After the Apostle Paul was tried by authorities in Jerusalem, they put him on a boat sailing to Rome, where he was to be turned over to the Roman authorities. During the voyage, the ship was caught in a storm and it looked as if they were going to sink. Paul was not discouraged or depressed. He told the men on the ship:

I urge you to keep up your courage, for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar, and behold God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.' Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. (Acts 27:22-25, NAS)

Paul was not discouraged. He wasn't depressed. He didn't have his eyes on his circumstances, the fierce winds, or the roaring waves that threatened to destroy the ship and all those in it. His eyes were fixed upon God's Word. He said, “For I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.”

Paul had a choice. He could keep his eyes on the storm and believe his circumstances — that the ship was going to sink and he was going to drown — or he could believe what God had spoken to him through the angel. Paul chose to believe God. He had simple loyalty to God. He knew God would deliver him.

One of the major reasons why so many Christians today are living in a cycle of defeat is because they have kept their eyes on their circumstances instead of fixing them upon God's Word and His promises to them. The longer they keep their eyes on their circumstances — their sickness, their financial problems, their family problems, their physical and material needs — the more they are caught up in this cycle of stress, fear, worry, doubt, weariness, discouragement, and depression. Satan knows that if you keep your eyes on your circumstances, you will be trapped in this cycle of defeat.

In the circumstances you are facing right now you have a choice: To keep your eyes on your circumstances and believe them — believe that the sickness Satan has brought upon your body is going to remain, believe that you are going down in a sea of debt and that your financial needs will not be met, believe that the problems you are facing on your job are not going to change, believe your marriage is failing, believe your son or daughter will be destroyed by drugs or alcohol — or you can refuse to keep your eyes on your circumstances and believe God's covenant promises. You can believe that He will do exactly what He has promised He will do — He will heal your body, meet your financial needs, restore your marriage, and deliver your son or daughter from drugs or alcohol.

God will do for me exactly what He has promised to do.