Starting Your Best Life Now: A Guide for New Adventures and Stages on Your Journey Read Online Free PDF

forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14–15).
    You may experience genuine physical and emotional healing as you search your heart and are willing to forgive. You may see God’s favor in a fresh, new way. You’ll be amazed at what can happen when you release all that poison.
    O NCE THE BITTER ROOT IS GONE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BREAK FREE FROM YOUR PAST.

Don’t let your setbacks become your identity.
    KEEP MOVING FORWARD
    My dad married at a very early age, and although he went into the relationship with the best of intentions, unfortunately, the marriage failed. Daddy was heartbroken and devastated. He didn’t think he’d ever preach again, much less have a family. He felt that God’s blessings had lifted from his life. Dealing with his divorce was the darkest hour of his life.
    But years later, Daddy told me how he had to shake himself out of his doldrums. He had to quit mourning over what he had lost and start receiving God’s love. He accepted God’s forgiveness and mercy, and little by little, God not only restored his ministry, He increased it as well as giving my dad a new family, too.
    TURN YOUR SCARS INTO STARS
    Moving forward into the great future God has for you involves learning how to overcome the disappointments in your life. When you are lied to by a boss, betrayed by a friend, walked out on by a loved one, it’s natural to feel remorse or sorrow. Nobody expects you to be an impenetrable rock. These kinds of losses leave indelible scars, causing you to want to hold on to your grief. It is easy to want to seek revenge.
    But you must make a decision that you are going to move on. It won’t happen automatically. Often, defeating disappointments and letting go of the past are the flip side of the same coin, especially when you are disappointed in yourself. When you do something wrong, don’t beat yourself up about it. Admit it, seek forgiveness, and move on. Be quick to let go of your mistakes and failures, hurts, pains, and sins.
    And remember that God has promised that if you will put your trust in Him to bring about the justice in your life, He will pay you back for all the unfair things that have happened to you (Isaiah 61:7–9). That means you don’t have to go around trying to pay everybody back. God is your vindicator. Let Him fight your battles for you. Turn matters over to Him and let Him handle them His way (romans 12:19).
    Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word: “The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him, to those who seek for him” (Lamentations 3:25 TLB ).
    Don’t live in regret or remorse or sorrow. They will only interfere with your faith. Faith must always be a present-tense reality, not a distant memory. God can turn your situation around and make it all up to you, plus much more!
    Y OU CAN’T UNSCRAMBLE EGGS, SO WHY TRY?

FIND STRENGTH Through Adversity
God has a divine purpose
for every challenge
that comes into our lives.
Trials test our character
and help shape our faith.

Keep on getting up in your heart, mind, and will.
    STAND UP ON THE INSIDE
    I talked to a man the other day who had recently lost his job. He had been making a good salary working in a prestigious position, but then suddenly he was let go. I thought he would be upset and distraught. But when he came to see me, he had a big smile on his face and said, “Joel, I just lost my job, but I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me next!”
    He had been knocked down by circumstances outside his control, but he was still standing up on the inside.
    HOW DETERMINED ARE YOU?
    Living your best life now is downright difficult sometimes. Many people give up far too easily when things don’t go their way or they face adversity. Instead of persevering, they get down and discouraged, which is understandable, especially when they’ve struggled with a problem for a long time.
    But we have to be more determined than that. Our