How Your
Character
Affects Your
Miracles!
Jeanne Alcott
You know how it is…! We have so many needs in our lives that we want to hear messages about how to get those needs met. So when someone says they have a word about developing character, our tendency is to tune them out. Yet! Our character is the very thing that can keep us from having our challenges met. We can miss the way God wants to take us for the answers we need therefore miss our miracles.
Think of the times when you feel like losing it in your emotions and thoughts. But we don’t have to give in to that. In fact, if we don’t give in to it, and we keep our emotions and thoughts together, that’s when it’s amazing what God can do. The results are good. Think of it this way: if you don’t fall apart when bad things are happening, your miracle won’t fall apart. If you keep it together, you keep your miracle together. You keep it coming into your life.
That’s why Satan tries so hard to get us to fall apart inside and not keep what we know is right and best. One of those areas where he hits Christians so hard is to try to get us to the point we don’t keep our character. In other words, the problems or temptations or challenges come to try to shake apart our spirit, our moral fiber, our spiritual nature—the very character of God in us. The devil wants to see that weakened.
When we don’t feel like acting or talking like a saint.
So if you’re going to keep it together to experience miracles, you have to keep your character. God’s Word addresses our character and how we walk it out every day. When things go wrong and they aren’t the way we want them, that’s when the character of Christ should rise to the top. Instead of going to the bottom. I know when bad things happen, we don’t feel like acting out of patience or peace. We don’t feel like saying, “Praise God.” There are other kinds of words that we’re tempted to say. We don’t want to act or talk as a saint.
There was a young boy who decided to watch to see if a minister would do this. This minister was outside doing some repairs on his home. So the boy walked over and began watching him very carefully. Finally the minister wanted to know why he was watching him. He asked, “Are you getting some pointers on how to repair things?” But the boy said, “No sir. I’m just waiting to see what a preacher says when he smashes his thumb with a hammer.”
People are watching, aren’t they? Will we as a Christian keep our character even when we “smash our finger with a hammer” so to speak? When the bad things happen? When we’re upset or concerned or worried? When we feel as if our finger has been smashed with a hammer will our character come out the way we desire? Or will we say things and do things that we really don’t want to be in our character.
Keep your character; win a tremendous victory.
When we’ve been hurt, or the pressure is, or we want out of the conditions we’re facing, will good character rise to the top? You know, when we keep our character, we are winning a tremendous victory. Even if it’s in minor circumstances. Because when we do it in those minor times, those come together in a major way to create who we are in Christ.
Here’s something good to do.
Just for today for instance, observe your actions and your words. Does what you see and hear reflect the character that you want to reflect? Are you being everything that you really desire to be for God? Watching yourself for a day can really help you catch what you’re doing. Then you can align some attitudes or motives that may not be what you want in your character.
You know, you sort of have to “catch yourself.” People say, “I caught myself doing that and I didn’t even realize it.” That happens! Years ago, when I was teaching on the fruit of the Spirit, this happened to me. I had just taught on the fruit of love. That scripture talks about how love is patient. Well, about the same time I had been teaching the series, John and I were in the ministry office working under some tight time limits. Which for the most part that’s how it is. We have to meet the dates when the broadcast goes out to the networks, the videos are posted, the mailings are printed, the letters are written to the Partners, we pray, we intercede, and then all the other general office work that piles up. So I was “feeling it” that day. As we were working, I realized my voice was getting impatient and hurried. Not pleasant.
Then I noticed that—which that’s what I’m suggesting you do—start noticing what you’re doing and saying. So when I noticed that, I just stopped everything right there. I remembered my teaching and stopped and said, “Love is patient.” Then John and I just busted out laughing. From that moment on, in spite of the hard conditions, I began to change my tone of voice. I was calm and confident. In other words, I was working to keep my character the way it should be and do what would please God at that moment.
Now the fact that I changed myself inside didn’t change the reality that what we were doing still had to be done right away. But you know what it did? It changed the atmosphere in the office. So we could be at peace and think well and work even faster.
I tell you, God blesses that. When we keep our character, He blesses it. So we are rewarded. We can get our work done faster. Or we can see our family be at more peace. We can see our coworkers have greater favor on us. We make better judgments in our relationships and in our finances and our choices. So many good things start coming when we keep our character.
Don’t let your character be eaten away.
If we allow Satan to eat away our character bit by bit, one day we wake up and realize it isn’t what we want it to be. Isn’t that what happened to the man, Samson? One day he woke up, and conditions had changed around him. Samson had been going to Delilah’s place, having the wrong type of relationship with her. That’s when Satan entered in and began eating away at his character. He knew Samson was doing a great work for God in judging the Israelites.
