By Nicky Gumbel
We all have to make decisions in life. We are faced with decisions about relationships, marriage, children, use of time, jobs, homes, money, holidays, possessions, giving and so on. Some of these are very big decisions; some smaller. In many cases, it is of the utmost importance that we make the right decisions -for instance in our choice of a marriage partner. We need God’s help.
Guidance springs out of our relationship with God. He promises to guide those who are walking with him. He says: ‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go’ (Psalm 32:8). Jesus promises to lead and guide his followers: ‘He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.. . His sheep follow him because they know his voice’ (John 10:3-4). He longs for us to discover his will (Colossians 1:9; Ephesians 5:17). He is concerned about each of us as individuals. He loves us and wants to speak to us about what we should be doing with our lives-about little things as well as big things.
God has a plan for our lives (Ephesians 2:10). Sometimes people are worried by this. They think, ‘I’m not sure that I want God’s plan for my life. Will his plans be good?’ We need not fear. God loves us and wants the very best for our lives. Paul tells us that God’s will for our lives is ‘good, pleasing and perfect’ (Romans 12:2). He said to his people through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” ‘(Jeremiah 29:11).
He is saying, ‘Don’t you realise that I have a really good plan for your life? I have prepared something wonderful.’ This cry from the Lord’s heart came because he saw the mess his people had got themselves into when they didn’t follow his plans. All around us we see people whose lives are in a muddle. Often people say to me after they have come to Christ, ‘I wish I had become a Christian five or ten years earlier. Look at my life now. It is such a mess.’
If we are to find out about God’s plans for us, we need to ask him about them. God warned his people about embarking on plans without consulting him: “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine.. . who go down to Egypt without consulting me” ‘ (Isaiah 30:1-2, italics mine). Of course, Jesus is the supreme example of doing the will of his Father. He was consistently ‘led by the Spirit’ (Luke 4:1) and only did what he saw his Father doing (John 5:19).
We make mistakes because we fail to consult the Lord. We make some plan and think, ‘I want to do that but I am not quite sure whether God wants me to do it. I think I’d better not ask him, just in case it’s not his will for me!’
God guides us when we are prepared to do his will rather than insisting that our own way is right. The psalmist says, ‘He guides the humble’ (Psalm 25:9) and ‘confides in those who fear [respect] him’ (v. 14). God guides those whose attitude is like Mary’s: ‘I am the Lord’s servant and I am willing to do whatever he wants’ (Luke 1:38, The Living Bible). The moment we are prepared to do his will, he begins to reveal his plans for our lives.
There is a verse in the Psalms which I go back to time and time again: ‘Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act’ (Psalm 37:5, RSV). Our part is to commit the decision to the Lord and then to trust him. When we have done that, we can wait expectantly for him to act.
Towards the end of our time at university, one of my friends called Nicky, who had become a Christian about the same time that I did, began to get to know very well a girl who was not a Christian. He felt it was not right to marry her unless she shared his faith in Christ. He did not want to put her under any pressure. So he did what the psalmist said and committed it to the Lord. He said, in effect, ‘Lord, if this relationship is not right, I pray that you will stop it. If it is right, then I pray she will become a Christian by the last day of the spring term.’ He did not tell her or anyone else about this date. He put his ‘trust in him’ and waited for him to act. The final day of the spring term arrived and they happened to be going to a party together that night. Just before midnight she told him she wanted to go for a drive. So they got into the car and she gave him a whole string of directions out of the top of her head, just for fun: ‘Three turnings left, three turnings right, drive straight for three miles and stop.’ He played along and followed them. They ended up in the American cemetery which has one enormous cross in the centre surrounded by hundreds of little crosses. She was shocked and deeply moved by the symbol of the cross, and also by the fact that God had used her instructions to get her attention. She burst into tears. Moments later, she came to faith in Christ. They have now been happily married for many years and still look back and remember how God’s hand was on them at that moment.
Given that we are willing to do what God wants us to do, in what ways should we expect God to speak to us and guide us? There are various ways in which he guides us. Sometimes God speaks through one of the ways set out below; sometimes it is a combination. If it is a major decision he may speak through all of them. They are sometimes called the five ‘C Ss’.
Commanding Scripture
As we have seen, God’s general will for all people in all places in all circumstances is revealed in Scripture. He has told us what he thinks about a whole range of issues. From the Bible we know that certain things are wrong. Therefore, we can be quite sure that God will not guide us to do these things. Sometimes a married person says, ‘I have fallen in love with this man/ woman. We love each other so much. I feel God is leading me to leave my husband/wife and to start this new relationship.’ But God has already made his will clear. He has said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’ (Exodus 20:14). We can be quite sure that God will not guide us to commit adultery.
Sometimes people feel led to save money by not paying their income tax! But God has made it clear that we are to pay any taxes which are due (Romans 13:7). In these and many other areas God has revealed his general will. We do not need to ask his guidance; he has already given it. If we are not sure, we may need to ask someone who knows the Bible better than we do whether there is anything on that issue. Once we have discovered what the Bible says, we need search no further.
Although God’s general will is revealed in the Bible, we cannot always find his particular will for our lives there. As we have seen, the Bible tells us that it is his general will for people to get married. Although singleness is a high calling, it is the exception rather than the rule (eg, 1 Corinthians 7:2). We know that Christians are only free to marry other Christians (2 Corinthians 6:14). But the Bible does not tell us whom we should marry!
As we saw in the chapter on the Bible, God still speaks today through the Scriptures. He may speak to us as we read. The psalmist says, ‘Your statutes. . . are my counsellors’ (Psalm 119:24). That is not to say that we find God’s will by opening the Bible anywhere at random and seeing what it says. Rather, as we develop the habit of regular, methodical Bible study we begin to find it quite extraordinary how appropriate each day’s reading seems to be for our own particular circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Sometimes a verse seems almost to leap out of the page at us and we sense God speaking through it. This was certainly my experience, for example, when I sensed God calling me to change jobs. Each time I felt God speaking to me as I read the Bible, I wrote it down. I noted at least fifteen different occasions when I believe God spoke to me through the Bible about his call to me to leave my work as a lawyer and train for ordination in the Church of England.
Controlling Spirit
Guidance is very personal. When we become Christians, the Spirit of God comes to live within us. When he does so, he begins to communicate with us. We need to learn to hear his voice. Jesus said that his sheep (his followers) would recognise his voice (John 10:4-5). We recognise a good friend’s voice immediately on the telephone. If we do not know the person so well, it may be harder and take more time. The more we get to know Jesus. the easier we will find it to recognise his voice.
We find Paul and his companions, for example, planning to enter Bithynia, ‘but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to’ (Acts 16:7). So they went a different way. We do not know how exactly the Spirit spoke to them, but it may have been in one of a number of ways.
Here are three examples of the way in which God speaks by his Spirit.
1. Often he speaks to us as we pray
Prayer is a two-way conversation. Suppose I go to the doctor and say, ‘Doctor, I have a number of problems: I have a problem of fungus growing under my toenails, I have piles, my eyes itch, I need a flu jab; I have very bad backaches and I have tennis elbow.’ Then, having got through my list of complaints, I look at my watch and say, ‘Goodness me, time is getting on. Well, I must be off. Thanks very much for listening.’ The doctor might want to say, ‘Hang on a second. Why don’t you listen to me?’ If whenever we pray we only speak to God and never take time to listen, we make the same mistake. In the Bible we find God speaking to his people. For example, on one occasion as the Christians were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘ “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off’ (Acts 13:2-3).
Again, we don’t know exactly how the Holy Spirit spoke. It may be that as they were praying the thought came into their minds. That is a common way in which God speaks. People sometimes describe it as ‘impressions’ or feeling it ‘in their bones’. It is possible for the Holy Spirit to speak in all these ways.
Obviously such thoughts and feelings need to be tested (1 John 4:1). Is it in line with the Bible? Does it promote love? If it does not, it cannot come from a God who is love (1 John 4:16). Is it strengthening, encouraging and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3)? When we have made the decision, do we know God’s peace (Colossians 3:15)?
2. God sometimes speaks to us by giving us a strong desire to do something
‘God. . . works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:13, italics mine). As we surrender our wills to God, he works in us and often changes our desires. Again, speaking from my own experience, before I became a Christian the last thing in the world I would have wanted to be was an ordained clergyman in the Church of England. Yet when I came to Christ and said I was willing to do what he wanted, I found my desires changed. Now I cannot imagine a greater privilege or a more fulfilling job for me than the one I am doing at the moment.
Sometimes people try to imagine the thing that they would least like to do and then assume that God will ask them to do exactly that. I do not believe God is like that. So don’t be frightened and say, ‘If I become a Christian, God will make me be a missionary.’ If that is what he wants you to do, and your will is surrendered, he will give you a strong desire to do that.
3. God sometimes guides in more unusual ways
There are many examples in the Bible of God guiding individuals in dramatic ways. He spoke to Samuel as a small boy in a way in which he could hear with his physical ears (1 Samuel 3:4-14). He guided Abraham (Genesis 18), Joseph (Matthew 2:19) and Peter (Acts 12:7) through angels. He often spoke through prophets both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament (eg, Agabus-Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11). He guided through visions (sometimes referred to today as ‘pictures’). For example, one night God spoke to Paul in a vision. He saw a man in Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ Not surprisingly, Paul and his companions took this as guidance that God had called them to preach the gospel in Macedonia (Acts 16:10).
We also find examples of God guiding through dreams (eg, Matthew 1:20; 2:12-13, 22). I was praying for a couple who were good friends of ours. The husband had recently come to faith in Christ. The wife was highly intelligent, but strongly against what had happened to her husband. She became a little hostile towards us. One night I had a dream in which I saw her face quite changed, her eyes full of the joy of the Lord. This encouraged us to continue praying and keeping close to them. A few months later she came to faith in Christ. I remember looking at her and seeing the face I had seen in the dream a few months earlier.
All these are ways in which God guided people in the past and he still does today.
Common sense
When we become Christians we are not called to abandon common sense. The psalmist warns: ‘Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you’ (Psalm 32:9).
The New Testament writers often encourage us to think and never discourage us from using our minds (eg, 2 Timothy 2:7).
If we abandon common sense, then we get ourselves into absurd situations. In his book Knowing God J. I. Packer quotes an example of a woman who each morning, having consecrated the day to the Lord as soon as she woke, ‘would then ask him whether she was to get up or not’, and would not stir till ‘the voice’ told her to dress.
As she put on each article she asked the Lord whether she was to put it on and very often the Lord would tell her to put on the right shoe and leave off the other; sometimes she was to put on both stockings and no shoes; and sometimes both shoes and no stockings. It was the same with all the articles of dress..
It is true to say that God’s promises of guidance were not given so that we could avoid the strain of thinking. Indeed, John Wesley. the father of Methodism, said that God usually guided him by presenting reasons to his mind for acting in a certain way. This is important in every area—especially in the areas of marriage and jobs.
Common sense is one of the factors to be taken into account in the whole area of choosing a partner for life. It is common sense to look at at least three very important areas.
First, are we spiritually compatible? A Christian should only marry another Christian. Paul warns of the danger of marrying someone who is not a Christian (2 Corinthians 6:14). In practice, if one of the parties is not a Christian, it nearly always leads to a great tension in the marriage. The Christian feels torn between his desire to serve his partner and his desire to serve the Lord. But spiritual compatibility means more than the fact that both are Christians. It means that each party respects the other’s spirituality, rather than simply being able to say, ‘At least they pass the test of being a Christian.’
Secondly, are we personally compatible? Obviously, our marriage partner should be a very good friend and someone with whom there is a great deal in common. One of the many advantages of not sleeping together before getting married is that it is easier to concentrate on this area and discover whether or not there is personal compatibility. Often the sexual side can dominate the early stages of a relationship. If the foundations have not been built on friendship then when the initial sexual excitement wears off it can leave the relationship with a very fragile basis.
Thirdly, are we physically compatible? By this I mean we should be attracted to each other. It is not enough to be spiritually and emotionally compatible; the chemistry must work as well. Often the secular world puts it first, but this comes last in the order of priorities. The world often says that it is necessary to sleep together in order to see whether there is sexual compatibility. This is quite wrong. In the biological sense, any incompatibility that can be tested by sexual intercourse is so rare that it can be discounted.
Again, common sense is vital when considering God’s guidance about our jobs and careers. The general rule is that we should stay with the job we are already in until God calls us to do something else (1 Corinthians 7:17- 24). Having said that, in seeking God’s will for one’s career, it is common sense to take a long-term view of life. It is wise to look ahead ten, fifteen, twenty years and ask the questions: ‘Where is my present job taking me? Is that where I want to go in the long term? Or is my long-term vision for something quite different? In which case, where should I be now in order to get there?’
Counsel of the saints
The Book of Proverbs is full of injunctions to seek wise advice. The writer asserts that ‘a wise man listens to advice’ (Proverbs 12:15). He warns that ‘plans fail for lack of counsel’, but on the other hand, ‘with many advisers they succeed’ (Proverbs 15:22). Therefore, he urges, ‘Make plans by seeking advice’ (Proverbs 20:18).
While seeking advice is very important, we need to remember that ultimately our decisions are between us and God. They are our responsibility. We cannot shift that responsibility onto others or seek to blame them if things go wrong. The ‘counsel of the saints’ is part of guidance—but it is not the only part. Sometimes it may be right to go ahead in spite of the advice of others.
If we are faced with a decision where we need advice, whom should we consult? To the writer of Proverbs, ‘fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’. Presumably, therefore, he is thinking of advice from those who ‘fear the Lord’. The best advisors are usually godly Christian people with wisdom and experience whom we respect. (It is also wise to seek the advice of parents whom we are to honour, even if we are past the age of being under their authority. Even if they are not Christians, they know us very well and can often have important insights into situations.)
