Break Out!: 5 Keys to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life (11 page)

Goliath was nearly twice his size. Goliath had been trained in the military. He was wearing a full set of armor, had a lot of experience, and was extremely powerful. David was a teenager. He had no formal training, no equipment, and no battlefield experience. He was a shepherd. When Goliath saw David and how small he was, the giant warrior laughed. Goliath said in effect, “David, have you looked in the mirror lately? You are no match for me. I am bigger, stronger, tougher.”

But David understood this principle: even though his slingshot was small, he realized it was given to him by God as part of his divine destiny. The Scripture says David ran toward Goliath. You would think if you’re half your opponent’s size, you would sneak up. You would try to surprise
him. But it’s different when you know you are equipped and empowered. When you realize God has given you what you need, you will not shrink back in fear. You will run toward your enemies.

God used a simple slingshot to thrust David to a new level of his destiny. My question for you is this: Are you overlooking something small, something ordinary, that God has given you? Are you sitting back thinking, “I don’t have the talent, the education. I don’t know the right people.”?

You have exactly what you need. It may seem small, but when you take these steps of faith God will do for you what he did for David. He’ll breathe on your life and what was ordinary will become extraordinary. When my father went to be with the Lord in 1999, I knew I was supposed to step up and pastor the church, but I had never ministered before. I thought of all the reasons I couldn’t do it. I don’t have the experience. I don’t have the training. I don’t have the booming voice. I don’t have the dynamic personality. On and on, I came up with all these excuses.

One day I heard God say something to me, not out loud, but just inside my heart. He said, “Joel, you’ve told Me all about what you don’t have. I’m not interested in that. All I’m asking you to do is use what you do have.” I stepped out with a little talent, a little ability, a little experience, and a little confidence. I didn’t have much to give, but I realize now I had exactly what I needed. It looked small. It seemed ordinary.

When you give God what you have, He will take the little and He will turn it into much. Now quit telling God what you don’t have and what you can’t do. Be confident. You have exactly what you need. It may not be as much as others have, and that’s okay. You’re not running their race. Don’t envy their talent. Don’t covet what they have. Don’t wish you had their looks, their personality, or their opportunities.

If God gave that to you it wouldn’t help you; it would hinder you. You’re not anointed to be them; you’re anointed to be you. When God breathed His life into you, He equipped you with everything you need to fulfill your destiny. You have the talent, the confidence, the strength, and the creativity to fulfill your purpose.

Now it may seem small at first. When I started, I felt unqualified and intimidated. But as you take steps of faith, believing that you are equipped, and confident in what God has given you, God will take the small and He
will multiply it. One day you will look up and say, just as I did, “How in the world did I get to where I am?”

That’s the goodness, and favor of God.

Here’s how the Scripture puts it: “It’s not by might, not by power, but by His spirit.” It’s not just talent. Not just education. Not just what family we come from. We excel and go places we’ve never dreamed of when the Most High God breathes on our lives. Sometimes, we feel like David must have felt: “All I have is a slingshot and he’s five times my size.”

You’re up against a huge giant. But you can stay in faith. You don’t have to lose any sleep. Your slingshot, with God’s anointing, is more powerful than a giant warrior with no anointing.

You may be up against a major challenge in your health, your finances, or a relationship. You may feel that you have a big problem but little faith. Let me encourage you. It isn’t necessary to have great faith. Just use what you have. Jesus told us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can say to a mountain, “Be removed.” Nothing is impossible.

When you use even small faith, God can move mountains. It is okay to say, “God, I don’t know how this is going to work out. I don’t know how my dreams could come to pass. I don’t know how I could get over this medical situation. But God, I trust You. My life is in Your hands.”

Even if it’s small faith, that’s what allows the Creator of the universe to go to work. The Scripture tells us that one time there were four lepers sitting outside the city gates. They were contagious, so they had to stay away from people. To make matters worse, an army surrounded their city. They cut off the water supply and they were waiting for the people to get so weak they could walk in and attack them. These lepers had nothing going for them and no future to speak of. But one of the lepers said to his three friends, “If we just sit here we’re going to die for sure. Why don’t we take a chance and march toward the enemy’s camp and see what happens?”

Notice they didn’t have great faith. They didn’t say, “We know God will protect us, deliver us, and save us.” Their attitude was, “We are 99 percent sure we’re going to die. What do we have to lose?” They had small faith. They marched toward the enemy’s camp.

Don’t you know God saw them take that journey of faith? They could have been sitting outside the city gates depressed, bitter, and complaining,
blaming God. Instead, they were using what they had—not much, just a little faith, a little effort, and a little strength.

The Scripture says, “As they marched toward the enemy, God multiplied the sound of their footsteps and caused them to sound like a vast army.” When the enemy heard it, they thought they were under attack by thousands of troops. They panicked and ran for their lives, scared to death. They left in such a hurry they didn’t even gather up their belongings. They left behind all their treasures, their livestock, and their food.

When these lepers arrived in the camp and nobody was there, they were amazed. They went back home and told their families. They all returned and gathered up the spoils. God not only saved their lives, He also used them to spare the entire city. That’s what happens when you use what you have. It doesn’t have to be great faith. Even little faith, just doing something small, just showing God that you’re trusting Him, that’s when supernatural things can begin to happen. God can cause people to hear what He wants them to hear.

Years ago when I worked in the television department at Lakewood Church, I was meeting with this salesman about buying television equipment. He had flown in from another state because this was a big order. We had a good meeting. He called back in a few days and mentioned that he could give us the discount we had requested. He said it was the largest discount he had ever given. He had been with the company over thirty years.

I said, “That’s great. What is the discount?”

He seemed kind of confused. He said, “What do you mean, Joel? You told me the exact price. You gave me the amount that you could afford.”

