Joseph Prince - How to See Good Days in Difficult Times (01/26/2026)
God makes good days abundant for His people (plural), while trials or "evil days" are few and singular. Pastor Prince gives five words of grace: "The battle is the Lord's," illustrated through David vs. Goliath, Jehoshaphat's victory by praise, and Moses at the Red Sea—encouraging believers to stand still, hold their peace, reject owning bad thoughts, and trust God fights for them while they rest in faith, protected by spiritual armor.
Good Days Are Plentiful, Evil Days Are Rare
God is the maker of good days. You know, the Bible says that, He that will love life and see good days. And good days is always plural. Good days with an S. But when it comes to the day that you go through a trial, maybe some of you are in the midst of a trial right now. The Bible uses the word, Stand therefore in the evil day. And there is no S. Singular. Which means your good days are plentiful. Your evil day is far in between.
I want to give you five words of grace for you to use. Every time there is a battle, there is a difficulty, say this under your breath. Look at the problem and say this under your breath. Okay? Before I give it to you, let me show you a story, a very famous story that happened in Israel. You still can go to that place, that valley there, and still imagine, because the valley is almost unchanged. Alright? The topography and all that.
David and Goliath: Declaring the Battle Belongs to the Lord
1 Samuel 17. When the Philistines looked about and saw David, Goliath has been standing there challenging the people of Israel to fight him. For 40 days, he's been standing there. No one dared to fight this 10-footer. Some say about 9 to 11, 12 feet. We're not sure, but he's one of the giants. And he was ugly, he was mean. In those days, alright, they are very, you know, their faces are all like scars and all that.
So when he disdained David, when he saw David, he despised David because David was only a youth, ruddy, and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, come to me. I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.
David said to the Philistine, You come to me with sword, with a spear, and a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I'll strike you and take your head from you. And this day I'll give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air, to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know there is a God in Israel.
Then all these assemblies shall know, that the Lord does not save with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands.
Five Words of Grace: The Battle Is the Lord's
Right now, memorize this. Learn to mutter this when you are in, before your difficulty. Learn to say this under your breath. The battle is the Lord's. It's not mine. It's not mine. Amen.
Pastor Prince, David still went to meet the... Yeah, but how did he go? Dressed in an armour? No, dressed as a Shepherd boy. With a sword? No, with a sling. So obviously he believes this battle is not mine. The battle is the Lord's.
So learn to look at your problems now. And the devil said, what are you going to do about it? He said, the battle is not mine. It's the Lord's. Lord, this is your battle. Lord, this is your battle. Lord, this is your battle. Throughout this year, Lord, this is your battle.
Now sometimes it won't be as quick as David's victory, but the Lord is hearing what you are saying. And the Lord loves it. His arms are bigger than yours. Lord, this is your battle. The battle is the Lord's. Your five words of grace this year. Amen?
Fighting the Good Fight by Not Fighting
The doctors gave you a bad diagnosis under your breath. This battle is the Lord's. That's the good fight of faith. You fight by not fighting. You fight by not fighting. That's the greatest fight.
It's like the devil wants you to think, there's a place called healed and you are not healed. There's a place called healed. You see, you must do your best to go there. And he would try to bring in, but you must be obedient enough to reach there. You must be holy enough to reach there. You must be good enough to reach there. And you are never there.
Actually, that's not the truth. The truth is, you are already there. You are healed. And the devil is trying to take your healing. And you are saying, no, this is a lying symptom. No, Lord, this is your battle. I am already healed. This is your battle, Lord. I am already healed. This is your battle, Lord. I am already healed.
It is so much more easier to know that you are in a building when you are already in the building. Are you listening? You are already healed, not trying to be healed. The devil is trying to take your healing. It is not like you are trying to take your healing. No, the devil is trying to take your healing.
By calling his bluff, you expose him. It is a fight of faith. It might take some time. I am not saying it is going to be easy. And that is what the Bible Israel is faith food for all of us. Can I have a good amen?
Jehoshaphat's Victory: Eyes Upon God
Alright, let's fast forward. David became a king. And according to his seed, down to the years, there was another king called Jehoshaphat. And King Jehoshaphat was surrounded by the enemies, about four or five enemies. And they were surrounding him. The Bible says a great multitude came against him.