I have found it a real help throughout my Christian life to have someone who is a mature Christian whom I respect and to whom I can go for advice on a whole range of issues. At different times this has been different people. I am so grateful to God for their wisdom and help in many areas. Often God’s insight has come as we talked through the issues together.
When it comes to bigger decisions I have found it helpful to seek a range of advice. Over the question of ordination I sought the advice of these two men and also of my two closest friends, my vicar and those who were involved in the official process of selection.
The people whom we ask for advice should not be chosen on the basis that they will agree with what we have already planned to do! Sometimes one sees a person consulting countless people in the hope that they will eventually find somebody who will endorse their plans. Such advice has little weight and simply enables the person to say, ‘And I consulted x and he or she agreed.’
We should consult people on the basis of their spiritual authority or their relationship to us, regardless of what we may anticipate their views to be. When my friends, Nicky and Sila Lee, who now run a church in central London, became Christians, they wondered whether it was right to continue their relationship, because although they were very much in love they were still so young and had no immediate prospects of marriage.
There was a very wise Christian man for whom Nicky had great respect. Nicky knew he had firm views on the subject of relationships and knew he felt it was unwise to be too deeply involved in a relationship while still at university. Nevertheless, Nicky decided to consult him.
The man asked Nicky, ‘Have you committed your relationship with Sila to the Lord?’ Nicky replied with some hesitation and great honesty, ‘I think I have, but sometimes I am not sure,’ to which this wise man replied, ‘I can see that you love her. I think you should continue in your relationship with her.’ Because this advice came from a surprising source it carried additional weight. The advice was very good and they have now had many years of happily married life to prove it.
Circumstantial signs
God is in ultimate control of all events; the writer of Proverbs points out: ‘In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps’ (Proverbs 16:9). Sometimes God opens doors (1 Corinthians 16:9) and sometimes he closes them (Acts 16:7). There have been two occasions in my life when God has closed the door on something which I very much wanted, and which I believed at the time was God’s will. I tried to force the doors open. I prayed and I struggled and I fought, but they would not open. On both occasions I was bitterly disappointed. But I understand now, years later, why he closed those doors. Indeed I am grateful that he did.
However, I am not sure we will ever know this side of heaven why God has closed certain doors in our lives.
Sometimes he opens doors in a remarkable way. The circumstances and the timing point clearly to the hand of God (eg, Genesis 24). Michael Bordeaux is head of Keston College, a research unit devoted to helping believers in what were communist lands. His work and research are respected by governments all over the world. He studied Russian at Oxford and his Russian teacher, Dr Zernov, sent him a letter which he had received because he thought it would interest him. It detailed how monks were being beaten up by the KGB and subjected to inhuman medical examinations; how they were being rounded up in lorries and dumped many hundreds of miles away. The letter was written very simply, with no adornment, and as he read it Michael Bordeaux felt he was hearing the true voice of the persecuted church. The letter was signed Varavva and Pronina.
In August 1964, he went on a trip to Moscow, and on his first evening there met up with old friends who detailed how the persecutions were getting worse; in particular the old church of St Peter and St Paul had been demolished. They suggested that he go and see it for himself.
So he took a taxi, arriving at dusk. When he came to the square where he had remembered a very beautiful church, he found nothing except a twelve-foot-high fence which hid the rubble where the church had been. Over on the other side of the square, climbing the fence to try and see what was inside, were two women. He watched them, and when they finally left the square he followed them for a hundred yards and eventually caught them up. They asked, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am a foreigner. I have come to find out what is happening here in the Soviet Union.’
They took him back to the house of another woman who asked him why he had come. Whereupon he said he had received a letter from the Ukraine via Paris. When she asked who it was from, he replied, ‘Varavva and Pronina.’ There was silence. He wondered if he had said something wrong. There followed a flood of uncontrolled sobbing. The woman pointed and said, ‘This is Varavva, and this is Pronina.’
The population of Russia is over 140 million. The Ukraine, from where the letter was written, is 1,300 kilometres from Moscow. Michael Bordeaux had flown from England six months after the letter had been written. They would not have met had either party arrived at the demolished church an hour earlier or an hour later. That was one of the ways God called Michael Bordeaux to set up his life’s work.
Don’t be in a hurry
Sometimes God’s guidance seems to come immediately it is asked for (eg, Genesis 24), but often it takes much longer: sometimes months or even years. We may have a sense that God is going to do something in our lives, but have to wait a long time for the fulfilment. On these occasions we need patience like that of Abraham who ‘after waiting patiently.. .received what was promised’ (Hebrews 6:15). While waiting, he was tempted at one point to try and fulfil God’s promises by his own means—with disastrous results (see Genesis 16 and 21).
Sometimes we hear God correctly, but we get the timing wrong. God spoke to Joseph in a dream about what would happen to him and his family. He probably expected immediate fulfilment, but he had to wait years. Indeed, while he was in prison it must have been hard for him to believe that his dreams would ever be fulfilled. But thirteen years after the original dream, he saw God’s fulfilment. The waiting was part of the preparation (see Genesis 37-50).
In this area of guidance, we all make mistakes. Sometimes, like Abraham, we try to fulfil God’s plans by our own wrong methods. Like Joseph we get the timing wrong. Sometimes we feel that we have made too much of a mess of our lives by the time we come to Christ for God to do anything with us. But God is greater than that. He is able to ‘restore to you the years which the swarming locust has eaten’ (Joel 2:25, RSV), He is able to make something good out of whatever is left of our lives—whether it is a short time or a long time—if we will offer what we have to him and co-operate with his Spirit.
Lord Radstock was staying in a hotel in Norway in the mid-1920s. He heard a little girl playing the piano down in the hallway. She was making a terrible noise:
‘Plink.. .plonk.. .plink....’ It was driving him mad! A man came and sat beside her and began playing alongside her, filling in the gaps. The result was the most beautiful music. He later discovered that the man playing alongside was the girl’s father, Alexander Borodin, composer of the opera Prince Igor.
Paul writes that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28). As we falteringly play our part—seeking his will for our lives by reading (commanding Scripture), listening (controlling spirit). thinking (common sense), talking (counsel of the saints), watching (circumstantial signs) and waiting— God comes and sits alongside us ‘and in all things... works for the good’. He takes our ‘plink... plonk... plonk...’ and makes something beautiful out of our lives.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Power in Your Words
The Power in Your Words
By Joel Osteen
By Joel Osteen
Jose Lima starred as a pitcher for the Houston Astros for several years in the late 1990s. Jose is an outgoing, energetic, likable young ballplayer who usually exudes a positive attitude. But when the Astros built their new ballpark, now known as Minute Maid Park, Jose was upset. The fence in left field was much closer than the fence at the Astrodome. In fact, Minute Maid Park has one of the shortest distances from home plate to the left-field fence of any ballpark in Major League Baseball. The hitters love it, but the short left field makes it tougher on the pitchers, especially when they are working against right-handed batters who tend to hit to left field.
The first time Jose Lima stepped onto the new diamond, he walked out to the pitcher’s mound, and when he looked into the outfield, he immediately noticed the dose proximity of that left-field fence. “I’ll never be able to pitch in here,” he said.
The next season, despite the enthusiasm of the fans and the excitement of playing in that brand-new ballpark, Jose had the worst year of his career. He plummeted from being a twenty-game winner to being a sixteen-game loser in back-to-back seasons. Never in the history of the Astros franchise had any pitcher experienced such a pronounced negative turnaround.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
What happened to Jose? The same thing that happens to many of us every day—we get what we say. Our words become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you allow your thoughts to defeat you and then give birth to negative ideas through your words, your actions will follow suit. That’s why we need to be extremely careful about what we think and especially careful about what we say. Our words have tremendous power, and whether we want to or not, we will give life to what we’re saying, either good or bad.
Sadly, many people are living discouraged lives because of their words. They say things such as:
• “Nothing good ever happens to me.”
• “I’ll never be successful.”
• “I don’t have what it takes. I can’t do it.”
• “I’ll never get out of this mess.
Some people even call themselves names! “What an idiot! You never can do anything right.” They don’t realize it, but their own words are paving the way for failure.
Words are similar to seeds. By speaking them aloud, they are planted in our subconscious minds, and they take on a life of their own; they take root, grow, and produce fruit of the same kind. If we speak positive words, our lives will move in that direction. Similarly, negative words will produce poor results. We can’t speak words of defeat and failure yet expect to live in victory. We will reap exactly what we sow.
The Bible compares the tongue to the rudder of a huge ship. Although that rudder is small, it controls the direction of the entire ship, and, in a similar manner, your tongue will control the direction of your life. If you habitually speak words of failure, you are going to move in the direction of a defeated, discouraged life. If your conversation regularly includes phrases such as “I can’t. I’m not able to. I don’t have what it takes,” or other negative comments, you are setting yourself up for defeat. Those negative words will keep you from being the person God wants you to be.
I heard about a doctor who understood the power of words. One prescription he gave to all his patients was for them to say at least once every hour, “I’m getting better and better every day, in every way.” The doctor’s patients experienced amazing results, much better than the patients treated by many of his colleagues.
When you say something often enough, with enthusiasm and passion, before long your subconscious mind begins to act on what you are saying, doing whatever is necessary to bring those thoughts and words to pass. Sadly, most people insist on saying negative things over their lives. They continually denigrate themselves with their own words. They don’t realize that their own words will decimate their confidence and destroy their self-esteem. In fact, if you are struggling with low self-esteem, you need to go overboard in speaking positive, faith-filled words of victory about your life. Get up each morning and look in the mirror and say, “I am valuable. I am loved. God has a great plan for my life. I have favor wherever I go. God’s blessings are chasing me down and overtaking me. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. I’m excited about my future!” Start speaking those kinds of words, and before long, you will rise to a new level of well-being, success, and victory. There truly is power in your words.
We have to be particularly careful about what we say during times of adversity or hardship, when things aren’t going our way. How you respond in the adversities of life and what you say in the midst of your difficulties will have a great impact on how long you stay in those situations. As a rule, the more positive your thoughts and words, the stronger you will be and the sooner you will get over whatever ails you. Admittedly, when times get tough, our human nature tends to want to complain, to talk about the problem, to tell everybody who will listen how badly life is treating us. But such conversations are self-defeating. To get through a tough time quicker and with better results, we must learn to speak as positively as possible.
Too often, we make the mistake of adopting negative attitudes and complaining.
“I knew my marriage wasn’t going to work out.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get out of debt.”
“I guess I’ll just have to put up with this health problem for the rest of my life.”
When you start talking like that, you become your own worst enemy. If there’s ever a time you must guard what you say, it’s in times of trouble. When you feel overwhelmed, when you’re stressed out, when everything in the world has come against you, when that left-field fence looms largely over your shoulder, that’s when you need to be on high alert. That’s when you are the most vulnerable and the most likely to slip into a negative attitude, speaking negative comments. Your subconscious mind picks up your words, treats them as true, valid statements, and then sets about trying to fulfill them. When that happens, you have nobody else to blame but yourself; you’ve been undermined by your own thoughts and words.
Guard What You Say
If you’re in a storm today, now more than ever you need to guard what you say and not allow any negative, destructive words to come out of your mouth. Scripture says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and you will eat the fruit thereof.” In other words, you create an environment for either good or evil with your words, and you are going to have to live in that world you’ve created. If you’re always murmuring, complaining, and talking about how bad life is treating you, you’re going to live in a pretty miserable, depressing world. You may be tempted to merely use your words to describe negative situations, but God wants us to use our words to change our negative Situations. Don’t talk about the problem, talk about the solution.
The Bible clearly tells us to speak to our mountains. Maybe your mountain is a sickness; perhaps your mountain is a troubled relationship; maybe your mountain is a floundering business. Whatever your mountain is, you must do more than think about it, more than pray about it; you must speak to that obstacle. The Bible says, “Let the weak say I’m strong. Let the oppressed say I’m free. Let the sick say I’m healed. Let the poor say I’m well off.”
Start calling yourself healed, happy, whole, blessed, and prosperous. Stop talking to God about how big your mountains are, and start talking to your mountains about how big your God is!
I love what David did when he faced the giant Goliath. He didn’t murmur and complain and say, “God, why do I always have these huge problems?” No, he changed his whole atmosphere through the words that came out of his mouth. He didn’t dwell on the fact that Goliath was three times his size. Nor did he dwell on the fact that Goliath was a skilled warrior and he was just a shepherd boy. No, he didn’t focus on the magnitude of the obstacle before him. He chose instead to focus on the greatness of his God.
When Goliath saw how young and small David was, he began to laugh. He jeered, “Am I a dog that you’d come at me with a stick?”
But David looked him right in the eyes, and with great determination, he said, “Listen, Goliath, you come against me with a sword and a shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Israel.”
Now, those are words of faith! Notice, too, that he spoke the words aloud. He didn’t merely think them; he didn’t simply pray them. He spoke directly to the mountain of a man in front of him, and said, “I will defeat you and feed your flesh to the birds of the air this very day” And with God’s help, he did exactly that!
Those are the kinds of words you must learn to speak in your everyday circumstances, and especially in times of crisis and adversity. When you’re facing obstacles in your path, you must boldly say, “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. No weapon formed against me is going to prosper. God always causes me to triumph.” Quit worrying and complaining about the obstacle, and start speaking to it. Quit complaining about poverty and lack and start declaring, “God supplies all of my needs in abundance.” Quit nagging that friend or family member who is not serving God and start declaring, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Quit complaining that nothing good ever happens to you and start declaring, “Everything I touch prospers and succeeds.” We must stop cursing the darkness. Let’s start commanding the light to come.
