Notes from Daily Readings from Become a Better You by Joel Osteen

If you truly want to become a better you, it is imperative that you learn to feel good about yourself. Too many people live under condemnation, constantly listening to the wrong voices. The Bible refers to the Enemy as "the accuser of the brethren" who would love for us to live our lives guilty and condemned. He constantly brings accusations against us, telling us what we didn't do or what we should have done. He'll remind us of all our past mistakes and failures.

Many people swallow these lines with little or no defense. Consequently they walk around feeling guilty, condemned, and extremely discontented with themselves. They go through their days without joy, without confidence, expecting the worst and often receiving it.

Granted, no human being is perfect. We've all sinned, failed, and made mistakes. But many people don't know they can receive God's mercy and forgiveness. Instead, they allow themselves to be beaten up on the inside. They tune in to that voice telling them, You blew it. You messed up. They are so hard on themselves. Instead of believing that they're growing and improving, they believe that voice telling them, You can't do anything right. You'll never break this habit. You're just a failure. When they wake up in the morning, a voice is telling them what they did wrong yesterday and how they'll probably do something wrong today. As a result, they become extremely critical toward themselves, and that usually spills over to other people as well.

Sure, we all want to be better human beings, but we needn't beat ourselves up over our shortcomings. I may not have a perfect performance, but I know my heart is right. Other people may not always be pleased with me, but I'm confident that God is.

Similarly, as long as you're doing your best and desire to do what's right according to God's Word, you can be assured God is pleased with you. Certainly, He wants you to improve, but He knows that we all have weaknesses. We all do things that we know in our hearts we shouldn't do. When our human foibles and imperfections poke through our idealism, it's normal to get down on ourselves. After all, we tend to think, we don't deserve to be happy; we have to prove that we're really sorry.

But no, we should learn to receive God's forgiveness and mercy. Don't allow those condemning voices to play repeatedly in your mind. That will only accentuate a negative attitude toward yourself, which will hinder every area of your life.

As long as we're doing our best, we don't have to live condemned, even when we make mistakes or fail. There's a time to repent, but there's also a time to shake it off and press forward. Don't live with regrets.

God does not focus on your mistakes or your failures. He does not desire to make your life miserable or to see how much frustration you can take. God wants you to succeed; He created you to live abundantly.

You needn't go through life with that nagging feeling, God is not pleased with me. I'd be a hypocrite to ask for His help after all the mistakes I've made.

Quite the contrary, you are the apple of God's eye. You are His prized possession. Nothing you have ever done, or will ever do, can keep God from loving you and wanting to be good to you.

Dare to believe that. Shake off those feelings of guilt and unworthiness. It doesn't please God for us to drag through life feeling like miserable failures, trying to show God how sorry we are for our wrong choices. Instead, recognize that you are His child, that He loves you and would do almost anything to help you. Dust yourself off, straighten up, and throw your shoulders back, knowing that you are forgiven.

We all have areas where we need to improve, but as long as we're pressing forward, getting up each day and doing our very best, we can be assured that God is pleased with us. He may not be pleased with every decision we make, but He is pleased with us. I know it is difficult for some people to believe, but God wants us to feel good about ourselves. He wants us to be secure and to have healthy self-images, but so many people focus on their faults and weaknesses. When they make mistakes, they're extremely critical of themselves. They live with that nagging feeling that chides, You're not what you're supposed to be. You don't measure up. You've blown it too many times.

Guess what? God knew you were not going to be perfect. He knew you were going to have weaknesses, faults, and wrong desires - He knew all that before you were even born - and He still loves you!

If you don't have a healthy respect for who you are, and if you don't learn to accept yourself, faults and all, you will never be able to properly love other people. Unfortunately, self-loathing destroys many relationships nowadays.

Understand, you can't give away what you don't have. If you don't love yourself, you're not going to be able to love others. If you're at strife on the inside, feeling angry or insecure about yourself, feeling unattractive, feeling condemned, then that's all you can give away. On the other hand, if you'll recognize that God is working on you, and in spite of your flaws and weaknesses, you can learn to accept yourself. Then you can give that love away and have healthy relationships.

Please recognize that if you're negative toward yourself, it's not only affecting you; it is influencing every relationship you have, and it will affect your relationship with God.

That's why it's so important that you feel good about who you are. You may have some faults. You may have some things you wish you could change about yourself. Well, join the crowd. We all do. But lighten up and quit being so hard on yourself.

The moment you repented, God not only forgave you, He forgot about it. He chooses not to remember it anymore. Quit bringing up what God has already forgotten; let it go and start feeling good about who you are. We tend to think God is keeping a list of all our mistakes. In your mind, you can see Him up there in heaven. Oops! They failed there, let me get that down. And Uh-oh, I heard that comment. Gabriel, make a special note of that one.

That's not God's heart at all. God is for you; He is on your side. He is the best friend you could ever have. God is not looking at what you've done wrong; He's looking at what you've done right. He's not focused on what you are; He's focused on what you can become.

You may be trying to live in victory, trying to be successful...but you are negative toward yourself. You don't feel good about who you are. You're constantly dwelling on your past hurts and pains. Until you are willing to let go of those offenses and start focusing on your new possibilities, they will tie you down right where you are. You cannot have a bad attitude toward yourself and expect to have God's best. Quit focusing on what you've done wrong. God has already rolled away your reproach - your shame, embarrassment, failures and setbacks.