And I love his prayer. You got time? Read his prayer. Alright, it's found in 2 Chronicles 20. He says this. He looked to God and he says, God, I love this prayer. We have no might, nor power against this great multitude, but our eyes are upon you.
I love it. It's like saying, we have no might, we have nothing, no resources against this disease, against this condition, but our eyes are upon you. I don't know how my daughter can be delivered, how my son can be delivered, but my eyes are on you.
And when they said that, the Holy Spirit fell upon one of the sons of Asaph. And he was a prophet. And he said this. Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, because of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God's.
Yes! Listen, this battle is not yours. It is God's. But the enemies are coming against me, Jehoshaphat could have said. But it's not yours, King. It is God's.
Sending Praise Ahead: God Fights for You
You don't understand, Pastor Prince. This coming against my family. But it's not yours. It's God. And everything in your flesh is saying, you are just being irresponsible. You should worry. How can you not worry? And in fact, you are doing the greatest thing you can ever do against that situation, against that problem, even though you are in the midst of a trial. Amen.
And someone say, Pastor Prince, you know, of course, you are so blessed. You do not know what I am going through. How do you know that I am not going through a trial right now? How do you know? In fact, I am going through a trial right now. Alright? We are all always going, either about to enter a trial, either in the trial, or outside the trial. You understand? This side of heaven is part and parcel, but I am eating, and I am feeding. I am not complaining.
Look throughout the wilderness experience, those who are complaining, God hates complaining. Amen. You complain, you remain. You praise, you get raised above your situation. Alright? Don't complain and remain. Praise and be raised. Hallelujah!
The battle is not yours, y'all. You know who He sent in front of Him? Praise. Worship. And they praised the Lord for His mercy endures forever. Now, when they arrived at the battle scene, they found out all the enemies killed each other. There was an internal fight. And they started fighting, and all of them killed each other. And for three days, Israel was picking up the spoils of war.
God says, you will not need to fight. You won't need to fight in this battle. Position yourself, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
Moses at the Red Sea: Hold Your Peace
If I can show you the Hebrew. Jesus' name, Yeshua, in Hebrew, is what you find down here. Position yourself, stand still, and see Jesus. See Jesus.
For those of you who know Aleph Tav, Aleph Tav appears here. Aleph Tav, Jesus, Yahweh. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them. The Lord is with you.
Apostle Prince, they still have to go out and fight. Yes, but they send singers to show how much they trust. The battle is not theirs. Praising the Lord.
Now we go to the time of Moses in front of the Red Sea. Armies of Pharaoh coming behind. The people yelling. Did you bring us out here to die, Moses? Is this what it's all about?
And the Bible says, Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Same thing. See Jesus. Stand still. See the invisible. The one who loves you. The one who cares for you. The one who gave his life for you. Look at him.
Alright? The Egyptians. The disease you see on the X-ray. The condition in your child. That lack. That debt. The huge debt you are supposed to pay. That you see today. You shall see again no more. Forever.
Why? The Lord will fight for you. And you will hold your peace. The Lord will fight for you. The word fight here is lacham. The Lord will fight for you. You will hold your peace.
Hold Your Peace: Let God Get the Glory
Alright, watch this again. Hold your peace. I want to do something. Hold your peace. Hold it. Hold it steady. I want to say something. Hold your peace. The Lord will fight for you.
Maybe God needs my help. Hold your peace. The Lord will fight for you. I don't see any difference. It's getting worse. Hold your peace! Hold your peace! The Lord will fight for you.
I need to help God! Then God hold His peace. Remember this. God must get all the glory. He doesn't share the glory. I always say this, and I say this reverently. If God wants to get all the glory, let God do all the work.
And that will always come throughout the day. It's a fight of faith. It's a beautiful fight of faith. What are you going to do about it? No, it's the Lord. It's not mine. The battle is not mine. You found the wrong guy.
Look to the one who sees everything. Your place is fight not to fight. And labor to enter the rest. Alright? Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest. Lest you fall into unbelief. Labor to be more restful. Labor to be more restful.
Guarding Against the Devil's Thoughts
Here, the devil wants to attack this. Many times you think, you think you are thinking those thoughts. You are not. When I was suffering those things that I said, I suffered 18 years old, 19 years old. You know, it wasn't me thinking those thoughts.