Friend, there is a miracle in your mouth. If you want to change your world, start by changing your words. When times get tough, don’t give in to murmuring, disputing, and complaining. Speak to those problems. If you’ll learn how to speak the right words and keep the right attitude, God will turn that situation around.
You may be thinking, This sounds too good to be true, Joel. I know it’s true! I saw the power of our thoughts and words turn an impossible situation in my own family into a modern-day medical miracle. Come on, let me tell you about it.
Speaking Life-Changing Words
In 1981, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and given just a few weeks to live. I’ll never forget what a shock that news was to our family I had never seen my mother sick one day in all my life. She was extremely healthy and active. She loved being outdoors, working in the yard, working in her flowerbeds.
I was away at college when the doctor’s report came. My brother, Paul, called me and said, “Joel, Mother is very, very sick.”
“What do you mean, Paul? Does she have the flu or something like that?”
“No, Joel,” Paul replied. “She’s losing weight. Her skin is yellow, and she’s extremely weak; something is seriously wrong with her.”
Mother was hospitalized for twenty-one days, while the doctors ran test after test. They sent her lab work all over the country, hoping to find some key to help her. Finally, they came back with the dreaded report that she had metastatic cancer of the liver. They called my dad out into the hallway and said, “Pastor, we hate to tell you this, but your wife has only a few weeks to live. Not months, weeks . .
Medical science had reached the limits of what they could do. The best and brightest doctors in the world had exhausted their efforts, so they basically sent our mom home to die.
We expressed our sincere appreciation to the doctors and hospital staff for their hard work, but we refused to accept their opinions. I’m grateful for doctors, hospitals, medicine, and science, but the medical professionals can present only what their medical charts tell them. Thank God, you and I can appeal to a higher Authority. We can always have another report. Gods report says, “I will restore health to you and heal your wounds.”
We serve a supernatural God. He is not limited to the laws of nature. He can do what human beings cannot do. He can make a way in our lives where it looks as if there is no way. That’s what we prayed that He would do in Mother’s life.
And my mother never gave up. She refused to speak words of defeat. She didn’t complain about how sick or weak she felt, or how awful her life was, or how hopeless her situation looked. She chose to put God’s words in her mind and in her mouth.
She started speaking faith-filled words. She started calling in health and calling in healing. All during the day we’d hear her going through the house speaking aloud, “I will live and not die, and I will declare the works of the Lord.” She was like a walking Bible!
I’d say, “Mother, how are you doing?”
She’d say; “Joel, I’m strong in the Lord and the power of His might.” She pored over her Bible and found about thirty or forty favorite passages of Scripture concerning healing. She wrote them down, and every day, she’d read over them and boldly declare them aloud. We’d see her walking up and down the driveway, saying, “With long life, He satisfies me and shows me His salvation.”
Mother mixed her words with God’s Words, and something powerful began to happen. Her circumstances began to change. Not overnight, but little by little, she began to feel better. She got her appetite back and started gaining weight. Slowly but surely, her strength returned.
What was happening? God was watching over His Word to perform it. God was restoring health to her and healing her of her wounds. A few weeks went by and Mother got a little better. A few months went by, and she was even better. A few years went by, and she just kept on confessing God’s Word. Today, it has been more than twenty years since we received the report that Mother had just a few weeks to live, and as I write these words, Mother is totally free from that cancer, healed by the power of God’s Word!
And she is still confessing God’s Word. She gets up every morning and reviews those same Scriptures on the subject of healing. She still speaks those words of faith, victory, and health over her life. She won’t leave the house until she does it. Beyond that, she loves to remind “Mr. Death” that he has no hold on her life. Every time my mother passes a graveyard, she literally shouts out loud, “With long life He satisfies me and shows me His salvation!” The first time she did that when I was riding in the car with her, I nearly’ jumped out of my seat!
But Mother refuses to give the enemy a foothold.
Boldly Confess God’s Word
Mother used her words to change her world, and you can do the same thing. Maybe you are facing a “hopeless” situation. Don’t give up. God is a miracle-working God. He knows what you’re going through, and He will not let you down. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. If you will trust in Him and start speaking words of faith, your circumstances will begin to change.
Of course, we don’t have to be in life-threatening situations to use God’s Word. We can speak God’s Word in our everyday lives. Parents, you ought to speak God’s Word over your children every day before they go to school. Just say, “Father, You promised me in Psalm 91 that You will give Your angels charge over us and that no evil would come near our household. So I thank You that my children are supernaturally protected, and You are guiding them and watching after them. Father, You said that we’re the head and not the tail, and You will surround us with favor. So I thank You that my children are blessed, and they will excel at whatever they put their hands to do.”
Speaking God’s Word over your children can make an enormous difference in their lives. I know my mother prayed over my siblings and me every day before we went to school. She prayed specifically that we’d never break any bones. She raised five healthy very active children. We all played sports and did a lot of crazy things, but to this day, as far as I know, not one of us has ever broken a bone.
Just as it is imperative that we see ourselves as God sees us and think about ourselves as God regards us, it is equally important that we say about ourselves what God says about us. Our words are vital in bringing our dreams to past. It’s not enough to simply see it by faith or in your imagination. You have to begin speaking words of faith over your life. Your words have enormous creative power. The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it. This is a spiritual principle, and it works whether what you are saying is good or bad, positive or negative.
In that regard, many times we are our own worst enemies. We blame everybody and everything else, but the truth is, we are profoundly influenced by what we say about ourselves. Scripture says, “We are snared by the words of our mouth.”
“Nothing good ever happens to me. My dreams never come to pass. I knew I wouldn’t get promoted.” Statements such as these will literally prevent you from moving ahead in life. That’s why you must learn to guard your tongue and speak only faith-filled words over your life. This is one of the most important principles you can ever grab hold of. Simply put, your words can either make you or break you.
God never commanded us to repeatedly verbalize our pain and suffering. He didn’t instruct us to go around discussing our negative situations, airing our “dirty laundry” with all our friends and neighbors. Instead, God told us to speak constantly of His goodness, to speak of His promises in the morning at the breakfast table, in the evenings around the dinner table, at night before bedtime, continually dwelling on the good things of God.
You could experience a new sense of joy in your home, if you’d simply stop talking about the negative things in your life and begin talking about God’s Word.
If you are always talking about your problems, don’t be surprised if you live in perpetual defeat. If you’re in the habit of saying, “Nothing good ever happens to me,” guess what? Nothing good is going to happen to you! You must stop talking about the problem and start talking about the solution. Quit speaking words of defeat, and start speaking words of victory. Don’t use your words to describe your situation; use your words to change your situation.
Every morning, when I get out of bed, I say, “Father, I thank You that I am strong in the Lord and the power of Your might. I am well able to do what You have called me to do.” I quote several other passages of Scripture regarding God’s favor in my life. What am I doing? I am starting off my day on a positive note, aligning my thoughts and words with His.
Set the tone for the entire day as soon as you get out of bed. If you wait until you have read the morning newspaper, you’ll start your day with all sorts of sad, dreary news. Try starting your day with some good news by speaking God’s Word over your life! Don’t wait till you’ve checked the stock report, or you’ll be up one day and down the next. The moment you wake up, begin to give new life to your dreams by speaking words of faith and victory
Understand, avoiding negative talk is not enough. That’s similar to a football team having a good defense but no offense. If your team is constantly playing defense, you stand little chance of scoring. You must get the ball and move it down the field; you must get on the offense. You have to be aggressive.
Similarly, you must start boldly confessing God’s Word, using your words to move forward in life, to bring to life the great things God has in store for you. The Scripture says, “With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This same principle is true in other areas. When you believe God’s Word and begin to speak it, mixing it with your faith, you are actually confirming that truth and making it valid in your own life.
If you are facing sickness today, you should confirm God’s Word concerning healing. Say something such as, “Father, I thank You that You promised me in Psalms that I will live and not die and I will declare the works of the Lord.” As you boldly declare it, you are confirming that truth in your own life.
If you are struggling financially, instead of talking about the problem, you need to boldly declare, “Everything I put my hands to prospers and succeeds!”
Friend, when you make those kinds of bold declarations, all heaven comes to attention to back up God’s Word.
God has not given us hundreds of promises simply for us to read and enjoy God has given us His promises so we might boldly declare them to bring us victory, health, hope, and abundant life.
In 1997, Victoria and I bad the opportunity to develop the last full power television station available in Houston, channel 55. It was a tremendous opportunity but also an enormous undertaking. All we had was a construction permit, basically a piece of paper giving us the right to build the station. We didn’t have a studio, we didn’t have a transmitter or a tower to put it on; oh, and we had no programming! We were starting totally from scratch. And we had less than a year to get the station on the air or we’d lose the license. We really needed God’s supernatural wisdom to deal with the day-to-day details of building a television station.
I decided to do what my mother did, and every morning when I read my Bible, I wrote down any verse or passage of Scripture that had to do with wisdom or guidance. After a couple of weeks, I had recorded twenty or thirty passages, and every day, before we would leave the house, Victoria and I would read those Scriptures and boldly declare them.
One of my favorite passages was: “For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding. He grants good sense to the godly—his saints. He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway. He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to make the right decision every time.” We’d say, “Father, we thank You that we have Your supernatural wisdom, and we do have the ability to make the right decision every time. Father, You said the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, so we thank You that You are guiding and directing our steps.” And I cannot tell you how many times during the development of that television station God supernaturally protected us and kept us from making mistakes.
For instance, I was just about to pick up the phone and order an extremely expensive and critical piece of equipment, probably the most important piece of equipment in a television station. Just before I did, a man called me out of the clear blue, and we discussed numerous issues. Toward the end of our conversation, he said something that gave me insight and totally changed the decision I was about to make.
What was happening? God was using that man to help guide us; God was protecting us from making a poor decision, and He was giving us good sense to make the correct decision. God was watching over His Word to perform it.
God wants to do something similar for you, but you can’t be lazy. Search the Scriptures and highlight those that particularly apply to your life situation. Write them down and get in the habit of declaring them.
God has already done everything He’s going to do. The ball is now in your court. If you want success, if you want wisdom, if you want to be prosperous and healthy, you’re going to have to do more than meditate and believe; you must boldly declare words of faith and victory over yourself and your family.
Speaking a Blessing
As parents, we can profoundly influence the direction of our children’s lives by the words we say to them. I believe as husbands and wives we can set the direction for our entire family. As a business owner, you can help set the direction for your employees. With our words, we have the ability to help mold and shape the future of anyone over whom we have influence.
And each of us has influence over somebody. You may not consider yourself a leader, but you have a sphere of influence nonetheless—somebody or some group that looks up to you. Even if you’re a teenager, somebody values your opinion. It is vital that we speak “good things” into the lives of those over whom we have influence. That doesn’t mean we will never disagree with them or have to confront and correct them. But the general tenor of our words to them and about them should be positive.
A well-meaning mother was constantly nagging her teenage son. “You’re so lazy; you’re never going to amount to anything! If you don’t shape up, you’re never going to get into college. You’ll probably wind up getting into trouble.”
Those kinds of negative words will destroy a person quicker than you can imagine. You cannot speak negatively about someone on one hand, then turn around and expect that person to be blessed. If you want your son or daughter to be productive and successful, you need to begin declaring words of life over your children rather than predictions of doom and despair. The Scripture reminds us that with our words we can bless people or we can curse them.
In the Old Testament, the people clearly understood the power of the blessing. As the family patriarch approached senility or death, the oldest sons gathered alongside their father. The father would then lay his hands on each son’s head and speak loving, faith-filled words over them about their future. These pronouncements comprised what was known ever after as “the blessing.” The family realized that these were more than Dad’s dying wishes; these words carried spiritual authority and had the ability to bring success, prosperity, and health into their future.
Many times, children even fought over the father’s blessing. They’ weren’t fighting over money that they might inherit. Nor were they arguing over the family business. No, they were fighting over faith-filled words. They realized that if they received the father’s blessing, wealth and success would be a natural by-product. Beyond that, they deeply desired the blessing from somebody they loved and respected.
One of the most amazing biblical records concerning the power of the blessing comes out of the lives of Jacob and Esau, the two sons of Isaac. Jacob wanted his father’s blessing—not just any blessing, but the blessing that rightfully belonged to the firstborn son in the family. Isaac was old, near death, and he was practically blind. One day he called in his son Esau and said, “Esau, go kill some game, and prepare me a meal and I will give you the blessing that belongs to the firstborn son.” But Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, overheard this conversation. Rebekah loved Jacob more than she loved Esau, so she told Jacob to put on Esau’s clothes in an attempt to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing. Then she prepared one of Isaac’s favorite meals.
While Esau was out in the field hunting, she said to Jacob, “Go to your father and present him this food. And he’ll give you the blessing that really belongs to your brother.”
Jacob recognized the seriousness of this duplicity He said, “But Mother, what if he finds out that I’m lying, and he curses me instead of blesses me? I’ll be cursed for the rest of my life!”
Think about that. Jacob understood that he was risking his entire future on this gambit. He recognized that the words his father spoke over him would impact him, for either good or evil, the rest of his life.
Declare God’s Favor
Whether we realize it or not, our words affect our children’s future for either good or evil. Our words have the same kind of power that Isaac’s words had. We need to speak loving words of approval and acceptance, words that encourage, inspire, and motivate our children to reach for new heights. When we do that, we are speaking blessings into their lives. We are speaking abundance and increase. We’re declaring God’s favor in their lives.
