If we are not walking in truth, then we are walking in the lies of the devil. Psalm 119:30 says, “I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me.” Truth never changes, but lies morph and expand.

Hosea 10:13 says, “…You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way…” Anything that we do in our own strength will fail. John 6:63 says that our flesh profits nothing.

We choose the way of truth to overcome areas of defeat, stubborn practices, persistent doubts, fears, and unbeliefs. If satan’s lies seem more real than the truth of God’s word, it is because they are deeply ingrained inner strongholds.

Gather Scriptures that speak truth to the area you want to overcome. Implant them in your heart through faith affirmations. Struggle with fear? Make Psalm 56:3 yours by proclaiming, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

Luke 4:4 Amplified says, “…Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.” Ephesians 5:16 says to redeem the time. The Amplified says, “Making the very most of the time (buying up each opportunity)…”

If we pour water on the ground, the ground swallows it up. If we waste time, that time is swallowed up in the past ~ never to be retrieved.  What are you doing in your life to redeem the time you have?

Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” God alone knows the second we will finish our days. We don’t. Years ago my pastor wrote me a note: seize the opportunity in the moment of the opportunity.

I asked the Lord to help me with my evenings. I have several hours after supper before bedtime. I have to be off all electronics three hours before I go to bed for my brain’s sake. It is too late to exercise. I get sleepy when I read. So what can I do?

Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” J. B. Phillips says to make the best use of your time. I reviewed in my mind the things the Lord has specifically called me to do. My evening time needed to coincide. 

The Holy Spirit answered through my meditating on Psalm 119:4. I’m commanded to hide Scripture in my heart. The Lord heard me and provided the answer through my meditation. Note that He didn’t do that when I first began meditating through Psalm 119 several months ago. His timing for our answers are always impeccable ~ never too early and never too late.

In the first eight verses of Psalm 119, the word keep is used four times. Three of the times it means to retain, treasure up in memory, as in verses 4, 5, and 8. Verse 4 says, “You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently.”

The more I have meditated on this verse, the Holy Spirit’s conviction intensified. God’s commands are not options ~ they are to be obeyed without question or excuses. God commands us to treasure up or hide His word in our hearts through memorization. 

It was easy to do that as a child. Now it is a struggle to retain what I memorize. Yet I am commanded to be diligent in this activity. Diligence speaks of intentional effort, or conscientious thought. I do know that our last thoughts before we go to sleep, stay with us in the night. Therefore I purpose in my heart to incorporate this as part of my nighttime routine.

Romans 12:2 in the J. B. Phillips says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within…”  There is an essential brick that needs to be laid upon our salvation’s foundation ~ renewing our minds through Scripture.

Another brick is meditating on God’s word. We know the result through Psalm 1:3 ~ spiritual prosperity. It says, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

Jeremiah 17:7 is another brick ~ trust. It says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” Trust is releasing everything to the Lord ~ holding nothing back. We trusted Him for salvation, but if we don’t trust Him for every aspect of our lives, our flesh will take over. Biting onto satan’s bait and acting independent of Him.

Paul wrote Romans 6 to help his readers lay foundation bricks. Verse 2 asked the question, “…How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” We will not yield to the temptation to do anything independent of the Lord when we understand the truths of Romans 6.

Verse 3 says that we were baptized into Jesus’ death. Verse 4 says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Spiritual prosperity is the fruit of walking in newness of life. Verse 12 says, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” Our flesh lusts after the things of this world’s system. Our spirit follows the promptings of the Holy Spirit ~ making our flesh turn its back.

Meditating through Psalm 119 was really a rich time for me. I didn’t want it to stop, so I have started again. This morning as I was meditating on verse 1, the Holy Spirit stopped me at the word blessed. As I thought about the word ~ connecting verses 1-3, it gave me a clearer picture of spiritual prosperity.

Joshua 1:8 says that when we meditate on God’s word day and night, and observe to do it, “…then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” 

A recap of Psalm 119:1-3 reveals that we can walk undefiled, and with absolute dependence on God. Here is the criteria. We walk in the law of the Lord, keep His testimonies, seek Him with our whole heart, and walk in His ways.

It is time to take inventory. Are you spiritually prosperous in every aspect of your life?

Colossians 2:7 says, “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 says to bring every thought captive. We combat all negative thoughts through thanksgiving. The moment a thought comes that is negative, distressing, or a cause for fear, make your next thought one of thanksgiving. It breaks the mind-loops instantly. The temptation to dialogue with a rogue thought is immediately combatted. We stand as a victor over the enemy’s temptation that would have unwittingly ensnared us.

Our thoughts either imprison or empower us. It is not what happened to us (past) that affects our thoughts. It is our lack of discipline to bring them captive, therefore causing us to get stuck in a negative rut designed to defeat our faith.

Have you ever felt stuck? Years ago I went for a drive early in the morning to an area that I could hike in on a trial. When I got there, fresh snow covered the road. I had snow tires, but I got stuck. That was way before I had a cellphone.

What to do. Going forward or backward only made it worse. I asked the Lord what to do. He had me lay thin pine tree branches behind my wheels in a line. I drove out backwards with no difficulty.

How does that work when we are stuck in our minds with revolving thoughts? We lay down a path of thankfulness. Giving thanks sets us right into the center of God’s will. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Psalm 119:165 Amplified says, “Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.” The word offense originally meant a trapstick, a bent sapling, or a moveable stick with bait used to catch animals. An offense is the temptation to sin.

We don’t have to take the bait! We will have countless opportunities to become offended, but if our heart is filled with love for God’s word, the trap is set in vain ~ it will be instantly discerned and rejected.

The moment our peace is missing in any situation, we need to check our heart for an offense. What does an offense look like? Our spirit immediately backs up, but our flesh rises in defense. Fleshly reactions reveal hidden unresolved issues. According to Proverbs 4:23 they just spring up unexpectedly. The intensity of an offense is neutralized the moment we forgive the offense, in the face of the temptation to sin.