Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
What Are You Looking For?
Expectations have the remarkable power to shape our reality, often determining what we experience more than our actual circumstances. Have you ever wondered why two people can go through identical situations yet walk away with completely different stories?
Whether you're facing overwhelming challenges or simply need a positive start to your day, this five-minute devotional offers practical wisdom for maintaining an attitude of joyful expectation.
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax and let me help you start your day right. One of my favorite verses is found in Psalm 126 and verse 3. It says the Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy. I believe it is God's desire that we live our lives and we are able to experience the joy of God, the joy of the Lord, in every part of our lives, all through our lives. That doesn't mean we're not going to have problems and difficulties. Sometimes things will be extremely difficult and extremely painful. But after even the worst of times that we have to face, the peace and love and joy of God can still be there for us to help us overcome the pain of what we've been through. But did you know that joy is as much an attitude as it is anything else? If we're not able to maintain a correct attitude about this life, about God, about our walk with God and what we believe that God is able and willing to do, we at times are going to struggle Over. In Romans 8, verse 6,. It says the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. There are so many things that try to control our minds, whether it be what we watch or what we hear, or the people around us. All of those forces are trying to draw us to focus on something, and they're not necessarily bad things. But the only thing that will really keep our minds filled with joy and peace is when we're focused on what God tells us. It becomes a part of our attitude. What do you expect today or tomorrow or next week or next month? What are your expectations? I know I have a hard time with that. Sometimes, when I'm facing what seems to be extremely challenging and difficult situations I'm coming up against, I have a hard time keeping my mind focused on being positive and wanting to look towards the best. But when I dig back into God's Word and I talk to Him I listen to songs of worship and encouragement, I talk to people who will lift me up and encourage me and won't let me get dragged down Then my whole attitude changes and I come back up and I have strength to face what I'm going to go through and strength to face it without fear.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you a story today about a man who once went diving with his brother off the coast of Bora Bora. There were two other divers that accompanied them on the boat, a man and his 10-year-old son. The father kept asking are there any sharks around here? And everyone kept reassuring him no, nothing dangerous, nothing to worry about. As the father and son plunged into the water, one of the other men said I hope that guy is going to be okay because he knew that they were almost certainly going to see sharks, although they were diving in a lagoon and not on the outer reef. The lagoon was known to be full of white-tip reef sharks, but still they felt justified in reassuring the man because these sharks were not considered dangerous unless you really provoked them. The father on his dive was taking some pictures underwater in the coral and a white-tip swam by Soon. There were other sharks that appeared. They passed to his left and to his right, gliding over him and under him. Tip swam by Soon. There were other sharks that appeared. They passed to his left and to his right, gliding over him and under him and all around him. He probably had a dozen encounters within 10 minutes.
Speaker 1:Shortly afterwards, back on the boat, all he said was beautiful dive, wasn't it? Everybody agreed beautiful. And then he said thank God, I didn't see any sharks. And then he said you know that most often we receive what we expect to receive, and when we learn to expect good things from God, he's willing to give them to us.
Speaker 1:That's why, in Philippians, chapter 4 and verse 8, paul writes this and now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable.
Speaker 1:Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Paul is reminding us right there that our minds are to be focused on all of the good things that God has for us, all of the wonderful, powerful things that he wants to do for us and in us, because when we focus on those things that God has for us, we will start to see those things becoming more real and active in our lives. I hope that you choose to expect good things from God today, that he will be with you, that he will guide you, that he will give you something to laugh about and enjoy, no matter what else you are facing. Keep your hearts open to what God has. Keep your expectations high on His love and His goodness being poured out upon you, and God will be with you and he will bless you. I hope you have a great day, my friends, we will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today, and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday, right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac.