But too often, we slip into being harsh and critical with our children, constantly finding fault in something our children are doing. “Why can’t you make better grades? You didn’t mow the lawn right. Go clean your room—it looks like a pigpen! You can’t do anything right, can you?”
Such negative words will cause our children to lose the sense of value God has placed within them. As parents, we do have a responsibility before God and society to train our children, to discipline them when they disobey, to lovingly correct them when they make wrong choices. But we should not constantly harp on our kids. If you continually speak words that discourage and dishearten, before long you will destroy your child’s self-image. And with your negative words, you will open a door, allowing the enemy to bring all kinds of insecurity and inferiority into your child’s life. Millions of adults today are still suffering as a result of the negative words their parents spoke over them as children.
Remember, if you make the mistake of constantly speaking negative words over your children, you are cursing their future. Moreover, God will hold you responsible for destroying their destiny. With authority comes responsibility, and you have the responsibility as the spiritual authority over your child to make sure that he feels loved, accepted, and approved. You have the responsibility to bless your children.
Beyond that, most children get their concepts of who God is and what He is like from their fathers. If their father is mean, critical, and harsh, inevitably the children will grow up with a distorted view of God. If the father is loving, kind, compassionate, and just, the child will better understand God’s character.
One of the reasons I talk so much about the goodness of God is because I saw it modeled by my dad. Nobody could have represented God any better to us Osteen kids than my dad did. Even when we made mistakes or got off track, while Daddy was firm, he was also loving and kind. He nurtured us back to the right course. He never beat us into line; he loved us into line. Although he was very busy, he always took time for us. He encouraged us to do great things, to fulfill our dreams. He used to say, “Joel,, don’t do what I want you to do. Do what you want to do. Follow your own dreams.”
Daddy believed in my brother and sisters and me. He told us we were great, even when we knew we weren’t. He referred to us as blessings when we knew we weren’t acting as blessings. Sometimes we’d make him mad, and he’d say, “I’m about to beat a little blessing to death!”
Mother and Daddy raised five children in our home. When we were growing up, we didn’t have children’s church programs such as many churches now have. We all met in the same auditorium. My little sister, April, and I used to sit on the front row of that little feed store that held about two hundred people. We’d play tic-tac-toe the whole service. (I’m confessing to let you know there’s still hope for your children. I didn’t pay attention, and God made me a pastor. Who knows what God is going to do with your children!)
Daddy would be up on the platform, and Mother would have all five of us kids lined up in a row. She’d have her hands raised in the air, worshiping God with her eyes completely closed. Yet she had an incredible ability, even with her eyes closed, to know when we kids were cutting up. That amazed me. I think that was my first experience with the supernatural power of God! I’d watch Mother to make sure that her eyes were closed before I’d do something to aggravate my brother, Paul. Without missing a beat, Mother would slowly bring one hand down, very gracefully grab my arm, and pinch the fire out of me! I wanted to scream, but I knew better. And then she’d lift that arm back up and continue worshiping the Lord.
I used to think, Mama, you have a gift. That’s supernatural!
I’m joking (a little), but the point is my siblings and I were not perfect kids. We made plenty of mistakes. But my parents never focused on our weaknesses or on the problems. They always focused on the solutions. They constantly told us we were the best kids in the world. And we grew up secure, knowing that our parents not only loved each other, but they loved us and believed in us. They were going to stand behind us through thick and thin. We knew they were never going to criticize or condemn us, but would always believe the best in us.
Because I grew up with acceptance and approval from my parents, now, as a father myself. I’m practicing the same sort of thing with my children. I’m speaking words of blessing into their lives that will be passed down to another generation. And I know my children will pass down the goodness of God to their children, and on and on.
One of the first things I do when I see my little boy Jonathan, in the morning is to say “Jonathan, you’re the best.” I’m constantly telling him, “Jonathan, you are God’s gift to Mother and me. We love you. We’re proud of you. We’ll always stand behind you.” I tell our daughter, Alexandra, the same sort of things.
Before they go to bed, I tell both of our children, “Daddy will always be your best friend.” Victoria and I constantly tell them, “There’s nothing you can’t do. You have a bright future in front of you. You’re surrounded by God’s favor. Everything you touch is going to prosper.”
Victoria and I believe that we have an opportunity and a responsibility to speak God’s blessings into our children now, while they are young. Why should we wait till they are teenagers, or in their twenties and about to get married, to begin praying for God’s blessings in their lives? No, we’re declaring God’s blessings over them all the days of their lives. And we are convinced that our words will impact our children long after they are grown and have children of their own.
What are you passing down to the next generation? It’s not enough to think it; you must vocalize it. A blessing is not a blessing until it is spoken. Your children need to hear you say words such as, “I love you. I believe in you. I think you’re great. There’s nobody else like you. You are one of a kind.” They need to hear your approval. They need to feel your love. They need your blessing.
Your children may be grown and gone, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking up the phone to call and encourage them, to tell them you are proud of them. Maybe you didn’t do well at blessing your children as they were growing up. It’s not too late. Start to do it now.
Words Can’t Be Taken Back
Jacob stood before his nearly blind father, Isaac, pretending to be his brother, Esau. Although Isaac’s eyesight was dim, his intellect was not. He questioned, “Esau, is that really you?”
“Yes, Father; it’s me,” Jacob lied.
Isaac wasn’t convinced, so he called his son closer to him. Only when he smelled Esau’s clothes that Jacob was wearing was he finally convinced. He then gave Jacob the blessing that really belonged to his older brother. He said something like this: “May you always have an abundance of grain and an abundance of wine. May nations bow low before you and people always serve you. May you be the lord over your brothers. May anyone that curses you be cursed, and anyone that blesses you be blessed.” Notice, in Isaac’s blessing he declared great things concerning Jacob’s future, and a study of history will show that those things came to pass.
On the other hand, shortly after Jacob left the room, Esau came in. He said, “Dad, sit up; I’ve got the meal I’ve prepared for you.”
Now Isaac was confused. He said, “Who are you?”
“Dad, I’m Esau, your firstborn son.” At that point, the Bible records that Isaac began to shake violently. He realized that he had been duped. He explained to Esau how his brother, Jacob, had come in and deceitfully tricked him out of his blessing.
Now, here’s an amazing aspect of this awful story of treachery Esau began to cry with a loud voice, saying, “Father, can’t you still give me the blessing that belongs to the firstborn?”
Isaac’s answer was insightful and powerful: “No, the words have already gone forth, and I cannot take them back. I said that Jacob will be blessed, and he will always be blessed.”
Do you see the power of our words? Do you see the power of speaking blessings over your children? Isaac said, “Once the words go forth, I can’t take them back.” He gave Esau a lesser blessing, but it was not nearly as significant as the one he had given to Jacob.
We need to be extremely careful about what we allow to come out of our mouths. The next time you’re tempted to talk down to somebody, to belittle your child or degrade him, remember, you can’t ever get those words back. Once you speak them, they take on a life of their own.
Use your words to speak blessings over people. Quit criticizing your child and start declaring great things in store for her future.
We should never speak negative destructive words toward anybody, especially toward people over whom we have authority or influence. Just because you have your own business or supervise a large number of employees doesn’t give you the right to talk down to them and make them feel badly about themselves. Quite the contrary! God is going to hold you accountable for what you say to those individuals under your authority, and He is going to judge you by a stricter standard. You should go out of your way to speak positive words that build up and encourage.
Similarly, it is important for a husband to understand that his words have tremendous power in his wife’s life. He needs to bless her with his words. She’s given her life to love and care for him, to partner with him, to create a family together, to nurture his children. If he is always finding fault in something she’s doing, always putting her down, he will reap horrendous problems in his marriage and in his life. Moreover, many women today are depressed and feel emotionally abused because their husbands do not bless them with their words. One of the leading causes of emotional breakdowns among married women is the fact that women do not feel valued. One of the main reasons for that deficiency is because husbands are willfully or unwittingly withholding the words of approval women so desperately desire. If you want to see God do wonders in your marriage, start praising your spouse. Start appreciating and encouraging her.
“Oh, my wife knows I love her,” one elderly fellow said. “I don’t need to tell her. I told her back when we got married forty-two years ago.
No, she needs to hear it again and again. Every single day, a husband should tell his wife, “I love you. I appreciate you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” A wife should do the same for her husband. Your relationship would improve immensely if you’d simply start speaking kind, positive words, blessing your spouse instead of cursing him or her.
Declare God’s Goodness
You must start declaring God’s goodness in your life. Start boldly declaring, “God’s face is smiling toward me, and He longs to be good to me.” That is not bragging. That is how God says we’re going to be blessed when we start declaring His goodness.
Allow me to make some declarations in your life:
• I declare that you are blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom, and you have clear direction for your life.
• I declare that you are blessed with creativity, with courage, with ability, and with abundance.
• I declare that you are blessed with a strong will and with self-control and self-discipline.
• I declare that you are blessed with a great family, with good friends, with good health, and with faith, favor, and fulfillment.
• I declare that you are blessed with success, with supernatural strength, with promotion, and with divine protection.
• I declare that you are blessed with an obedient heart and with a positive outlook on life.
• I declare that any curse that has ever been spoken over you, any negative evil word that has ever come against you, is broken right now.
• I declare that you are blessed in the city. You are blessed in the country. You are blessed when you go in. You are blessed when you come out.
• I declare that everything you put your hands to do is going to prosper and succeed.
• I declare that you are blessed!
I encourage you to receive these words and meditate on them; let them sink down deeply into your heart and mind and become a reality in your life. Practice doing something similar with your family. Learn to speak blessings over your life, your friends, your future. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it is spoken. If you’ll do your part and start boldly speaking blessings over your life and the lives of those around you, God will provide everything you need to live the life of abundance He wants you to have.
The first time Jose Lima stepped onto the new diamond, he walked out to the pitcher’s mound, and when he looked into the outfield, he immediately noticed the dose proximity of that left-field fence. “I’ll never be able to pitch in here,” he said.
The next season, despite the enthusiasm of the fans and the excitement of playing in that brand-new ballpark, Jose had the worst year of his career. He plummeted from being a twenty-game winner to being a sixteen-game loser in back-to-back seasons. Never in the history of the Astros franchise had any pitcher experienced such a pronounced negative turnaround.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
What happened to Jose? The same thing that happens to many of us every day—we get what we say. Our words become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you allow your thoughts to defeat you and then give birth to negative ideas through your words, your actions will follow suit. That’s why we need to be extremely careful about what we think and especially careful about what we say. Our words have tremendous power, and whether we want to or not, we will give life to what we’re saying, either good or bad.
Sadly, many people are living discouraged lives because of their words. They say things such as:
• “Nothing good ever happens to me.”
• “I’ll never be successful.”
• “I don’t have what it takes. I can’t do it.”
• “I’ll never get out of this mess.
Some people even call themselves names! “What an idiot! You never can do anything right.” They don’t realize it, but their own words are paving the way for failure.
Words are similar to seeds. By speaking them aloud, they are planted in our subconscious minds, and they take on a life of their own; they take root, grow, and produce fruit of the same kind. If we speak positive words, our lives will move in that direction. Similarly, negative words will produce poor results. We can’t speak words of defeat and failure yet expect to live in victory. We will reap exactly what we sow.
The Bible compares the tongue to the rudder of a huge ship. Although that rudder is small, it controls the direction of the entire ship, and, in a similar manner, your tongue will control the direction of your life. If you habitually speak words of failure, you are going to move in the direction of a defeated, discouraged life. If your conversation regularly includes phrases such as “I can’t. I’m not able to. I don’t have what it takes,” or other negative comments, you are setting yourself up for defeat. Those negative words will keep you from being the person God wants you to be.
I heard about a doctor who understood the power of words. One prescription he gave to all his patients was for them to say at least once every hour, “I’m getting better and better every day, in every way.” The doctor’s patients experienced amazing results, much better than the patients treated by many of his colleagues.
When you say something often enough, with enthusiasm and passion, before long your subconscious mind begins to act on what you are saying, doing whatever is necessary to bring those thoughts and words to pass. Sadly, most people insist on saying negative things over their lives. They continually denigrate themselves with their own words. They don’t realize that their own words will decimate their confidence and destroy their self-esteem. In fact, if you are struggling with low self-esteem, you need to go overboard in speaking positive, faith-filled words of victory about your life. Get up each morning and look in the mirror and say, “I am valuable. I am loved. God has a great plan for my life. I have favor wherever I go. God’s blessings are chasing me down and overtaking me. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. I’m excited about my future!” Start speaking those kinds of words, and before long, you will rise to a new level of well-being, success, and victory. There truly is power in your words.
We have to be particularly careful about what we say during times of adversity or hardship, when things aren’t going our way. How you respond in the adversities of life and what you say in the midst of your difficulties will have a great impact on how long you stay in those situations. As a rule, the more positive your thoughts and words, the stronger you will be and the sooner you will get over whatever ails you. Admittedly, when times get tough, our human nature tends to want to complain, to talk about the problem, to tell everybody who will listen how badly life is treating us. But such conversations are self-defeating. To get through a tough time quicker and with better results, we must learn to speak as positively as possible.
Too often, we make the mistake of adopting negative attitudes and complaining.
“I knew my marriage wasn’t going to work out.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get out of debt.”
“I guess I’ll just have to put up with this health problem for the rest of my life.”
When you start talking like that, you become your own worst enemy. If there’s ever a time you must guard what you say, it’s in times of trouble. When you feel overwhelmed, when you’re stressed out, when everything in the world has come against you, when that left-field fence looms largely over your shoulder, that’s when you need to be on high alert. That’s when you are the most vulnerable and the most likely to slip into a negative attitude, speaking negative comments. Your subconscious mind picks up your words, treats them as true, valid statements, and then sets about trying to fulfill them. When that happens, you have nobody else to blame but yourself; you’ve been undermined by your own thoughts and words.