I thought, “I never told him that. That’s not even my personality.”

That was God causing him to hear what He wanted him to hear.

Here’s what I’ve found: God can cause you to be seen the way He wants you to be seen. You may not feel very powerful or very influential. The good news is it’s not how you feel that matters; it’s how God causes you to be seen.

Get in agreement with God. You may not feel it, but part of faith is acting like it. Act like you’re strong, anointed, confident, secure, empowered, and blessed. You’ve probably heard the saying, “You’ve got to fake it till you make it.”

Don’t ever say, “I don’t have the strength. I don’t have enough money. My company could never compete with this other business. They’ve been going for years.”

You don’t know how God is causing you to be seen. You may feel weak, but because of God’s favor on your life, everyone you encounter thinks you’re as strong, as confident, and as successful as can be. What is that? It’s God causing you to be seen the way He wants you to be seen.

Do yourself a favor. Don’t tell everyone how you feel. Just put your shoulders back. Stand up tall; don’t act weak or intimidated, but like a child of the Most High God. When you stay in faith like that, God will multiply what you have. He will multiply your talent, multiply your resources, and multiply your influence.

God is a God of multiplication. What you have may be small right now, but you need to get ready. It won’t stay small. You will come into increase, to good breaks, to the right people, to healing, to restoration, to new opportunities, and to favor like you’ve not seen before.

When Moses was leading more than a million people through the desert trying to get to the Promised Land, they had just come out of Egypt, and it didn’t look like they had any way to protect themselves. They appeared vulnerable to their enemies. Moses was down and discouraged. People were complaining. He was just about to give up, thinking that he didn’t have what it took, but God said to him, “Moses, what do you have in your hand?”

He was holding a rod. He looked at it and said, “It’s nothing, God. Just a stick. Something I picked up along the way.”

God said, “Throw it down.”

He threw it down and it turned into a snake.

God said, “Pick it up.”

He picked it up and it turned back into a rod.

God was showing him he had what he needed. It looked ordinary. It looked insignificant, just a rod. But if it needed to be a key to open a door, God could turn it into a key. If it needed to be a shield to protect him, God could turn it into a shield. God was saying, “I can become what you need. I can turn a rod into a snake. I can take four footsteps and cause
them to sound like a vast army. I can use a simple slingshot to defeat a skilled warrior.”

Quit talking about what you lack and start using what you do have. You may have small faith today. That’s okay. Use it, and God can move mountains. You may have average talent. That’s all right. Use it, and God can do something exceptional. You may feel weak but don’t you dare act weak. Put your shoulders back. Hold your head up high, and God will cause you to be seen the way He wants you to be seen. It’s not by your might, not by your power.

Right now God is breathing on your dreams. He is breathing on your finances. He is breathing on your health. He is breathing on your children. His favor will cause you to go further than you ever thought possible. God is going to multiply what you have. He will multiply your talent, your resources, and your creativity.

This is not the time to shrink back in fear. This is the time to move forward in faith. Get up every morning knowing you are anointed. You are equipped. You are empowered. You have everything you need to fulfill your destiny.

W
hen God laid out the plan for your life He lined up the right people, the right breaks, and the right opportunities. He already has your
yes
es planned out. Yes, to that promotion. Yes, to a clean bill of health. Yes, you will get married. Yes, you will be accepted into college. You may have been told
no
a thousand times, but God has the final say and He says, “
Yes
is coming your way.”

Yes, you will accomplish your dreams. Yes, you will overcome that addiction. Yes, your children will fulfill their destinies.
Yes
es are in your future.

Now here’s the key: On the way to
yes
there will be
no
s. You have to go through the
no
s to get to your
yes
es. The mistake many people make is that they become discouraged by the
no
s and they quit trying. They worked hard but didn’t get promoted. They prayed and believed but didn’t qualify for the new home. They put time and energy into a relationship, but it didn’t work out. Now they think it will never happen.

You have to go through your closed doors before you reach your open doors. When you come to a
no
, instead of being discouraged the correct attitude is “I’m one step closer to my
yes
.”

What if you could see into your future and discovered you would receive twenty
no
s before you came to your
yes
? Then you’d be prepared to handle it when you faced a disappointment or a setback. If you knew your
yes
was only twenty
no
s away, you wouldn’t give up if a loan didn’t
go through, or you didn’t get a big sales contract you’d hoped to land. You would just check it off and say, “All right. That’s one
no
out of the way. Now I’m only nineteen away from my
yes
.” Rather than being discouraged, you would be encouraged every time you heard a
no
.

But too many people, because they’ve hit several
no
s in a row, they lose their passion. You’ve got to get this down in your spirit.
Yes
is in your future. You may have been turned down, delayed, overlooked. That was all a part of God’s plan. The
no
is simply a test. Will you become discouraged and settle where you are? Or will you keep moving forward knowing that
yes
es are coming your way?

A church member told me that his supervisor at work was about to retire, and he was in line for the job along with two coworkers. He had the most seniority. He had worked for the company faithfully for many years. But he was passed over for the promotion. They chose a younger, less experienced person. He felt cheated.

The situation did not seem fair but he understood this principle. He knew there were already
yes
es in his future put there by the Creator of the universe. He didn’t grow bitter. He didn’t quit being his best. He shook it off and kept working unto God. About two years later, the vice president of the company retired, and they offered him that top job. His position now is many levels higher than that supervisor position he’d been denied.

God knows what He is doing. You may be in a
no
right now. Maybe a relationship ended, or you were passed over for a promotion, or you lost a loved one. Don’t be discouraged. Instead, say, “I may be in a
no
, but I’ll never give up on my dream. I know a
yes
is coming. Favor is coming. Healing is coming. Promotion is coming. I will not become stuck in a
no
. I know
yes
es are in my future.”