"I can't believe that happened!"  "What in the world is going on?"  "I don't know what I'm going to do now that this has happened!"  These are typical responses when we are face with unexpected events in our lives.  Even as believers, we tend to react this way.  Sure, we could be super-spiritual and say that we always react with a Job response "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away - blessed be the name of the Lord".  But... let's be honest... we react first, then remember Who we belong to.  One thing we have to remember is that the unexpected may have been a surprise to us, but it wasn't for God.  You see, He knows all and sees all.  He knows the end from the beginning and everything that happens in between.  We've got to stop freaking out when things happen.  It's not a surprise to Him! 
Romans 8:28 says "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose".  You know what that means?  Not only is the "thing" which surpised us, not a surprise to God, but He's going to work it out for our good!  If we pause before reacting and meditate on that truth, it will change our reaction.  God's got us covered.  He's big enough to know what's going to happen before it even happens.  And He's big enough to handle it so that it will work out for our benefit.  Let's stop tripping! Nothing is a surprise to God and He's got it all under control. 

"Oh, how I wish I could play the organ like him- people are really touched through the music."  "Wow, if I could sing like her I really would be leading all the songs and people's lives would be changed through my singing." "His preaching is so powerful- if I could speak like that my church would be full and there wouldn't be a sinner left in our community!" Sometimes, that's the way we think.  We look at other people's anointing and wish we had it.  Here's the thing...we don't and we won't!  You see, God has anointed us all differently and because of that someone else's anointing isn't ours.  It's like what happened to David in 1 Samuel 17:38 - 39 when Saul wanted David to wear his armor for the battle with Goliath.  David tried but realized - it didn't fit him!  David had to use the tools God gave him that worked for him.  Saul's tools wouldn't work for David, just like someone else's anointing won't work for us.  So, what do we do?  Let's stop trying to wear someone else's anointing.  Let's walk in the anointing God has placed on us and impact our area for Christ.  Remember, we can't use someone else's anointing because it doesn't fit!

Name it and claim it!  God's got a blessing with my name on it!  What God has for me, it is for me!  These are examples of "mottos" stated by many Christians.  All are indicating basically that what God promises, He will perform.  That's what the Word of God says, after all... isn't it?  Yes, that's what the Word of God says but there's something that we typically miss out on.  The key to making that word work in our lives is knowing how we are to get the promise.  Looking at Joshua 1:1-9 we get a good idea of what we are supposed to do.  The children of Israel were at the edge of the Promised Land.  God was having a conversation with their new leader about possessing their promise.  God reminded them of what belonged to them and He also told them how they were to get it.  Did he say, "just step on in there and the inhabitants are going to gift wrap everything, hand it to you and quickly exit the land"?  Nope, that's not how it was going to work.  First, the children of Israel had to go and possess the land.  That required them to take some steps forward.  We can't just sit around and expect the promises of God to drop out of the sky.  Instead, we must make some effort to receive them.  Second, they were going to have to fight for it.  There are times when we will have to battle for our promise.  There are going to be some "ites" in our way that will have to be moved out, just like the children of Israel had to do.  The great thing with possessing our promises is that God has reassurred us as He did the children of Israel that He will be with us.  So, we don't have to be afraid, we just need to stay in His Word, trust Him and keep moving forward.  We will possess our promise!