What was your problem, Pastor? Blasphemous thoughts. I was so sincere. I want to be so close to God. All of a sudden, bang! Blasphemous thoughts kept coming in my mind. And I thought it was like this from me. I never knew it was from outside in. I didn't know the devil can give you thoughts.
Like Peter told Ananias, why has Satan put in your heart? Judas Iscariot, Satan put into his heart. Likewise, how does God speak to you? Nehemiah, God has put in my heart. Man of God, God has placed in my heart a desire. It is God who works in you, not outside. In you.
In fact, God works in you. The devil works from outside. Because God forbid the devil works from inside. Here is where we got to watch it. The devil attacks you. And you know what it does or not? He throws a thought in you. I am an addict. He uses the personal pronoun. He does not use the second person. You. He uses the first person. I. As if you are thinking those thoughts.
So many a times, I would have blasphemous thoughts. And I think it is from me. Against God. Oh no. Oh no. And then he went praying. Bad thoughts about God. A lot of blasphemous thoughts. Then I stopped praying. Then slowly, slowly, I just left. I know he never leaves me, but I left the Lord. Amen.
It is just the blasphemous thoughts. And I own it. You know. Just like the saying. You cannot stop birds from flying over your head. But you can stop them from making a nest.
You can, you know. You can stop them from making a nest. You know, you're on there. Is he making a nest? I think so. Sure looks like a nest to me. I can't tell because sometimes your hair is a nest. But I think there is a bird there. Oops, sorry. Now there is an egg. In the nest. On your nest.
You can stop the bird from... You know, you can stop thoughts from flying. Sometimes bad thoughts will come. Amen. It happens to all of us.
Don't Own Bad Thoughts: Put on Spiritual Armor
Now here is a word of deliverance. When a bad thought comes. Listen carefully. When the evil thought comes. The blasphemous thought comes. Don't own it. It's a bird flying. That's all. It does not define you.
Now let us who are of the day be sober. Alright. We don't belong to the night season. But we go through the night season. One day there will be no more night. The Bible tells us. But we are children of the day. We are children of the light.
Let us put on the breastplate. Putting on the breastplate of faith and love. So the breastplate protects you. Your heart. Your heart is where the accusation comes in. The devil accuses you on your heart. Your conscience is always this realm. Faith and love will protect your heart.
And that's why regardless of what you hear. A sermon. Whatever it is. If you leave with fear. If you leave with an attitude of holier than thou. Bitter towards other Christians and all that. You have not heard the Word of God. Because the Word of God will always cause the breastplate of faith and love to be on your heart. On your conscience. Can I have a good amen? Amen.
And then it says, And as a helmet, the hope of salvation. The hope of soteria. Salvation is an all-encompassing word. All-inclusive word. It includes not just salvation from eternal destruction. Salvation from hell. But salvation from sickness. Look it up. The word salvation is a noun. Feminine noun. But the word soteria is a feminine noun. But it comes from the verb sozo. Where Jesus told the woman. Just now we talked about the woman who came behind and received healing. Jesus says, Your faith has sozo you.
So sozo is... Soteria is also healing. Because sozo is in it. It's the verb form of soteria. Amen. Healing. It's rescue. Rescue from danger. Deliverance. Protection. Wow.
It's... So when... When the angel was sent and said, And you shall call his name Jesus. In the Greek it will be, You'll call his name soteria. Salvation. His name. It is all-inclusive name. And he demonstrated his name everywhere he went. He set people free. The legion... The guy who was possessed with the... With so many demons. He set him free. So much so the man wants to be with Jesus. Amen.
He healed. Everywhere he went, And he healed all those who were oppressed of the devil. God was with him. Amen. Can I have a good amen? Amen.
Hope of Salvation: A Solid Foundation for the Future
I feel like the Holy Spirit is telling me, There are many of you watching this. You are having battled your thoughts from... You know why? You know why those thoughts linger? Because you own it. You say it's you. So as long as you own it. Amen. It becomes yours. And it stays because it's yours.
But no more you say, No, this is not my thoughts. These are not my thoughts. Many of you have thoughts like, Like you look down a very high building and all that, And the thought comes, Jump. Amen. Don't say, How can I think that way? How can I? Don't accept it. It's not you.