Guard What You Say
If you’re in a storm today, now more than ever you need to guard what you say and not allow any negative, destructive words to come out of your mouth. Scripture says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and you will eat the fruit thereof.” In other words, you create an environment for either good or evil with your words, and you are going to have to live in that world you’ve created. If you’re always murmuring, complaining, and talking about how bad life is treating you, you’re going to live in a pretty miserable, depressing world. You may be tempted to merely use your words to describe negative situations, but God wants us to use our words to change our negative Situations. Don’t talk about the problem, talk about the solution.
The Bible clearly tells us to speak to our mountains. Maybe your mountain is a sickness; perhaps your mountain is a troubled relationship; maybe your mountain is a floundering business. Whatever your mountain is, you must do more than think about it, more than pray about it; you must speak to that obstacle. The Bible says, “Let the weak say I’m strong. Let the oppressed say I’m free. Let the sick say I’m healed. Let the poor say I’m well off.”
Start calling yourself healed, happy, whole, blessed, and prosperous. Stop talking to God about how big your mountains are, and start talking to your mountains about how big your God is!
I love what David did when he faced the giant Goliath. He didn’t murmur and complain and say, “God, why do I always have these huge problems?” No, he changed his whole atmosphere through the words that came out of his mouth. He didn’t dwell on the fact that Goliath was three times his size. Nor did he dwell on the fact that Goliath was a skilled warrior and he was just a shepherd boy. No, he didn’t focus on the magnitude of the obstacle before him. He chose instead to focus on the greatness of his God.
When Goliath saw how young and small David was, he began to laugh. He jeered, “Am I a dog that you’d come at me with a stick?”
But David looked him right in the eyes, and with great determination, he said, “Listen, Goliath, you come against me with a sword and a shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Israel.”
Now, those are words of faith! Notice, too, that he spoke the words aloud. He didn’t merely think them; he didn’t simply pray them. He spoke directly to the mountain of a man in front of him, and said, “I will defeat you and feed your flesh to the birds of the air this very day” And with God’s help, he did exactly that!
Those are the kinds of words you must learn to speak in your everyday circumstances, and especially in times of crisis and adversity. When you’re facing obstacles in your path, you must boldly say, “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. No weapon formed against me is going to prosper. God always causes me to triumph.” Quit worrying and complaining about the obstacle, and start speaking to it. Quit complaining about poverty and lack and start declaring, “God supplies all of my needs in abundance.” Quit nagging that friend or family member who is not serving God and start declaring, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Quit complaining that nothing good ever happens to you and start declaring, “Everything I touch prospers and succeeds.” We must stop cursing the darkness. Let’s start commanding the light to come.
Friend, there is a miracle in your mouth. If you want to change your world, start by changing your words. When times get tough, don’t give in to murmuring, disputing, and complaining. Speak to those problems. If you’ll learn how to speak the right words and keep the right attitude, God will turn that situation around.
You may be thinking, This sounds too good to be true, Joel. I know it’s true! I saw the power of our thoughts and words turn an impossible situation in my own family into a modern-day medical miracle. Come on, let me tell you about it.
Speaking Life-Changing Words
In 1981, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and given just a few weeks to live. I’ll never forget what a shock that news was to our family I had never seen my mother sick one day in all my life. She was extremely healthy and active. She loved being outdoors, working in the yard, working in her flowerbeds.
I was away at college when the doctor’s report came. My brother, Paul, called me and said, “Joel, Mother is very, very sick.”
“What do you mean, Paul? Does she have the flu or something like that?”
“No, Joel,” Paul replied. “She’s losing weight. Her skin is yellow, and she’s extremely weak; something is seriously wrong with her.”
Mother was hospitalized for twenty-one days, while the doctors ran test after test. They sent her lab work all over the country, hoping to find some key to help her. Finally, they came back with the dreaded report that she had metastatic cancer of the liver. They called my dad out into the hallway and said, “Pastor, we hate to tell you this, but your wife has only a few weeks to live. Not months, weeks . .
Medical science had reached the limits of what they could do. The best and brightest doctors in the world had exhausted their efforts, so they basically sent our mom home to die.
We expressed our sincere appreciation to the doctors and hospital staff for their hard work, but we refused to accept their opinions. I’m grateful for doctors, hospitals, medicine, and science, but the medical professionals can present only what their medical charts tell them. Thank God, you and I can appeal to a higher Authority. We can always have another report. Gods report says, “I will restore health to you and heal your wounds.”
We serve a supernatural God. He is not limited to the laws of nature. He can do what human beings cannot do. He can make a way in our lives where it looks as if there is no way. That’s what we prayed that He would do in Mother’s life.
And my mother never gave up. She refused to speak words of defeat. She didn’t complain about how sick or weak she felt, or how awful her life was, or how hopeless her situation looked. She chose to put God’s words in her mind and in her mouth.
She started speaking faith-filled words. She started calling in health and calling in healing. All during the day we’d hear her going through the house speaking aloud, “I will live and not die, and I will declare the works of the Lord.” She was like a walking Bible!
I’d say, “Mother, how are you doing?”
She’d say; “Joel, I’m strong in the Lord and the power of His might.” She pored over her Bible and found about thirty or forty favorite passages of Scripture concerning healing. She wrote them down, and every day, she’d read over them and boldly declare them aloud. We’d see her walking up and down the driveway, saying, “With long life, He satisfies me and shows me His salvation.”
Mother mixed her words with God’s Words, and something powerful began to happen. Her circumstances began to change. Not overnight, but little by little, she began to feel better. She got her appetite back and started gaining weight. Slowly but surely, her strength returned.
What was happening? God was watching over His Word to perform it. God was restoring health to her and healing her of her wounds. A few weeks went by and Mother got a little better. A few months went by, and she was even better. A few years went by, and she just kept on confessing God’s Word. Today, it has been more than twenty years since we received the report that Mother had just a few weeks to live, and as I write these words, Mother is totally free from that cancer, healed by the power of God’s Word!
And she is still confessing God’s Word. She gets up every morning and reviews those same Scriptures on the subject of healing. She still speaks those words of faith, victory, and health over her life. She won’t leave the house until she does it. Beyond that, she loves to remind “Mr. Death” that he has no hold on her life. Every time my mother passes a graveyard, she literally shouts out loud, “With long life He satisfies me and shows me His salvation!” The first time she did that when I was riding in the car with her, I nearly’ jumped out of my seat!
But Mother refuses to give the enemy a foothold.
Boldly Confess God’s Word
Mother used her words to change her world, and you can do the same thing. Maybe you are facing a “hopeless” situation. Don’t give up. God is a miracle-working God. He knows what you’re going through, and He will not let you down. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. If you will trust in Him and start speaking words of faith, your circumstances will begin to change.
Of course, we don’t have to be in life-threatening situations to use God’s Word. We can speak God’s Word in our everyday lives. Parents, you ought to speak God’s Word over your children every day before they go to school. Just say, “Father, You promised me in Psalm 91 that You will give Your angels charge over us and that no evil would come near our household. So I thank You that my children are supernaturally protected, and You are guiding them and watching after them. Father, You said that we’re the head and not the tail, and You will surround us with favor. So I thank You that my children are blessed, and they will excel at whatever they put their hands to do.”
Speaking God’s Word over your children can make an enormous difference in their lives. I know my mother prayed over my siblings and me every day before we went to school. She prayed specifically that we’d never break any bones. She raised five healthy very active children. We all played sports and did a lot of crazy things, but to this day, as far as I know, not one of us has ever broken a bone.
Just as it is imperative that we see ourselves as God sees us and think about ourselves as God regards us, it is equally important that we say about ourselves what God says about us. Our words are vital in bringing our dreams to past. It’s not enough to simply see it by faith or in your imagination. You have to begin speaking words of faith over your life. Your words have enormous creative power. The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it. This is a spiritual principle, and it works whether what you are saying is good or bad, positive or negative.
In that regard, many times we are our own worst enemies. We blame everybody and everything else, but the truth is, we are profoundly influenced by what we say about ourselves. Scripture says, “We are snared by the words of our mouth.”
“Nothing good ever happens to me. My dreams never come to pass. I knew I wouldn’t get promoted.” Statements such as these will literally prevent you from moving ahead in life. That’s why you must learn to guard your tongue and speak only faith-filled words over your life. This is one of the most important principles you can ever grab hold of. Simply put, your words can either make you or break you.
God never commanded us to repeatedly verbalize our pain and suffering. He didn’t instruct us to go around discussing our negative situations, airing our “dirty laundry” with all our friends and neighbors. Instead, God told us to speak constantly of His goodness, to speak of His promises in the morning at the breakfast table, in the evenings around the dinner table, at night before bedtime, continually dwelling on the good things of God.
You could experience a new sense of joy in your home, if you’d simply stop talking about the negative things in your life and begin talking about God’s Word.
If you are always talking about your problems, don’t be surprised if you live in perpetual defeat. If you’re in the habit of saying, “Nothing good ever happens to me,” guess what? Nothing good is going to happen to you! You must stop talking about the problem and start talking about the solution. Quit speaking words of defeat, and start speaking words of victory. Don’t use your words to describe your situation; use your words to change your situation.
Every morning, when I get out of bed, I say, “Father, I thank You that I am strong in the Lord and the power of Your might. I am well able to do what You have called me to do.” I quote several other passages of Scripture regarding God’s favor in my life. What am I doing? I am starting off my day on a positive note, aligning my thoughts and words with His.
Set the tone for the entire day as soon as you get out of bed. If you wait until you have read the morning newspaper, you’ll start your day with all sorts of sad, dreary news. Try starting your day with some good news by speaking God’s Word over your life! Don’t wait till you’ve checked the stock report, or you’ll be up one day and down the next. The moment you wake up, begin to give new life to your dreams by speaking words of faith and victory
Understand, avoiding negative talk is not enough. That’s similar to a football team having a good defense but no offense. If your team is constantly playing defense, you stand little chance of scoring. You must get the ball and move it down the field; you must get on the offense. You have to be aggressive.
Similarly, you must start boldly confessing God’s Word, using your words to move forward in life, to bring to life the great things God has in store for you. The Scripture says, “With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This same principle is true in other areas. When you believe God’s Word and begin to speak it, mixing it with your faith, you are actually confirming that truth and making it valid in your own life.
If you are facing sickness today, you should confirm God’s Word concerning healing. Say something such as, “Father, I thank You that You promised me in Psalms that I will live and not die and I will declare the works of the Lord.” As you boldly declare it, you are confirming that truth in your own life.
If you are struggling financially, instead of talking about the problem, you need to boldly declare, “Everything I put my hands to prospers and succeeds!”
Friend, when you make those kinds of bold declarations, all heaven comes to attention to back up God’s Word.
God has not given us hundreds of promises simply for us to read and enjoy God has given us His promises so we might boldly declare them to bring us victory, health, hope, and abundant life.
In 1997, Victoria and I bad the opportunity to develop the last full power television station available in Houston, channel 55. It was a tremendous opportunity but also an enormous undertaking. All we had was a construction permit, basically a piece of paper giving us the right to build the station. We didn’t have a studio, we didn’t have a transmitter or a tower to put it on; oh, and we had no programming! We were starting totally from scratch. And we had less than a year to get the station on the air or we’d lose the license. We really needed God’s supernatural wisdom to deal with the day-to-day details of building a television station.
I decided to do what my mother did, and every morning when I read my Bible, I wrote down any verse or passage of Scripture that had to do with wisdom or guidance. After a couple of weeks, I had recorded twenty or thirty passages, and every day, before we would leave the house, Victoria and I would read those Scriptures and boldly declare them.
One of my favorite passages was: “For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding. He grants good sense to the godly—his saints. He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway. He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to make the right decision every time.” We’d say, “Father, we thank You that we have Your supernatural wisdom, and we do have the ability to make the right decision every time. Father, You said the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, so we thank You that You are guiding and directing our steps.” And I cannot tell you how many times during the development of that television station God supernaturally protected us and kept us from making mistakes.
For instance, I was just about to pick up the phone and order an extremely expensive and critical piece of equipment, probably the most important piece of equipment in a television station. Just before I did, a man called me out of the clear blue, and we discussed numerous issues. Toward the end of our conversation, he said something that gave me insight and totally changed the decision I was about to make.
What was happening? God was using that man to help guide us; God was protecting us from making a poor decision, and He was giving us good sense to make the correct decision. God was watching over His Word to perform it.
God wants to do something similar for you, but you can’t be lazy. Search the Scriptures and highlight those that particularly apply to your life situation. Write them down and get in the habit of declaring them.
God has already done everything He’s going to do. The ball is now in your court. If you want success, if you want wisdom, if you want to be prosperous and healthy, you’re going to have to do more than meditate and believe; you must boldly declare words of faith and victory over yourself and your family.
Speaking a Blessing
As parents, we can profoundly influence the direction of our children’s lives by the words we say to them. I believe as husbands and wives we can set the direction for our entire family. As a business owner, you can help set the direction for your employees. With our words, we have the ability to help mold and shape the future of anyone over whom we have influence.
And each of us has influence over somebody. You may not consider yourself a leader, but you have a sphere of influence nonetheless—somebody or some group that looks up to you. Even if you’re a teenager, somebody values your opinion. It is vital that we speak “good things” into the lives of those over whom we have influence. That doesn’t mean we will never disagree with them or have to confront and correct them. But the general tenor of our words to them and about them should be positive.
