Norman Vincent Peale - Positive Living Day by Day

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N ORMAN V INCENT P EALE

Positive Living Day by Day

ISBN-10: 0-8249-4868-8

ISBN-13: 978-0-8249-4868-9

Published by Guideposts

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New York, New York 10016

www.guideposts.org

Copyright 2011 by Guideposts. All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Guideposts and Ideals are registered trademarks of Guideposts.

Acknowledgments

Every attempt has been made to credit the sources of copyrighted material used in this book. If any such acknowledgment has been inadvertently omitted or miscredited, receipt of such information would be appreciated.

The material by Norman Vincent Peale is reprinted with permission of the Peale Center, the Outreach Division of Guideposts, 66 E. Main St., Pawling New York 12564.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file.

Cover by Thinkpen Design
Interior design by Marisa Calvin

Printed and bound in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

J ESUS LOOKED AT THEM AND
SAID , W ITH MAN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE,
BUT WITH G OD ALL THINGS
ARE POSSIBLE . M ATTHEW 19:26

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance,
character; and character, hope. R OMANS 5:34

J ANUARY 1

James Russell Lowell made a remark one time that has always fascinated me. He said, Mishaps are like knives that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle. If you grasp the blade of a difficulty, it will cut you; but if you grasp the handle of a difficulty, you can cut your way through all manner of obstructions.

The Russians have a proverb that I like: The hammer shatters the glass, but forges steel. If youre glass, if youre superficial, if theres no faith in you, adversity will crack and shatter you. But if you have in you the victory that overcomes the world, then the hammer of circumstance hitting you forges you into a strong person. God knew what He was doing when He constructed this world so that there was difficulty in it. That is what makes it possible for us to grow in strength and understanding. There is conflict in the universe and that is what makes life go.

I know, O L ORD , that a mans life is
not his own; it is not for man to
direct his steps. J EREMIAH 10:23

J ANUARY 2

Once while in San Francisco, I climbed into one of the cable cars alongside the grip manthe man who runs itand the car filled up with people. We were traveling down the Powell Street hill at high speed. It looked as though at each moment we were in imminent danger of destruction, but this made it a more exciting ride. I asked the grip man, Dont you ever get nervous when this car starts plunging down this grade?

Nervous? he replied. Never. Because, you see, I know Im in control of this car. So why should I be nervous?

As we careen down the steep grades of our lives, we sometimes have dark apprehensions of what may happen. But if you know you are in emotional control, you then can handle any situation. It is when we finally relax in God that we find health and well-being and deep joy.

Jesus looked at them and said, With man
this is impossible, but with God all things
are possible. M ATTHEW 19:26

J ANUARY 3

The Bible just bubbles over with spiritual food for the disheartened. Dig into the New Testament, and you come up with light and music and singing, health and hopefulness, and faith and love.

An important thing to realize is that it doesnt make any difference how much difficulty there isthere are always great possibilities in any situation. Generally, when people are disheartened, they cant see the possibilities. They see only the difficulties that are involved, not the solution. They magnify the difficulties, to blow them up, to make them bigger than they actually are. The thing to do when you are disheartened is the very opposite: go hunting around in your situation for the bright possibilities that are surely there.

O ur Heavenly Father, help us to believe that even though great difficulties come against us, we can overcome them because You will help us. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Surely God is my help; the L ORD is the
one who sustains me. P SALM 54:4

J ANUARY 4

Several years ago, I was to speak at a dinner and was seated next to the United States Senator from New Jersey, Warren Barbour. He seemed fidgety and he surprised me by remarking, Im glad youre speaking first. Having to speak still scares the wits out of me.

But why, if you were so afraid of speaking, I asked him, did you run for public office?

Actually, he confided, my fear of speaking was one reason I decided to run. I was determined that I wasnt going to go through life reeling because I was afraid to speak. I find that the more I do it, the less I fear it.

You and I, when experiencing fear, should remember to have a holy boldness. I call it that because it is of God. He put potential boldness into you. We cannot do it of our own unaided strength, but with Gods ever-present help, we can.

The fear of the L ORD is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and
discipline. P ROVERBS 1:7

J ANUARY 5

Truth is the wisdom of God in the mind and in the soul of man. So many people have so little grasp of truth that they are constantly plagued by mistakes.

A gentleman who was really concerned about himself asked me a question. As he put it, Why am I so dumb? Why do I do so many dumb things?

His IQ was very high. He was a graduate of a celebrated university. But this man had lost six jobs in ten years, and in every instance it was because he did something stupid. Now, he said, tell me what is wrong with me.