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I've found out that there's no such thing as luck - good or bad. In fact, I've taken the term completely out of my vocabulary. It's not luck that determines how things turn out in our lives - it's choices. When we make really good ones, things go well for us. When we make bad ones, things go wrong.

No doubt, some folks would dispute that. They'd tell me about times when they did everything right. Times when they gathered all the information, listened to the experts and made a wise choice that, due to circumstances beyond their control, got them in trouble. But the truth is, no matter how "right" you think you were at the time, a decision that brings trouble is a poor decision.

If you're a born-again believer, you aren't restricted to making choices according to this natural world. You have another, far more powerful option. Many well-meaning believers are making this mistake: they have Jesus right there in their boat, but they're depending on natural resources to get them through their lives instead of calling on the supernatural Anointing of God. They're making the wrong choices, so they're going under.
You see, as members of the race of man, you and I are not independent entities. We are spirit and we are created in God's class, or image, but we are not sovereign. We are not God. Each one of us has a spiritual Lord. If we choose Jesus, He is our Lord. Those who don't choose Jesus have the devil as their lord by default, whether they acknowledge it or not.

Since we are not independent entities, we cannot have independent thoughts. We will either be thinking Satan's thoughts or God's thoughts. The straight thoughts of God are truth and the twisted thoughts of the devil are lies, and there is nothing in between.

But, let me warn you: Just because you've made Jesus your Lord doesn't mean you'll automatically think God's thoughts. You only begin thinking God's thoughts when you begin to fill your mind and heart with the Word of God and make yourself subject to His Anointing. Romans 12:2 calls that process "the renewing of your mind." It also says that process will transform you. Why does it have such a dramatic effect? Because when you change your mind, you change your choices - and that changes everything!

I'll never forget when that transformation began in me. I had just begun to learn what the Word of God and faith can do. I was so hungry for it and so desperate to change my life that I completely immersed myself in it. I kept teaching and preaching tapes going all the time. I'd get up in the morning and put on a tape while I was shaving. I'd carry the recorder to the table and listen while I ate breakfast. Then I'd haul it out to the car (that was back in the days of the big reel-to-reel recorders, so "haul" is a fairly accurate term) and listen to it while I drove to school. When I got back home at night, I listened to the Word again until I fell asleep.

I was thirty years old at that time and I'd pretty much thought the same way all my life - a way that had maneuvered me into more messes than I could find any natural way out of. But after just a few days of constantly feeding on the Word, I began to notice a change. My mind started working differently. I found myself comparing everything I heard, whether it came out of my mouth or someone else's, with the Word of God.

When I'd hear something that was out of line with the Word, it would be glaringly apparent to me. Somebody would ask me how I was feeling. Instead of saying those old things I used to say - "Well, you know this old football injury has really been acting up lately. It's giving me this shooting pain right up my leg." - I would just explode with the Word of God. I'd say, "What difference does it make how I feel? I am not moved by what I feel. I am not moved by what I see. I am moved by what I believe and I believe the Word of God!"

The Word made it clear for me which route I should take. I didn't have to agonize or debate over what I should do; the Word working in me caused me to make the right choice.

You can save yourself so much heartache and headache it isn't even funny, just by spending some quality time in God's presence and in His Word. If you'll let Him, He will help you with every choice you make. Yes, every choice. Such a thought would surprise most people. They have an idea that they'll bring God in on the major problems in their lives but handle the other things fine without Him.

The fact is, natural power can't keep things from going downhill. No matter how many natural choices you try, nothing works. Here's the reason. What we call the natural world is really "subnatural." It is far below what God originally created it to be. When God created the earth, things were perfect. There was a water canopy that covered it and filtered out ultraviolet light, among other things. The atmospheric pressure was greater; the oxygen level was higher. People lived an average of 12 times longer (see Genesis 2:6, 5, 7:10-11; 2 Peter 3:5-6).

But the effect of sin on the earth eventually caused that canopy to explode and flood the earth. Noah and his family were the only ones who survived. The loss of that canopy dramatically damaged Earth's atmosphere. Add to that damage the sin and destruction Satan has wrought and you'll realize why you have a basic, fundamental need to choose the supernatural rather than the natural. It's necessary to your well-being in every area of life! You were born into an atmosphere you weren't created to live in. You face situations you weren't created to handle. You constantly encounter problems to which there are no natural solutions.

When the storms of life come, instead of just grabbing a bucket and starting to bail, faith will rise up within you and you'll say, "Look here, storm. Peace, be still." It will work for you just as it would have worked for the disciples. After all, you have Jesus in your boat!

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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