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” So let me encourage you to relax. All that pressure, all that striving to be perfect, all of those self-imposed expectations—take a break and let God help.

Here are four practical ways you can start doing that today:

1. Forgive Yourself When You Mess Up

When I teach the Word of God, one of the things I often do is share illustrations from my own life. I talk about all the times I’ve messed up and what God has taught me as a result of those mistakes. Sometimes Dave and my children can’t believe the things I actually tell in public. I talk about the time I raced a man for the last table at a restaurant (realizing later he was disabled) or the time, early in my life, when I actually stole from my place of employment (years later the Lord instructed me to make restitution). These are just a few of the embarrassing, but true, stories I share.

I do that because I think it’s important to realize that all of us are going to occasionally miss the mark of perfection. Jesus was the only one Who ever lived a perfect life. You will make mistakes, and I certainly have made my share of mistakes, but when we do, God has made a way for us to move past our mistakes. We can ask God to forgive us, and we can also forgive ourselves. We can drop it, leave it, and let it go! Say goodbye to it and quickly move on to all the success we will have in the future.

The devil wants to bring condemnation into our lives because condemnation steals our joy. God brings conviction when we sin, but conviction is much different than condemnation. Conviction shows us our faults so we can repent and learn from our mistakes. Condemnation, however, is just meant to bring guilt and shame. It’s like a dark cloud hanging over your head, making you feel gloomy and terrible about yourself.

Romans 8:1 tells us:

Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Isn’t that wonderful to know? When you fall short in any area of your life, God never brings condemnation. You are in Christ Jesus, and you have right standing before God because Jesus has already paid for your sins. God has forgiven you, and if you want to love your life, it is important that you receive His forgiveness and, by doing so, forgive yourself.

Take a moment now and think about any event or action that you are still beating yourself up over. It may be something old, it may be something new, it may be something big, it may be something small, and there’s a good possibility there are both big and small things that are weighing your heart down. Now I want to encourage you to let those things go. Ask God to forgive you (if you haven’t already) and then ask Him to help you forgive yourself. Life becomes so much better when you do.

***

You have right standing before God because Jesus has already paid for your sins.

***

2. Look in the Mirror and Say Something Incredibly Nice About Yourself

I know that may sound silly, but it is important if you are going to live a life that you love. Here is why: We are who God says we are, but we live according to who we say we are. If you think and say you’re a failure, a disappointment, or a victim, you are going to start to demonstrate those very traits.

Jesus asked the disciples two questions in Matthew 16. First, He asked, “Who do men say that I am?” After the disciples told Jesus about all the speculation floating around as to who He might be, Jesus asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” You may remember this is when Peter proclaimed, “You are the Christ … the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

Well, I think there is a third question that Jesus is asking us today: Now that you know Who I am, who do you say that you are?

That’s an important question, because the Bible teaches us that our identity is wrapped up in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:17 says that we are joint heirs with Christ and Philippians 3:9 says that we are found and known in Him. What you say about yourself matters! You are complete, beautiful, whole, and accepted in Christ. I like to say that we are daily becoming what we already are in Christ!

***

You are complete, beautiful, whole, and accepted in Christ.

***

Robert Frost said, “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.”¹⁰ And as a helpful exercise, I want to ask you: In three words sum up everything you’ve learned about yourself since you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior. If you’re stuck, let me give you a few suggestions:

• I am loved
• Sin is broken
• God created me
• Forgiven and redeemed
• Life has purpose
• I am valuable
• Unique and treasured

These are just a few examples of things you can say about yourself every day. But don’t stop with only three words—that’s just meant to get you started. Wake up each day, and say something incredibly nice about yourself … no matter how many words it takes. This isn’t some inspirational exercise or self-help technique. This is about speaking the things God has already spoken about you in His Word. When you begin to agree with God about who you are and the future God has for you, there is no way you can’t love your life. It’s all about perspective, so embrace a godly perspective for your life and never let it go.

I can almost guarantee that you will feel foolish when you first begin to say nice things about yourself. You may even have the mistaken idea that it is wrong or prideful to do so, but it isn’t. You are not bragging, you are simply reminding yourself of who you are in Christ, acknowledging the fact that you are His creation and that He has a purpose for you.

3. Walk Away from Negative People and Negative Things

If you sit in the sun all day, you are going to get burned. If you hang out all afternoon in a smoking lounge, you’re going to smell like smoke. If you stand in front of a subwoofer at a rock concert, you’re likely to damage your hearing. There is just no getting around it. The things you subject yourself to will radically affect you.

In order to really give yourself a break, step away from people or things that bring you discouragement and sour your outlook on life … because they will affect you. There are just some people whom we need to love from a distance. If you have family members, friends, or coworkers whose constant negativity drains your joy and saps your peace, you probably need to create some distance. It doesn’t mean you don’t love them—it just means you need to give yourself a break.

I remember a job Dave had early in his life where his coworkers seemed to have a lot of negativity. At lunch, he didn’t want to hear the gossip and complaining about their jobs, so he would spend his lunch listening to Bible teaching and worship music, or just taking a walk and praying. He was kind to his fellow employees during the day and looked for ways to share his faith with them, but when it was break time … he needed a break!

Don’t be afraid to give yourself a break, too. Step away from harmful influences or negative talk every chance you get. It’s not rude, and it’s certainly not pious—it’s just smart. If you’ll distance yourself from negative, bitter talk and surround yourself with Bible-based, faith-filled influences, your life will become so much more positive.

You may be thinking, Well Joyce, what if I am married to someone who is extremely negative? To be clear, I am not suggesting that you get a divorce or leave the marriage because of it, but you still need to give yourself breaks from it as often as possible.

4. Actually Take a Break!

This chapter is titled “Give Yourself a Break,” and an important way to do that is to give yourself permission to actually take a break.

Everyone deserves a break from time to time. Not only do we deserve it … we need it. When children are in school, they take breaks from learning so they can play. When musicians are performing, they take breaks to rest. Workers get a lunch break, and they often take smaller breaks to get refreshed. When writers are writing, they take breaks to get new ideas. Breaks are crucial. They are healthy times of rest for every level and aspect of life.

***

Everyone needs a break from time to time.

***

If this is true, then why do we run from commitment to commitment, from task to task, without ever stopping to enjoy a break? The reason why so many people are exasperated with their lives is simply because they are exhausted—they haven’t recharged their batteries in days, weeks, months, or even years. I must admit that I don’t like downtime between appointments and commitments, so I tend to schedule things too close together, and it often causes pressure in my life. I am attempting to learn to love short breaks in-between events. (Pray for me!)

If you started up your car on a hot summer’s day and left it running continuously, what would happen? Well, first of all you’d probably run out of gas, but another thing would occur: Your car would overheat. The engine isn’t made to run constantly. You’d blow a gasket and might destroy your car in the process.

It’s the same way in your own life. If you never stop to rest, you’ll run out of gas, overheat, and blow a gasket! This is not the life Jesus came to give you. He wants you to live a life full of peace, joy, contentment, and rest. Remember, in John 10:10, Jesus says: “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” Jesus wants you to love your life!

You’re not getting any spiritual extra credit with God by running yourself ragged. Whether you’re raising kids, working on a career, going to school, or building a ministry—if you are burning yourself out in the process, your life is going to be far less than ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Author
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Introduction
• Section I: “Loving Life Begins With Loving God”
• Section II: Love Yourself and you will Love your Life
• Section III: Love Other People and you will Love your Life
• Afterword
• Notes
• Joyce Meyer Ministries
• Other Books by Joyce Meyer