But the problem happens when young people start accepting that. And I think that's the reason why many are not very susceptible to those thoughts. And they don't have this hope of salvation.
Hope of salvation means like, Positive, confident, happy expectation of good in your future. As a result that you know you are safe. Jesus took your sins to the cross. There's no sin that will penalize you or produce a bad fruit in your future. It's all been paid by Jesus.
It's a hope of salvation. You have salvation. You have Jesus. You have forgiveness of sins. You have deliverance from the curse of the law. You have a good future. Amen. Only the blessings of God are in store for you in the future. Amen.
So, hope is a helmet. It's a helmet on your head. Amen. To protect you from... You're going to have a hope. Because of salvation, you are safe. That's why the world cannot raise their hopes. And rightly so. They cannot. They have no foundation for their hope. They just hope for the best. And that's the language they use.
That is not your language, child of God. You have a solid, rock solid foundation to believe the best good in your future. Amen. Jesus paid for you. It's a rock solid foundation.
Why can you believe that you can be free from the addiction? Jesus shed His blood for it. Amen. Why can you believe that you can be well from that symptom? Even though it's a chronic symptom for years. Because Jesus paid for it. And you're partaking the Lord's Supper. You're getting better and better and better and better.
Yes. Eat your bread with joy. And drink your wine. Happily. Cheerfully. Let your head like no ointment, child of God. Amen. Amen. You're listening.
So put on the breastplate. You know, as a young person I was sharing with you that, I read a book that says you can lose your salvation. And for some reason I believe this author. I believe you can lose your salvation. The moment I did that, bang! All those blasphemous thoughts came.
I can point to the very time when I started believing what I read. I don't fault the author. Okay? I believe it. Okay? And I believe you can lose your salvation, which I know now you cannot. Amen. It's for eternal security. Praise God.
But I believe that. And the moment I believe that, that's when all those blasphemous thoughts came. You know why? There's no more helmet. There's no hope of salvation. Even though I was saved, I have salvation, there's no hope. Because I believe I was lost.
The moment the first thought came against the Holy Spirit, blasphemous thoughts, bang! I said, I've committed the unpardonable sin, which it's not. The helmet, the breastplate are so vital to guard your heart from an evil conscience, from the accusation.
Say, I'm the righteousness of God in Christ. Amen. Are you all blessed? Amen.
Prayer: Embracing Good Days and Blessings
And I just got started. All right? Praise the Lord. Lift your hands all across this place. And say, Father, I thank you. My future, the days ahead of me, are full of blessings, full of good things, Lord, that you have in store for me.
Every day, you will load me up with your benefits, with your goodness, because you love me, and because of what Christ has done. He died for my sins. He was raised for my justification. And now I have access into this favor ground, this grace ground in which I stand.
I boast and hope, I have a positive expectation, of the glory of God being fulfilled in my life, in my ministry, in my career, in my marriage, in my children, in all my loved ones, in my church. I will see your glory. And the glory is always manifesting. The glory is always something visible.
Thank you, Lord. I rejoice in that. And I rejoice, and I boast, in my current sufferings, knowing they are fulfilling the objective of producing a character that is never having depressive thoughts, but hopeful thoughts, a character that believes for your goodness to be seen in the future, in the land of the living. Amen.
No death in the future. No disease in the future. No curse in the future. Your blessings, your health, your shalom, your well-being, your protection. Good days for my family and I. Thank you, Father. And even my sleep will be sweet. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Prophecy for Restful Sleep and Refreshing
Real quick, I just want to say this. I talk about sleep because I saw people struggling with sleep. And let me just tell you this. You don't look forward to your bed. Bedtime is like you're afraid because you've been attacked with nightmares. You've been attacked with night visions that are scary and all that. Or you don't sleep well. You don't look forward to that.
But friend, I prophesy to you in Jesus' name right now that you will look forward to your bed. Amen. Because it will be a time of refreshing. Amen. You'll look forward because it's a time when God gives to you. And you can't wait to wake up to new blessings, to new provisions, to new supply. Amen.
You will see that as I sleep, God gives. As I sleep, God gives. That thought will dominate you. And even your sleeping time becomes something you can hope. Amen. Amen. In Jesus' name.