So he wanted to put a stop to it. He didn’t care about Samson; he just cared about stopping God’s work. That’s why he comes after us. He doesn’t want us to show people how good our God is and how we can trust Him. And he doesn’t want us to experience blessings and rewards.
He knew he had to get Samson to reveal the secret of his great strength to Delilah. If he did that, he could strip him of his strength and everything God could do by him and for him. So one day Samson didn’t keep it together. He gave his secret to this woman and she gave it to the enemy. All she had to do was cut his hair, which was a symbol of his strength from God to defeat the enemy of the Israelites.
That day after he woke up from a nap at her place, his hair had been cut and the enemy rushed in to overcome him. As we said, if we allow Satan to eat away at our character, one day we wake up and he’s overcome us. So the enemy took Samson as their captive. (Ref. Judges 13-16.) The good news is his character began to rise to the top again. Hebrews chapter 11 mentions him as a man of faith. He was able to avenge himself and the nation of Israel before he died. He defeated the enemy. God is merciful and He is good, and that’s why He works with us to help us keep it together and enter into what He has for us.
No matter how Satan comes in and tries to take your character, God will override him when you reach out for help. Don’t try to do it on your own. Recognize that God is your strength. Reach out for HIM. He is the One that can help you pull life together when Satan is trying to pull it apart.
Ephesians 4:24 tells us to have a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces His character in you. So there is the secret right there. Character has to start on the inside. We have to be renewed by God’s Spirit and His Word. Then that starts working on the inside of us and works itself into our conduct, how we act. That’s when God can reproduce His character in us. We keep our life together by allowing God’s Spirit to work inside us and develop our character.
It isn’t any big mystery.
We just call out to Him and say, “Lord, help me today. I’m facing some tough challenges. Some temptations are coming my way. Work inside me now. Produce Your character in me. And help me keep that character so I can keep my life together. I want Your blessing today.” Do you think God will ignore that kind of prayer? No, His Spirit will be jumping up and down because you prayed that. He will send every resource you need to help you.
So when things are going wrong, God will make them right. He’ll work in you so His character comes out of you. It will rise to the top. That’s when you can keep your character and therefore keep your life together in a good way.
A PRAYER FOR YOU.
Thank You, God, that You sent Your Son to us, not to condemn us, but to help us. To save us. As Your children, it’s Your desire to develop Your character in us. That’s our desire also, Lord. We want to see come out of us everything that reflects who You are in us.
But sometimes it’s tough. The pressure is on. Bad events are happening. People come against us to harm us. That’s when fear and anger and sadness try to rise up in us.
So today in whatever way my friend is affected, I pray that You minister to them at this moment. Give them confidence that their spirit has been made by You. And they are filled with everything good they need to make it.
Yes, they will come out of this even better than they were. The devil will not be able to shake out of them what You’ve put in them. So Your gift of peace, Your gift of blessing and mercy and goodness—those gifts are being poured into them at this time. They will be able to operate in those. My friend is going to walk straight into what their heart desires. By Your help, everything good will come together. We praise You for this. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Tell us how we can intercede for you!
I pray you can feel God’s heart being poured out to you at this moment. He knows about everything that has come to pull you apart inside, and He’s putting it all back together. His gifts will enable you to walk in His goodness.
Now, we’re going to continue to fight against what Satan is sending to harm you or just to bother you. We’ll get rid of those because we’re keeping our character. Our character of trust and faith. That’s why John and I are here. We’re called by God to pray for you. So get in touch with us right away.
Tell us how we can intercede for you. Then expect to receive a letter from us. That’s because God gives us revelation from His Spirit to impart to you. So we can wait to hear from you. Just click here now to share with us and it will come directly to us. Jeanne and John
SPECIAL NOTE: How to produce a harvest!
Now, God wants you to know that as you put seed in the ground of His Word, He will rain on that seed and cause it to grow. Isaiah chapter 30 says this: He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground and the food that comes from the harvest will be rich and plentiful. (Ref. Isaiah 30:23 NIV.) That’s His promise.
When you put financial seed in the ground of God’s work, it doesn’t just stay there dormant. He rains on it with His power and blessing. And that produces a harvest that’s rich and plentiful. There’s more than enough for everyone. That means the people who receive His Word from this ministry are helped and restored and taken out of rough hard conditions. God is able to defeat the enemy out of their lives.
Then He keeps raining on that seed so you also receive the rich and plentiful response from Him. As you give now, as John and I are doing, believe for the rain to fall. Expect there to be a rich response from God and experience plenty in every area of your life. Amen.
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All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.