A well-meaning mother was constantly nagging her teenage son. “You’re so lazy; you’re never going to amount to anything! If you don’t shape up, you’re never going to get into college. You’ll probably wind up getting into trouble.”
Those kinds of negative words will destroy a person quicker than you can imagine. You cannot speak negatively about someone on one hand, then turn around and expect that person to be blessed. If you want your son or daughter to be productive and successful, you need to begin declaring words of life over your children rather than predictions of doom and despair. The Scripture reminds us that with our words we can bless people or we can curse them.
In the Old Testament, the people clearly understood the power of the blessing. As the family patriarch approached senility or death, the oldest sons gathered alongside their father. The father would then lay his hands on each son’s head and speak loving, faith-filled words over them about their future. These pronouncements comprised what was known ever after as “the blessing.” The family realized that these were more than Dad’s dying wishes; these words carried spiritual authority and had the ability to bring success, prosperity, and health into their future.
Many times, children even fought over the father’s blessing. They’ weren’t fighting over money that they might inherit. Nor were they arguing over the family business. No, they were fighting over faith-filled words. They realized that if they received the father’s blessing, wealth and success would be a natural by-product. Beyond that, they deeply desired the blessing from somebody they loved and respected.
One of the most amazing biblical records concerning the power of the blessing comes out of the lives of Jacob and Esau, the two sons of Isaac. Jacob wanted his father’s blessing—not just any blessing, but the blessing that rightfully belonged to the firstborn son in the family. Isaac was old, near death, and he was practically blind. One day he called in his son Esau and said, “Esau, go kill some game, and prepare me a meal and I will give you the blessing that belongs to the firstborn son.” But Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, overheard this conversation. Rebekah loved Jacob more than she loved Esau, so she told Jacob to put on Esau’s clothes in an attempt to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing. Then she prepared one of Isaac’s favorite meals.
While Esau was out in the field hunting, she said to Jacob, “Go to your father and present him this food. And he’ll give you the blessing that really belongs to your brother.”
Jacob recognized the seriousness of this duplicity He said, “But Mother, what if he finds out that I’m lying, and he curses me instead of blesses me? I’ll be cursed for the rest of my life!”
Think about that. Jacob understood that he was risking his entire future on this gambit. He recognized that the words his father spoke over him would impact him, for either good or evil, the rest of his life.
Declare God’s Favor
Whether we realize it or not, our words affect our children’s future for either good or evil. Our words have the same kind of power that Isaac’s words had. We need to speak loving words of approval and acceptance, words that encourage, inspire, and motivate our children to reach for new heights. When we do that, we are speaking blessings into their lives. We are speaking abundance and increase. We’re declaring God’s favor in their lives.
But too often, we slip into being harsh and critical with our children, constantly finding fault in something our children are doing. “Why can’t you make better grades? You didn’t mow the lawn right. Go clean your room—it looks like a pigpen! You can’t do anything right, can you?”
Such negative words will cause our children to lose the sense of value God has placed within them. As parents, we do have a responsibility before God and society to train our children, to discipline them when they disobey, to lovingly correct them when they make wrong choices. But we should not constantly harp on our kids. If you continually speak words that discourage and dishearten, before long you will destroy your child’s self-image. And with your negative words, you will open a door, allowing the enemy to bring all kinds of insecurity and inferiority into your child’s life. Millions of adults today are still suffering as a result of the negative words their parents spoke over them as children.
Remember, if you make the mistake of constantly speaking negative words over your children, you are cursing their future. Moreover, God will hold you responsible for destroying their destiny. With authority comes responsibility, and you have the responsibility as the spiritual authority over your child to make sure that he feels loved, accepted, and approved. You have the responsibility to bless your children.
Beyond that, most children get their concepts of who God is and what He is like from their fathers. If their father is mean, critical, and harsh, inevitably the children will grow up with a distorted view of God. If the father is loving, kind, compassionate, and just, the child will better understand God’s character.
One of the reasons I talk so much about the goodness of God is because I saw it modeled by my dad. Nobody could have represented God any better to us Osteen kids than my dad did. Even when we made mistakes or got off track, while Daddy was firm, he was also loving and kind. He nurtured us back to the right course. He never beat us into line; he loved us into line. Although he was very busy, he always took time for us. He encouraged us to do great things, to fulfill our dreams. He used to say, “Joel,, don’t do what I want you to do. Do what you want to do. Follow your own dreams.”
Daddy believed in my brother and sisters and me. He told us we were great, even when we knew we weren’t. He referred to us as blessings when we knew we weren’t acting as blessings. Sometimes we’d make him mad, and he’d say, “I’m about to beat a little blessing to death!”
Mother and Daddy raised five children in our home. When we were growing up, we didn’t have children’s church programs such as many churches now have. We all met in the same auditorium. My little sister, April, and I used to sit on the front row of that little feed store that held about two hundred people. We’d play tic-tac-toe the whole service. (I’m confessing to let you know there’s still hope for your children. I didn’t pay attention, and God made me a pastor. Who knows what God is going to do with your children!)
Daddy would be up on the platform, and Mother would have all five of us kids lined up in a row. She’d have her hands raised in the air, worshiping God with her eyes completely closed. Yet she had an incredible ability, even with her eyes closed, to know when we kids were cutting up. That amazed me. I think that was my first experience with the supernatural power of God! I’d watch Mother to make sure that her eyes were closed before I’d do something to aggravate my brother, Paul. Without missing a beat, Mother would slowly bring one hand down, very gracefully grab my arm, and pinch the fire out of me! I wanted to scream, but I knew better. And then she’d lift that arm back up and continue worshiping the Lord.
I used to think, Mama, you have a gift. That’s supernatural!
I’m joking (a little), but the point is my siblings and I were not perfect kids. We made plenty of mistakes. But my parents never focused on our weaknesses or on the problems. They always focused on the solutions. They constantly told us we were the best kids in the world. And we grew up secure, knowing that our parents not only loved each other, but they loved us and believed in us. They were going to stand behind us through thick and thin. We knew they were never going to criticize or condemn us, but would always believe the best in us.
Because I grew up with acceptance and approval from my parents, now, as a father myself. I’m practicing the same sort of thing with my children. I’m speaking words of blessing into their lives that will be passed down to another generation. And I know my children will pass down the goodness of God to their children, and on and on.
One of the first things I do when I see my little boy Jonathan, in the morning is to say “Jonathan, you’re the best.” I’m constantly telling him, “Jonathan, you are God’s gift to Mother and me. We love you. We’re proud of you. We’ll always stand behind you.” I tell our daughter, Alexandra, the same sort of things.
Before they go to bed, I tell both of our children, “Daddy will always be your best friend.” Victoria and I constantly tell them, “There’s nothing you can’t do. You have a bright future in front of you. You’re surrounded by God’s favor. Everything you touch is going to prosper.”
Victoria and I believe that we have an opportunity and a responsibility to speak God’s blessings into our children now, while they are young. Why should we wait till they are teenagers, or in their twenties and about to get married, to begin praying for God’s blessings in their lives? No, we’re declaring God’s blessings over them all the days of their lives. And we are convinced that our words will impact our children long after they are grown and have children of their own.
What are you passing down to the next generation? It’s not enough to think it; you must vocalize it. A blessing is not a blessing until it is spoken. Your children need to hear you say words such as, “I love you. I believe in you. I think you’re great. There’s nobody else like you. You are one of a kind.” They need to hear your approval. They need to feel your love. They need your blessing.
Your children may be grown and gone, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking up the phone to call and encourage them, to tell them you are proud of them. Maybe you didn’t do well at blessing your children as they were growing up. It’s not too late. Start to do it now.
Words Can’t Be Taken Back
Jacob stood before his nearly blind father, Isaac, pretending to be his brother, Esau. Although Isaac’s eyesight was dim, his intellect was not. He questioned, “Esau, is that really you?”
“Yes, Father; it’s me,” Jacob lied.
Isaac wasn’t convinced, so he called his son closer to him. Only when he smelled Esau’s clothes that Jacob was wearing was he finally convinced. He then gave Jacob the blessing that really belonged to his older brother. He said something like this: “May you always have an abundance of grain and an abundance of wine. May nations bow low before you and people always serve you. May you be the lord over your brothers. May anyone that curses you be cursed, and anyone that blesses you be blessed.” Notice, in Isaac’s blessing he declared great things concerning Jacob’s future, and a study of history will show that those things came to pass.
On the other hand, shortly after Jacob left the room, Esau came in. He said, “Dad, sit up; I’ve got the meal I’ve prepared for you.”
Now Isaac was confused. He said, “Who are you?”
“Dad, I’m Esau, your firstborn son.” At that point, the Bible records that Isaac began to shake violently. He realized that he had been duped. He explained to Esau how his brother, Jacob, had come in and deceitfully tricked him out of his blessing.
Now, here’s an amazing aspect of this awful story of treachery Esau began to cry with a loud voice, saying, “Father, can’t you still give me the blessing that belongs to the firstborn?”
Isaac’s answer was insightful and powerful: “No, the words have already gone forth, and I cannot take them back. I said that Jacob will be blessed, and he will always be blessed.”
Do you see the power of our words? Do you see the power of speaking blessings over your children? Isaac said, “Once the words go forth, I can’t take them back.” He gave Esau a lesser blessing, but it was not nearly as significant as the one he had given to Jacob.
We need to be extremely careful about what we allow to come out of our mouths. The next time you’re tempted to talk down to somebody, to belittle your child or degrade him, remember, you can’t ever get those words back. Once you speak them, they take on a life of their own.
Use your words to speak blessings over people. Quit criticizing your child and start declaring great things in store for her future.
We should never speak negative destructive words toward anybody, especially toward people over whom we have authority or influence. Just because you have your own business or supervise a large number of employees doesn’t give you the right to talk down to them and make them feel badly about themselves. Quite the contrary! God is going to hold you accountable for what you say to those individuals under your authority, and He is going to judge you by a stricter standard. You should go out of your way to speak positive words that build up and encourage.
Similarly, it is important for a husband to understand that his words have tremendous power in his wife’s life. He needs to bless her with his words. She’s given her life to love and care for him, to partner with him, to create a family together, to nurture his children. If he is always finding fault in something she’s doing, always putting her down, he will reap horrendous problems in his marriage and in his life. Moreover, many women today are depressed and feel emotionally abused because their husbands do not bless them with their words. One of the leading causes of emotional breakdowns among married women is the fact that women do not feel valued. One of the main reasons for that deficiency is because husbands are willfully or unwittingly withholding the words of approval women so desperately desire. If you want to see God do wonders in your marriage, start praising your spouse. Start appreciating and encouraging her.
“Oh, my wife knows I love her,” one elderly fellow said. “I don’t need to tell her. I told her back when we got married forty-two years ago.
No, she needs to hear it again and again. Every single day, a husband should tell his wife, “I love you. I appreciate you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” A wife should do the same for her husband. Your relationship would improve immensely if you’d simply start speaking kind, positive words, blessing your spouse instead of cursing him or her.
Declare God’s Goodness
You must start declaring God’s goodness in your life. Start boldly declaring, “God’s face is smiling toward me, and He longs to be good to me.” That is not bragging. That is how God says we’re going to be blessed when we start declaring His goodness.
Allow me to make some declarations in your life:
• I declare that you are blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom, and you have clear direction for your life.
• I declare that you are blessed with creativity, with courage, with ability, and with abundance.
• I declare that you are blessed with a strong will and with self-control and self-discipline.
• I declare that you are blessed with a great family, with good friends, with good health, and with faith, favor, and fulfillment.
• I declare that you are blessed with success, with supernatural strength, with promotion, and with divine protection.
• I declare that you are blessed with an obedient heart and with a positive outlook on life.
• I declare that any curse that has ever been spoken over you, any negative evil word that has ever come against you, is broken right now.
• I declare that you are blessed in the city. You are blessed in the country. You are blessed when you go in. You are blessed when you come out.
• I declare that everything you put your hands to do is going to prosper and succeed.
• I declare that you are blessed!
I encourage you to receive these words and meditate on them; let them sink down deeply into your heart and mind and become a reality in your life. Practice doing something similar with your family. Learn to speak blessings over your life, your friends, your future. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it is spoken. If you’ll do your part and start boldly speaking blessings over your life and the lives of those around you, God will provide everything you need to live the life of abundance He wants you to have.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
God Has More in Store!
by Joel Osteen
Todd Jacobs dreamed of starting his own computer software business, but when he and Amy got married, he took a mundane job just to pay the bills. Then the baby came along and their budget went out the window, along with Todd’s dreams.
At first, the shelving of his dreams didn’t bother Todd, but before long, he and Amy both recognized the unspoken yet very real resentment seething just below the surface of every conversation about money and every decision about their future. Ironically, when an opportunity arose for Todd to develop software for a well-known, established company, working along with one of his best friends, he turned it down. “I’m not talented enough,” he said. “I’ve been away from the business world too long.”
“Todd, are you sure?” his best friend asked. “This is a tremendous opportunity. You can start your own company, help write software for the parent company, and you can even make some extra money from royalties. Are you sure you want to pass on this job?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Todd replied. “I can’t afford to take a chance. My job doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s steady work. I’d better stay right where I am.”
Like Todd, many people miss pivotal opportunities in their lives every day because they’ve grown accustomed to the status quo. They expect nothing better. God is opening a new door for them; all they have to do is step through it, yet regrettably they back away from God’s blessings. Why? They refuse to make room in their own thinking for the new things God wants to do in their lives. When a great opportunity comes along, rather than latching onto it, launching out in faith, and believing for the best, they say, “Well, that could never happen to me. That’s just too good to be true.”
Unfortunately, what you will receive is directly connected to how you believe and what you expect. If you want God to do the extraordinary, then you must start believing Him for bigger things.
