July 31

Positive thinking is how you think about a problem. Enthusiasm is how you feel about a problem. The two together determine what you do about a problem.

July 30

If you will set aside a few minutes, ten or even five, to think about God and Christ, to confess your sins, to pray for those who have done wrong against you, and to ask for strength—and if you do this consistently day after day—a true faith will begin to send spiritual health and power through your personality.

July 29

Many of the world’s finest Oriental rugs come from little villages in the Middle East, China, or India. These rugs are hand-produced by crews of men and boys under the direction of a master weaver. They work from the underside of the rug-to-be. It frequently happens that a weaver absentmindedly makes a mistake and introduces a color that is not according to the pattern.

When this occurs, the master weaver, instead of having the work pulled out in order to correct the color sequence, will find some way to incorporate the mistake harmoniously into the overall pattern. In weaving our lives, we can learn to take unexpected difficulties and mistakes and weave them advantageously into the greater overall patterns of our lives. There is an inherent good in most difficulties.

July 28

The best way to deal with a problem is this: Write it down on a piece of paper. Study its component parts. Think it through. Then put it aside and think of God. Forget the problem. Think of God. The more you think of Him, the more He will put ideas into your mind when you pick up the problem again. You will get your answer. God answers. If you don’t get it that first time, you will the second or the third. Shift from the problem to God.

July 27

Having asked God for forgiveness, accept release, then truly forgive yourself and turn your back definitely on the matter. Fill your mind with hopeful, helpful, and positive thoughts. Have faith and go forward. “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before” (Philippians 3:13).

July 26

You need not fear if you know an action is right. Pray about it to be sure it’s right, for if it isn’t right it’s wrong, and nothing wrong can turn out right. Knowing you are right, there is nothing in this world that can defeat you. It may go hard; you may receive blows. But God will not let you down. He will see you through. Know you are right, then fearlessly go ahead.

July 25

What’s wrong with having problems? The only people who have no problems are in cemeteries. Problems are a sign of life. So be glad you’ve got them. It means you are alive. The more problems you have, the more alive you are. lf you have no problems, better get down on your knees and ask: “Lord, don’t You trust me anymore? Give me some problems.”

July 24

The world needs millions of acts of forgiveness and repentance to flush out hate, resentment, and bitterness.

July 23

Help others to overcome fear and worry and you gain greater power over these problems yourself. Every day think of yourself as living in companionship with Jesus Christ. If he actually walked by your side, you would not be worried or afraid. Say, “He is with me now.” Repeat it every time you feel fear or begin to worry. Recommend the practice to others as I do to you. It works.

July 22

Every last one of us possesses the power to live a truly wonderful life; yet we settle for being unhappy, when it isn’t necessary. We should ask ourselves what we have done with the talents and abilities which God built into us. Every human being ought to look inside himself and thank the good Lord that he has unused strength he has never drawn on—and then start drawing on it.