Get a Sneak Peak at Joyce Meyer’s New Book ‘Joy of an Uncluttered Life’ to Turn Stress into Serenity (EXCERPT)
Pick up Joyce Meyer's new book — on sale now!
Known for her wit, humor and honest messages, beloved Bible teacher, author and speaker Joyce Meyer brings more truth to the table in her new book, The Joy of an Uncluttered Life. Readers are taken on a 100-day journey with daily devotionals that serve as a guide towards living a simpler, joyful and stress-free day-to-day.
“Many people today live stressed, complicated lives that leave them feeling frustrated, burdened, weary or burned out. But I have good news: Your life does not have to be this way,” Joyce proclaims. “You can choose simplicity, fruitfulness, peace, joy and fulfillment. Life may pull you toward stress and complexity, but you can decide to resist this, commit to an uncluttered life, and take steps that lead to an easier, less frustrating way of living.”
Here, Woman’s World shares three powerful, encouraging excerpts from the new book that will help you discover develop a calm mindset that increases the peace every day.
Excerpt 1: Set realistic expectations
And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You. Psalms 39:7
If we expect from another human being something we should only expect from God, we will end up disappointed and frustrated. Ask God for what you want and need, and trust Him to work through whomever He chooses to answer your prayer.
The Bible says Jesus knew human nature and did not trust Himself to people (John 2:24–25). He fully understood how imperfect people can be in terms of meeting our expectations. He kept good relationships but was also realistic about human shortcomings.
I got hurt several times in the past, wanting people to give me what only God could give — my sense of self-worth and value. I looked to people to make me feel good about myself when, in reality, I needed to find my true value in God and His love for me. When we place our hope and expectation in Him, we will not be disappointed.
People usually don’t intend to hurt us, but we all hurt and disappoint one another simply because we have inherent weaknesses. We are naturally selfish and tend to do what is best for ourselves instead of other people. As we mature spiritually, we can overcome these selfish tendencies, but while we are in the process of changing, we will make mistakes. Make the decision to put your expectations in God. Trust Him for what you want and need, and it will make life a lot simpler.
Excerpt 2: Become an optimist
Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]. Ephesians 4:23
Being positive is a choice, and a positive attitude opens a door for God to work in our lives. But we can also choose to be negative and open a door for the devil. Even if you are in an unpleasant situation, being negative won’t change it. We are wise to ask ourselves, “Is my problem really my problem, or is my real problem the way I view my problem?”
Once we allow negativity to slant our viewpoint and become the filter through which we see life, we lose our joy and peace. People who are negative have trouble getting answers from God, so they feel confused about what to do, and things go from bad to worse.
For many years, I was a very negative person. I was raised in a negative environment, so I didn’t know how to be optimistic or hopeful. My life was not enjoyable, and it was any- thing but simple. My problems grew worse instead of better because I complained so much about them. Only when I started focusing on the positive and releasing the negative did God’s peace begin to come into my world.
If you have a negative outlook, you can become optimistic by simply choosing to focus on the positive. God is waiting to answer a lot of your prayers, but He needs you to have an attitude of faith. Remind yourself that being negative does no good. Concentrate on the positive things in life, and you will be amazed at all the good you can find.
Excerpt 3: Focus on your strengths
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:4–5 NKJV
Have you been trying and failing to keep up with the talents and abilities of the successful people you know? If you want to experience the joy of an uncluttered life, learn to give the majority of your time to your top two or three strengths and stop wasting it on things you don’t do well. We are all encouraged by accomplishment, so if we keep doing things that don’t succeed, we will always feel like a failure, and we won’t enjoy our lives.
You don’t have to do something well just because someone you know does. My previous neighbor was the perfect homemaker—a great seamstress, gardener, decorator, and cook. I could not sew, had no garden, and was an average cook. I attempted a garden but hated it. I tried to sew but hated that even more. Life was complicated and miserable because I did things I hated so I could feel like what I thought was a “normal woman.”
God had to teach me that the fact that I was not like my neighbor did not mean something was wrong with me. I had to stop doing things I did not do well and stop worrying what people thought about me. If we were all good at the same things, many needs in this world would not be met. God equips each of us in a different way, and it is by working together with our own individual strengths and talents that we accomplish His will.
Excerpted from The Joy of an Uncluttered Life by Joyce Meyer, Used by permission of FaithWords. www.JoyceMeyer.org
Pick up a copy of The Joy of an Uncluttered Life by Joyce Meyer — on sale June 4th — to feel more peace today!
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