I diligently heed the voice of the Lord my God and do what
is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments and keep all His
statutes; and God will not allow any disease to come on me which is present in
the world for He is the Lord who heals me. (Ex. 15:26)
I serve the Lord my God, and He blesses my bread and my
water; and He takes sickness away from the midst of me. (Ex. 23:25)
I walk in all the ways, which the Lord my God has commanded
me, and I live and it is well with me, and I prolong my days in the
inheritance, which I possess in Christ. (Deut. 5:33)
The Lord loves me and blesses me and multiplies me. He
blesses my children and all my possessions. The Lord takes away from me all
sicknesses and will not allow any disease to come on me, which is present in
the world. (Deut. 7:13-15)
I diligently obey the voice of the Lord my God, to observe
carefully all His commandments, which He commands me and He sets me high above
all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon me and
overtake me, because I obey the voice of the Lord my God. I am blessed in the
city and I am blesses in the country. The fruit of my body is blessed. The
produce of my ground and the increase of my herds, the increase of my cattle
and the offspring of my flocks are blessed. My basket and my store are
blessed. I am blessed when I come in and
I am blessed when I go out.
The Lord causes my enemies who rise against me to be
defeated before my face; they shall come against me one way and flee before me
seven ways. The Lord commands the blessing on me in my storehouses and in all
to which I set my hand and He blesses me in the inheritance, which the Lord has
given me in Christ.
The Lord establishes me a holy person to Himself just as He
has sworn to me as I keep the commandments of the Lord my God and walk in His
ways, all people of the earth see that I am called by the name of the Lord and
the fear of the Lord is on them. The Lord grants me plenty of goods, in the
fruit of my body, in the increase of my livestock and in the produce of my
ground in the inheritance, which the Lord has given me in Christ. The Lord
opens to me His good treasure, the heavens, to give rain to my land in its
season, and to bless all the work of my hand. I lend to others but I shall
never need to borrow at all.
The Lord makes me the head and not the tail. I am
above only and not beneath for I heed the commandments of the Lord my God which
He command me and I am careful to observe them. I will not turn aside from any
of the words, which God commands me, to the right hand or to the left, nor go
after other gods to serve them. I only obey the Lord’s commandments. The Lord
takes away from me the curse of sickness, poverty and death. I have perfect
health for Christ has redeemed me form the curse of the law. (Deut. 28:1-14; Gal. 3:13)
God guards all my bones and not one of them is broken. (Ps.
34:20)
I praise the Lord my God for He is the help of my
countenance and my God. (Ps. 42:11)
God redeems my soul from the power of the grave and I live
eternally for I have eternal life in Christ. (Ps. 49:15, 9)
God’s loving kindness is better than life. My soul shall be
satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise God with joyful
lips. (Ps. 63:3, 5)
My soul blesses the Lord and does not forget all His
benefits for God forgives all my iniquities and heals all my diseases. God
daily loads me with benefits. (Ps. 103:2, 3; 68:19)
There is not a feeble person in my family. (Ps. 105:37)
Pleasant words are always in my mouth and they are as
honeycomb, they are sweetness to my soul and health to my bones. (Pro.
16:24)
I dwell in the secret place of the Most High God and abide
under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and
my fortress; my God and in Him do I trust.
He delivers me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous
pestilence. He covers me with His feathers and under his wings I do take
refuge. His truth is my shield and buckler. I am not afraid of the terror by
night, or of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in
darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may
fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand but it shall not come near
me. With my eyes I shall look and see the reward of the wicked. Because I have
made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High God, my habitation no evil
shall befall me nor any plague come near my dwelling; for He gives His angels
charge over me to keep me in all my ways. They bear me up in their hands lest I
dash my foot against a stone.
I tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the
serpent. I trample under-foot. I trample Satan and all his demonic forces under
my feet. I have set my love upon God and He delivers me. He sets me on high
because I have known His name. I call upon God and He answers me. He is with me
in trouble; He delivers me and honors me. With long life He satisfies me and
shows me His salvation. (Ps. 91)
God sends His word and heals me and He delivers me from
destruction. (Ps. 107:20)
God saves me and heals me and sends me prosperity. (Ps.
118:25)
God revives me according to His Word. God strengthens me
according to His Word. (Ps. 119:25, 28)
God revives me according to His loving kindness and I keep
the testimonies of His mouth. (Ps. 119:88)
God upholds me according to His Word and I live. (Ps.
119:116)
Always Have A Plan B
We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. Because many things don’t go as well as we would like them to, it’s a great idea to have a “Plan B.” Having fallback plans can’t help but make you feel better about the outcome of any situation, and it is a common denominator among very self-confident people.
Anyone who has had more than one failure in her life can tell you that having another path to take probably saved her bacon a time or two. I’m a big one for contingency plans. If you are an entrepreneur, in the arts or media, or you have all your eggs in one basket, a Plan B is essential.
Knowing that if you lose the farm you have a condo you can go to makes you feel safer in the world. I know a number of people who have motor homes, and one of the reasons they do is, as they jokingly say, it’s their “in case” home. During the last big earthquake here in Los Angeles, many people who had them were very grateful—and those of us who didn’t were envious.
With the world economy in turmoil, creating some kind of additional income stream is also a good idea. The jeweler who is also a great designer or builder, the computer geek who can also teach school, or the PR person who is a closet novelist can all find a way to thrive even if their current position disappears.
Backup plans don’t have to be new ideas—I continue to use aspects of everything I’ve ever done. My days on stage playing guitar have made me a better public speaker, which makes me a good radio host. The energy I put into songs and poems has helped them become columns and books.
The years I spent running my own business give me the insight to help others streamline theirs.
And all of my experiences have made me a confident and successful therapist. Every talent and ability you have can be built upon and also used again. Not that I’d ever again want to be on a tour bus with six smelly guys for eight weeks, but if I had to I could still put food on the table by humming and strumming.
There’s another potential upside here: Sometimes your original plan and your backup can work at the same time. I still counsel, consult, write, and speak to groups all over the world. In years when the speaking business got very slow (such as after 9/11 and then the financial crisis), I spent more time writing and counseling.
When there was a lull between books, I put more energy into my radio show and business consulting, and did pro-bono events. Having multiple options gives you the sense that, if any one thing went away, you’d have other gigs that would more than fill the gap.
So get a little creative. Look at your past accomplishments and your current talents. A Plan B is only an idea away. By the way, this Plan B thing works in life, but not in relationships. Having a backup mate is only going to erode your current relationship and cause heartache for everyone involved. Enough said.
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