Like Todd, you may be thinking, I’ll just work at this same job, in this same position, for the rest of my life. After all, this is all I know how to do.
No, quit limiting God. He may want to open another opportunity or a better position for you. God may intervene in your situation, replacing your supervisor so you can be promoted. One day, you may run that entire company! Once you begin expecting more, a second key element to enlarging your vision is believing that God has more in store for you!
There’s an old story about a little frog that was born at the bottom of a small, circular well, similar to those you might see at a typical rural farm. He and his family lived there, and he was content to play in the water, swimming all around that little well. He thought, Life doesn’t get any better than this. I have all that I need.
But one day, he looked up and noticed the light at the top of the well. The little frog became curious, wondering what was up there. He slowly climbed up the side of the well. When he got to the top, he cautiously peered out over the edge. Lo and behold, the first thing he saw was a pond. He couldn’t believe it. It was a thousand times bigger than the well. He ventured farther and discovered a huge lake. He stood there gazing in amazement. Eventually, the little frog hopped a long way and came to the ocean, where everywhere he looked, all he could see was water. He was shocked beyond measure. He began to realize how limited his thinking had been. He thought he had it all back in the well, but all he really had was a drop in the bucket compared to what God wanted him to enjoy
God’s dream for your life is so much bigger and greater than you can imagine. If God showed you ever thing He had in store for you, it would boggle your mind. So many times we’re like that little frog. We’ve been enclosed in our own little well. It’s been our comfortable environment. It’s how and where we were raised. It’s all we’ve ever known, a certain level of living, a certain way of thinking. All the while, God has so much more in store for us.
Go a bit further than you’ve gone before. Dare to dream a little bigger. Look out over the edge like that little frog. God has oceans He wants you to enjoy.
ARE YOU LIMITING GOD?
When God puts a dream in your heart, when He brings opportunities across your path, do you step out boldly in faith, expecting the best, moving forward with confidence, knowing that you are well able to do what God wants you to do? Or do you shrink back in fear, and say, “That’s too big for me. I’m not qualified. I’m not able. I could never do that.”
God wants to do a new thing in your life. But you’ve got to do your part and get outside that little box. Start thinking big!
Many people settle for too little. “I’ve gone as far as my education will allow me to go.
“I’ve gone as far in my career as I can go. I’ve hit the peak. I’ll never make any more money than I’m making right now.
Why? Your job is not your source. God is your source, and His creativity and resources are unlimited! God may give you an idea for an invention, a book, a song, or a movie. God can give you a dream. One idea from God can forever change the course of your life. God is not limited by your education or lack of it. He’s not limited by what you have or what you don’t have. God can do anything, if you believe. He can do anything, if you will simply stop limiting Him in your thinking.
A woman recently wrote to Victoria and me, telling us the story of how she received a check in the mail from a relative who had died and left her $90,000. She had never met this man and didn’t even know they were related.
As she told us her story, I couldn’t help smiling and thinking, God, give me some relatives like that!
Seriously, I was thrilled for the woman. She had believed for more, and the windfall was part of God’s answer.
You can start expecting increase, as well. Not merely financial increase, but you can start expecting supernatural promotion in every area of your life.
Break the Curse
Too often, we get comfortable with where we are, and we use that as an excuse to remain in mediocrity “My parents were poor,” we say with a pout. “Before them, my grandparents were poor. Nobody in my family has ever amounted to much, so I guess I won’t either.”
Don’t believe that lie. God is a progressive God. He wants you to go further than your parents ever went. He wants you to be the one to break out of that mold. Maybe you were raised in a negative environment. Everybody around you was negative and critical, depressed, down in the dumps, and discouraged. No doubt, you’re tempted to use your negative upbringing as an excuse to live the same way. But you can be the person to change your family tree! Don’t pass that junk down to your children and keep that negative cycle going. You can be the one to break the curse in your family. You can be the one to raise the bar. You can affect future generations by the decisions you make today.
My dad came from the poorest of the poor families. His parents were cotton farmers, and they lost everything they owned in the Great Depression. My grandmother worked fourteen to fifteen hours a day washing people’s clothes, earning ten cents an hour. Many nights, they’d come home and not have enough food to eat. Daddy often went to school hungry, with holes in his pants and holes in his shoes.
They were good people, but nobody in our family line had ever amounted to much. They lived under a curse of poverty and defeat. But one day, at seventeen years of age, Daddy committed his life to Christ, and God put a dream in his heart to preach.
Certainly, the odds were against him. He came from the wrong family in the wrong part of town. He didn’t have any money, and he had very little education. In the natural, he had no future, no hope. But God is not limited by environment, family background, or present circumstances. God is limited only by our lack of faith.
Daddy held that dream close to his heart. He had a hope that one day he was going to rise above that mentality of defeat and mediocrity Not surprisingly, everybody around him tried to discourage him. They said, “John, you’re never going to make it out there on your own. You better stay here with us and pick cotton. That’s all you know how to do. Stay here where it’s safe.”
But I’m so thankful that Daddy didn’t listen to all the naysayers. He wasn’t satisfied with where he was. He didn’t get stuck in that rut of defeat and mediocrity. He refused to limit God. He believed that God had more in store for him. And because he stayed focused on that dream and was willing to step out in faith, because he was willing to go beyond the barriers of the past, he broke that curse of poverty in our family Now, my siblings and I, and our children, grandchildren, even our great-grandchildren, are all going to experience more of the goodness of God because of what one man did.
We affect generations to come with the decisions that we make today If you’re not experiencing God’s abundant life, let me challenge you to believe for more. Don’t merely sit back and accept the status quo. Don’t travel the road for the next fifty years and end up at the same place you’re at today. Make a decision to rise out of that rut. Don’t simply settle for what your parents had. You can go further than that. You can do more, have more, be more.
I was blessed to be raised in a good family I had great parents who were fine role models. My mom and dad touched people’s lives all over the world. But as much as I respect what my parents have accomplished, I’m not going to be satisfied to simply inherit what they have, to do what they did. God wants each generation to go further than the previous generation. He wants each generation to be more blessed, to experience more of His love, goodness, and His influence in the world. He doesn’t want you to stay where you are.
When Daddy passed away in 1999, and I took over as pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, people often approached me and asked, “Joel, do you really think you can keep it going? Do you think you can hold down the fort? You’ve got some real big shoes to fill.”
I understood what they meant, and I appreciated their comments because they loved my dad and he was a great leader. Beyond that, few other churches the size of Lakewood had ever survived for long after the loss of the founding senior pastor, and our local press was quick to point out the low chances of our success. But none of those matters worried me, because I knew God doesn’t want one generation to shine, and then the next generation to fade into obscurity God wants each generation to increase.
Furthermore, I knew I didn’t have to fill my dad’s shoes. I had only to fill my own shoes. I just had to be the person God made me to be. When I first became the leader, people sometimes asked me, “Joel, do you think that you will be able to do as much as your dad?”
I never answered arrogantly, but I always would say, “I believe I’m going to do more than my dad.” That’s just the way our God is. He’s a progressive God. And I know my dad would be displeased and dishonored if I were to limit myself to what he had done, or to stay right where he was. My dad brought our family from nothing to where it is today. When he started ministering, he knew little about the Bible. Nobody in his family had ever been a church-attender, much less a Bible teacher. When Daddy first started out, he once preached an entire message on Samson, and at the end of his sermon, Daddy realized that he had been calling the hero of the story “Tarzan”!
But Daddy got better and, as a result, I have inherited a multitude of advantages. I have Daddy’s life from which to draw inspiration, experience, and wisdom. Nevertheless, I say it humbly, but I believe I’m going to do far more than my dad was able to do. And I believe my son is going to do far more than I have, and his son will one day do far more than all of us combined.
Friend, don’t ever get satisfied with where you are. Maybe you came from a family like my dad’s, where they didn’t have much materially. Or maybe you came from a family with tremendous wealth, prestige, and position. Regardless, you can experience more than the generation preceding you.
Maybe you hail from a long line of divorce, failure, depression, mediocrity, or other personal or family problems. You need to say, “Enough is enough. I’m not going to pass these negative attitudes down to my children. I’m going to break out of this cycle and change my expectations. I’m going to start believing God for bigger and better things.”
That was the attitude of Phyllis, one of our members at Lakewood. When Phyllis was sixteen years old, she got pregnant and had to leave high school. Her dreams were shattered, and she was heartbroken. She rented a cramped, small apartment in which to live and raise her son. But she soon realized it was never going to work out. She didn’t have enough money, and she was living off handouts. Eventually she had to go on public assistance—welfare. She was barely surviving in poverty, defeat, and despair.
But Phyllis refused to live in mediocrity. She said, “Enough is enough. I refuse to pass this lifestyle down to my children. I’m going to make a difference with my life. I’m going to fulfill my God-given destiny I’m going to be the person God wants me to be.” And she rose up and started believing for bigger and better things. She started expecting the supernatural favor of God. She got rid of her former thoughts of defeat and failure. She developed a “can-do” mentality. When times were tough, she didn’t give up. She just kept on keeping on. She did her part, and God did His.
Phyllis got a job at a school cafeteria collecting meal tickets. The job paid minimum wage, and Phyllis was thankful for it. But Phyllis wasn’t satisfied with that. She knew God had better things in store for her. She had a bigger dream for her life. She didn’t just sit back and accept the status quo. She decided she wanted to go back to school, and she got her high school diploma. But she still wasn’t satisfied.
She wanted to go to college. She worked all day at the school and then attended college classes at night. In just four years, she graduated from college with honors. But Phyllis still wasn’t satisfied. She went back to school and got her master’s degree.
Today, she’s reaping the rewards of that effort. She’s not on welfare anymore; she is a principal in that same school district where she used to collect meal tickets. She, too, broke the curse of poverty and lack in her family Phyllis says, “I went from welfare to faring well!”
You can do something similar. Stop settling for mediocrity. Quit settling for the status quo. God has more in store for you. Much more! Dream bigger dreams. Enlarge your vision. Live with expectancy Make room in your thinking for the great things God wants to do. Your best days are ahead of you. God wants to do more than you can even ask or think, but remember, it’s according to the power that works in you. Stir yourself up; step out of complacency; don’t be satisfied with past glories.
God has more in store for you! But if you are going to believe for bigger and better things, you will have to break some barriers of your past. Come on; I’ll show you what I mean. This is going to be exciting!
Monday, April 2, 2007
Trusting God's Timing
by Joel Osteen
Human nature tends to want everything right now. We're always in a hurry. Most of us get impatient when we miss a turn on a revolving door! When we pray for our dreams to come to pass, we want them to be fulfilled immediately. But we have to understand, God has an appointed time to answer our prayers and to bring our dreams to pass. And the truth is, no matter how badly we want it sooner, no matter how much we pray and plead with God, it's not going to change His appointed time. It's still going to happen on God's timetable.
Because we sometimes don't understand God's timing, we live upset and frustrated, wondering when God is going to do something. "God, when are You going to change my husband? When are You going to bring me a mate? God, when is my business going to take off? When are my dreams going to come to pass?"
When you understand God's timing, however, you won't live all stressed out. You can relax knowing that God is in control, and at the perfect time He is going to make it happen. The Scripture says, "The vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarry, wait earnestly for it, for it will come to pass." Notice, it's called an "appointed time." It may be next week, next year, or ten years from now. But whenever it is, you can rest assured that it will be in God's perfect timing.
I would love to tell you that if you prayed hard enough, and if you had enough faith, your prayers would always be answered within twenty-four hours. But that's simply not true. God is not like an ATM machine, where you punch in the right codes and receive what you requested (assuming you've even made a deposit!). No, we all have to wait patiently. That's a part of learning to trust God. The key is, how are we going to wait? What will be our physical, emotional, and spiritual demeanor? Are we going to wait with a good attitude and expectancy, knowing that God has great things in store? Or are we going to be upset, frustrated, and muttering complaints? God, You never answer my prayers. When is my situation ever going to change?
Consider this: If you know you have to wait anyway, why not make a decision to enjoy your life while you're waiting? Why not be happy while God is in the process of changing things? After all, there's nothing we can really do to make it happen any faster. We might as well relax and enjoy our lives, knowing that at the appointed time God is going to bring His plan to pass.
See, you don't have to struggle. You don't have to go around always wondering why God is, or is not, doing something. No, when you are trusting God, you can be at peace knowing that at the right time, God will keep His promise. It's going to happen, and the good news is, it's not going to be one second late. Imagine how much pressure that can take off you!
If you are unmarried and are believing for a mate, you don't have to worry. You don't have to beg God incessantly. You don't have to pray every fifteen minutes reminding God to send your mate. No, you can relax, knowing that at exactly the right time, God is going to bring the perfect person into your life, and he or she will not be one second late.
By the same token, if you are believing for your family members to develop a relationship with God, you don't have to quote Scripture to them at every family function as though you were firing a spiritual machine gun. You don't have to shove the Bible down their throats. You don't have to be upset because they won't come to church with you as much as you would like. You can relax and live your life in front of your loved ones, speaking naturally about your relationship with God and knowing that at the appointed time, God is going to speak to your family members.
Maybe you have some areas in your own life in which you need to improve, areas in which you need to change, and you've been extremely hard on yourself because you're not growing as fast as you would like. Lighten up and allow God to change you in His own timing. We all want to change overnight, but the Bible tells us that God changes us little by little. You can quit struggling, stop worrying about it, and simply do your best to love God and live for Him, love others, and let God change you in His own way and in His own timing.