God has done His part. Now you must do your part. Let it go so ou can go into your Promised Land. Start thinking, feeling, and speaking positively about yourself.

To maintain healthy relationships, we need to learn how to keep the strife out of our lives. God made each of us as a unique individual. We have different personalities and temperaments; we approach issues in different ways, so we really shouldn't be surprised when we grate against one another occasionally.

If we're going to keep the strife out of our lives, then we must learn how to give people the benefit of the doubt.

We will also need to overlook some things. Every person has faults; we all have weaknesses. We should not expect the people with whom we are in relationships to be perfect. No matter how great someone may be, no matter how much you love him or her, if you are around that person long enough, you will have an opportunity to be offended.

If we're putting unrealistic expectations on people, expecting them to be perfect, that is not fair to them, and it will be a source of frustration for us. We're always going to be disappointed.

If you want your relationship to thrive, you must invest in them by being a giver rather than a taker. Everywhere you go, strive to make relational deposits into people's lives, encouraging them, building them up, and helping them to feel better about themselves.

It's amazing how people will respond when they know that you're rooting for them, that you are in their corner, wanting them to do well. Oftentimes, they will be willing to change when they know you're not trying to condemn them, that you are not trying to put them down or make them feel bad about themselves. True correction always inspires people to want to do better.

Remember, genuine love overlooks a fault. Love makes allowances for mistakes. True love sees the best in every person.

One of the most important keys to a better life is to keep yourself happy, rather than living to please everybody else.

God does not want you to sacrifice your happiness to keep someone else happy. Your first priority is to take care of yourself. To do so, you must recognize that some people are still not going to be happy no matter what you do for them, no matter how nice you are, no matter how much time and energy you give them. They have their own issues to deal with or things inside that they need to resolve.

When we learn to recall the good things God has done, it helps us to stay in an attitude of faith and to remain grateful. It's hard to go around complaining when you are constantly thinking about how good God has been to you.

Too often we forget God is the giver of all good things. God is the one who caused us to get that "lucky break." He's the one who caused us to be at the right place at the right time. Understand that there's no such thing as a coincidence when your life is directed by God. When something good happens to you, be sensitive, recognize the work of God, and learn to recall it often.

I encourage you to keep a notebook, something like a diary or a journal. When something happens in your life that you know is of God, write it down. You know God opened up a door. Add that to your list. You know God spared your life, or you know God spoke to you a specific word of direction; make a note of that too. You were down and discouraged, ready to give up, when God quickened a scripture to your heart that lifted your spirits. Write that down. Keep a running record of the good things that God has done for you.

It need not always be something big; to others it may seem quite insignificant. But you know it is God guiding your life. You may unexpectedly meet somebody who introduces you to another person, and that leads to your getting a new client. Write that down.

Then on a regular basis, get that notebook out and read about all the great things God has done in your life. You will be encouraged! When you recall how God opened up this door for you, protected you over here, restored you there, healed you there, your faith will increase. Especially in times of difficulty, when you are tempted to get discouraged, get that notebook out and read it again. If you do that, you will not go through the day discouraged and defeated. You will know that God is in control of your life. He is holding you in the palm of His hand, and He will take care of you.

Understand this: When you live an obedient life, God's blessings will chase you down and overtake you. When you obey, you cannot outrun the good things of God.

God does not expect you to change overnight. He is not going to be disappointed with you or write you off if you don't turn your life around in one week's time. No, all He asks is that you keep making progress. He doesn't want you to be at this same place next year. He will lead you in His own special way, and if you will be sensitive and do your best to keep your own concscience clear, God will be pleased, and He'll release more of His blessings into your life.

God meets us at our own level. I don't have to keep up with you, and you don't have to keep up with me. I just have to be true to my own conscience. I know the areas in which God deals with me most frequently, and I do my best not to go against my own conscience. That's what I'm challenging you to do as well.

None of us is perfect. We all make mistakes, but we can learn to obey our own concscience if we can be big enough to say, "I'm sorry; I didn't treat you right; I'll do better next time." If you will be sensitive and maintain a clear conscience, there's no limit to what God will do in your life.

Miracles are all around us. The people in your life, the doors God has opened, the things that have happened along the way - they are not accidents. It was God's favor that caused you to be at the right place at the right time. You met someone and fell in love....God was directing your steps, so don't take His blessings for granted.

What are you focused on today? Are you becoming a better you? Are you happy, at rest, and enjoying life? We need to realize that this day is unique and irreplaceable. We need to make the most of it and live like it could be our last.

This day is a gift, so make the most of it. Shake off anything that hints of self-pity or discouragement, and find some reason to be grateful.

Becoming a better you is all in how you choose to view life. No matter what twists and turns life takes, you can find the good if you look for it. If we have the right attitude, we can see the sun shining even when it's cloudy. We can stay full of joy and keep getting beter, even when things don't go our way.

My prayer is that God would give us a spirit of gratitude, that we'd always focus on the good and never take life for granted. If you will trust God each day and live according to His plan for your life, you will be happier and healthier, and you'll rise higher than you ever imagined possible.

Make a decision that you're going to live every day with enthusiasm. Get up each morning and think about all the things for which you can be grateful. If you need to, make a list. Keep it in front of you, and then go out each day pursuing your God-given dreams.