Do you see how liberating it can be when you understand the concept of God's timing? When you are truly living by faith, you can relax in what the Bible calls the "rest" of God. That's a place where you're not worried, you're not struggling, you're not trying to figure everything out, wondering why something is or isn't happening. The rest of God is a place of total trust. When you're in God's rest, you know that at the perfect time, God is going to perform everything He promised; He will bring it into being.
Why isn't God working in my life? You may be wondering. I've been praying, believing, and waiting, but it seems God is not doing anything about my marriage. That difficult situation at work hasn't changed. None of my dreams is coming to pass.
Understand, God is at work in your life whether you can see anything happening externally or not. In fact, one could almost make a case that God often works the most when we see it and feel it the least. You may not see any progress. Your situation may look the same as it did three months or even three years ago, but you must trust that deep inside your life, God is at work.
Beyond that, behind the scenes, He's putting all the pieces together. He's getting everything lined up, and one day, at the appointed time, you will see the culmination of everything that God has been doing. Suddenly, your situation will change for the better.
In Due Season
David had a big dream for his life. He had a desire to make a difference, but as a young man he spent many years as a shepherd, caring for his father's sheep. I'm sure there were plenty of times when he was tempted to think that God had forgotten him. He must have thought, God, what am I doing out here? There's no future in this place. I want to do something big for You. When are You going to change this situation? But David understood God's timing. He knew that if he would be faithful in obscurity, God would promote him at the right time. He knew God would bring his dreams to pass in due season. He said, "God, I'm trusting You. My times are in Your hands." He was saying, in effect, "God. I know You are in control. Although I don't see anything happening, You are working behind the scenes, and at the right time, You're going to change this situation."
You know the story God brought David out of those fields, he defeated Goliath, and eventually he was made king of Israel.
Perhaps you have a big dream in your heart, a dream to have a better marriage, a dream to own your own business, a dream to help hurting people, but like David, you don't really see any human way your dream could happen.
I have good news for you! God isn't limited to natural, human ways of doing things. If you will trust God and keep a good attitude, staying faithful right where you are and not getting in a hurry and trying to force things to happen, God will promote you at the right time, in your due season. He will bring your dreams to pass.
If you're not seeing God move in your life right now, one of two possibilities must be considered. Either your requests are not God's best and will probably not be answered the way you'd like, or it must not be the right time. If God were to answer that prayer the way you are hoping, it could interfere with His ideal plan for you.
God Sees the Big Picture
Today, our television program is aired on networks across the United States and in numerous countries around the world. That has been a dream come true for me. I loved broadcasting my dad's ministry all over the world. But toward the end of my dad's life, he didn't want to do too much of that anymore. He just wanted to relax and serve the church.
At one point I had arranged for a large number of radio stations to carry our weekly broadcast. I said, "Daddy, if you'll come down to the studio for maybe an hour a week, we can make all these radio programs."
To my dismay, Daddy responded, "Joel, I don't want to do that. I'm seventy-five years old, and I'm not looking for anything else to do."
I was so disappointed. I thought, God, I'm young, and I have all these dreams to touch the world; I have lots of energy; I don't want to do less. I want to do more!
But something deep within me kept saying, Be patient. It's not the right time.
I made a decision that I would keep a good attitude and honor my dad. I didn't get in a hurry. I didn't get frustrated and start struggling and trying to make things happen in my own strength or in my own timing. No, I simply remained faithful and kept doing the best I could.
At the time, it didn't seem that God was doing anything with Daddy's dream or mine to broadcast messages of hope all over the world. But a few years later, when my dad went to be with the Lord, it all became clear to me. I never dreamed that I would be the pastor. I never dreamed that I would be the guy in front of the camera one day. But now I realize that God put those dreams in my heart for my own life, for my own ministry, not just Daddy's. Had I not been patient and stayed in God's perfect timing, I don't believe I'd be where I am today.
We don't always understand God's methods. His ways don't always make sense to us, but we have to realize that God sees the big picture. Consider this possibility: You may be ready for what God has for you, but somebody else who is going to be involved is not ready yet. God has to do a work in another person or another situation before your prayer can be answered according to God's will for your life. All the pieces have to come together for it to be God's perfect time.
But never fear; God is getting everything lined up in your life. You may not feel it; you may not see it. Your situation may look just as it did for the past ten years, but then one day, in a split second of time, God will bring it all together. When it is God's timing, all the forces of darkness can't stop Him. When it's that appointed time, no man can keep it from happening. When it's your due season, God will bring it to pass.
Suddenly, things will change. Suddenly, that business will take off. Suddenly, your husband will desire a relationship with God. Suddenly, that wayward child will come home. Suddenly, God will bring your hopes and dreams to pass.
Shelby was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties who genuinely desired to be married. She had prayed and prayed but had never even had a serious relationship with a man. In fact, she told me that she hadn't been out on a date within the last two or three years. She was tempted to be discouraged, assuming that nothing was happening, and that she might spend the remainder of her life as a single woman.
But one day she was driving home from work when she had a flat tire and had to pull her car over to the side of the freeway. A few seconds later, another car pulled over behind her, and out stepped a handsome young man. He not only changed Shelby's tire, he invited her out to dinner. About a year later they got married, and today they are wonderfully happy and in love.
Now, think about the odds of such an occurrence. That certainly was not an accident or a coincidence. That was God at work in the lives of two young adults. Think about the timing involved in their meeting. Her tire had to go bad at just the right time. There had to be just the right amount of traffic on the freeway. Had there been too many cars, he would have been late; too few cars, he would have been early. That young man had to catch just the right elevator leaving the office. He had to get stopped by just the right amount of traffic lights. All the timing had to go down to the split second in order for his car to be shortly behind Shelby's when her tire went flat.
Don't ever think that God is not at work in your life. He's making things happen even when you don't realize it. Just stay in an attitude of faith and learn to trust His timing.
When I was in my early twenties, I had an experience similar to Shelby's. I had never really dated much during high school or college. I was a sports nut, and I was busy playing baseball four or five nights a week. I really didn't have any time for a social life. But I eventually tired of hanging out with all those old ugly guys, and I decided I was going to find somebody a little better looking.
I prayed that God would lead me to the right person. I said, "Father, I know You have somebody already picked out for me, so I'm trusting You to bring us together at the right time."
Two or three years went by and nothing much happened, but I didn't get in a hurry or try to force things. I didn't get upset and say, "God, why aren't You doing anything?" No, I just did my best to stay in the rest of God. I said, "Father, I know You are in control and even though I don't see anything happening, I know You are working behind the scenes on my behalf."
One day I noticed that my watch had stopped. My friend Johnny and I were going up to the gym to work out, so I decided to stop at a jewelry store along the way to get a new watch battery I went into the store and met the most beautiful girl I had ever seen! I thought, God, You have just answered my prayers!
We struck up a conversation, and I discovered that she was a good Christian girl. I thought, That's great, because if you weren't a Christian, you were about to become one!
She not only sold me a battery for my watch, she sold me a whole new watch! And she's been spending my money ever since.
But think of all the factors that had to fall into place for me to meet Victoria. My watch battery had to stop. I had to have a reason to go to a jewelry store, not simply a Wal-Mart or a convenience store. Then I had to stop at the particular store where Victoria was working. Keep in mind, there are hundreds of fine jewelry stores in Houston. Then she had to be working that specific shift. She could have been off that day. Somebody else could have waited on me. But all these pieces came together perfectly, because God was in control.
To live your best life now, you must learn to trust God's timing. You may not think He's working, but you can be sure that right now, behind the scenes, God is arranging all the pieces to come together to work out His plan for your life.
You may be experiencing some difficult times, and perhaps your circumstances have seemed static and immobile for quite a while. You may not be able to fathom how your situation can ever move forward. But you need to know that God had the answer to your prayer even before you had the need. God has been arranging things in your favor long before you ever encountered the problem.
A pastor of a large church in America unfortunately got off track and made some very poor decisions, resulting in his resignation. His family fell apart, and he left the ministry. It was a very sad situation. By all outward appearances, he had a bleak future. Several years went by, and the pastor was trying to get his life back together. He still had a heart to serve people, so he decided to travel to South America to assist some missionaries there. While he was in Brazil, he visited a little church. When he met the pastor, something very strange happened. The Brazilian pastor looked shocked and then began to weep. The pastor clasped the American's hands and began to pray in Portuguese.
As the pastor prayed for him, the American felt an unusual presence enveloping him, almost like a warm glow purging him of his hurt and pain. He said, "For the first time in several years, I felt that I was able to let go of the past. I felt totally free and totally restored."
When the prayer ended, the American asked his interpreter, "Who is this man? And why was he praying for me like that?"
Through the interpreter, the Brazilian pastor said, "Twenty years ago, I was praying and suddenly your face came into my mind. And God said to me, " One day you will help bring healing and restoration to this man." Today is that day, and you are that man."
Now here's the truly amazing aspect of this story: Twenty years prior to that event, the American was not even a Christian, much less a pastor. He wasn't even serving God. But God knows the end of the story before the first word is written. Twenty years earlier, He had placed a vision in one man's heart that involved another person, then for two decades, God designed events in both of their lives to bring them together on that platform in that little church in Brazil, so one man could see the fulfillment of his dream, and another man could be reassured of God's love and forgiveness.
In the same way, God already has the answer to your prayers before you have the need. He has already been arranging things in your favor. And who knows, maybe five or ten years ago, God spoke to somebody about the situation you're going through right now, and He is shaping events to bring your paths together. You can't fake that sort of thing. You'd be foolish to try to manipulate such events. No, God is in control. You may not think anything is happening, but remember, God often works the most when we see it and feel it the least. Learn to trust His timing. Don't get in a hurry; don't grow impatient; don't try to force doors to open. Don't try to make things happen in your own strength. Let God do it His way
I remember a number of times when my dad tried to start construction on a new sanctuary for Lakewood Church. The congregation had grown too large for our facility, so several times over a five-year period, Daddy had architects draw up some preliminary plans for a new building. But just as he was about to break ground, Daddy would sense a caution from God. He didn't feel right about pressing ahead. He didn't have a peace in his heart about the matter, so he'd put it all on hold.
At that time, my dad was in his early sixties, and a number of younger ministers across the country were building large sanctuaries. Daddy felt pressured to build before it was too late. He'd get all fired up about starting the new project. Two or three times, he announced to the congregation, "This fall, we're going to break ground for our new sanctuary!"
Fall rolled around, and Daddy would get up in front of the church and say, "I've changed my mind. It's not the right time. I don't feel a peace about it." See, Daddy was smart enough to know that he needed to stay in God's perfect timing. And the congregation possessed enough confidence in him to patiently abide by Daddy's convictions.
The sad truth is, if you push hard enough, and if you're so stubborn that you must have things your way, God will sometimes allow you to undertake a project without His blessing or at the wrong time. The problem with that, of course, is when you start something in your own strength and in your own timing, you're going to have to finish it and maintain it in your own strength. When you let God start something, He'll finish it for you. He'll provide everything you need.
When we try to force open doors and make things happen in our own strength, the end result is a constant strain on us and a drain on our resources. Life becomes a constant struggle. Nearly all joy, peace, and victory dwindle from your existence. That is not a place of contentment and satisfaction.
If you are in an area like that today, you need to do your best to get out of it. I'm not suggesting that you break up your marriage relationship or renege on business contracts. That would only exacerbate the problem. But if you are doing things that are not hearing any fruit, and they are giving you a perpetual headache, there's a good chance that God didn't initiate that endeavor or relationship. Or perhaps it is part of God's plan for your life, but you are out of His timing, and you are proceeding under your own power according to your own timetable.
Be careful! If God isn't in what you are doing, you need to make a change. Here is where many people miss God's favor: They know God has spoken to them; He has placed a dream within their hearts. But they then set about trying to fulfill God's plan on their own. We must be aware that if we get out of God's timing, it's the same as getting out of God's will. We need to be patient and let God bring His plan together at the appointed time.
That is not to say that we should sit back passively and expect God to do everything. No, we have to aggressively pursue our dreams. But if a door is not opening, don't try to make things happen in your own strength.
My dad was a big enough person to get up and tell the congregation, "I missed it. I thought this was the time we were supposed to begin building, but it is not. It's just not the right time."
Amazingly, when God finally did lead Daddy to start construction, it was during what seemed to be the worst possible time. It was two weeks before Christmas, and Daddy had just gotten out of the hospital following open-heart surgery. Added to that, the economy in Houston was at an all-time low. The city was in one of the worst recessions that we had ever seen. More than twelve thousand businesses had gone bankrupt during the previous year. By all logical business standards, beginning a new building, one paid for by donations looked as though it was going to be a major mistake. Cynics and friends alike told my dad, "You'd better not start right now. You're never going to raise the money. That building's going to sit there unfinished."
Daddy thanked them for their opinions, but when it's God's timing, it doesn't matter what the surrounding circumstances look like. It doesn't matter what people are telling you. If God says it's time, then He will bring it to pass.
Daddy initiated the building program, and in less than one year's time, the congregation gave enough money that the building was built debt-free! Had Daddy tried to do that in his own strength, in his own timing, even if the economy would have been red hot, it still would have been a constant struggle.
Understand, when you get out of God's timing, you are stepping out of His favor. When you step out of His favor, you are operating on your own in the dark. I'm not saying that when we do something for God, we're not going to have adversity. But fighting the good fight of faith outside God's timing can leave you constantly struggling, never having anything go your way, never having any joy. On the other hand, when you're in God's timing, you can be in the midst of the biggest challenge of your life, and you'll still be filled with joy God will give you all the grace you need. If you will learn to trust His timing, He's promised that at the right time, He will bring your dreams to pass and answer your prayers. The answer will come, and it will be right on time.
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