Break Out!: 5 Keys to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life (18 page)

“God, You said You are a very present help in my time of trouble. Here’s my evidence: Psalm 46:1.”

“God, You said the strength of the wicked is being cut off but the power of the godly is being increased. Here’s my evidence: Psalm 75:10.”

When you go to God with evidence, with what He said, that’s a powerful case. That’s an unbeatable case. You may be busy pleading your case, but if you switch over and start presenting your case, you will see God begin to change things in your favor.

I know a lady who was at odds with her teenage daughter for several years. She often came to Lakewood to pray. She was always upset and discouraged. I would do my best to cheer her up and try to convince her to keep believing, but it seemed like she wasn’t coming in to pray so much as to complain that God wasn’t doing enough.

I shared with her this principle: instead of complaining to God, you need to remind God what He promised you. I gave her the Scripture in Proverbs 31:28. It says, “Children will rise up and call their mother blessed.”

Now, this woman’s daughter was calling her every name except blessed. But still, the mother took it to heart. She stopped complaining and instead went through the day praying, “Father, You said my children will rise up and call me blessed.”

Instead of complaining when the daughter was disrespectful, the mother prayed, “Father, You said my daughter will call me blessed.” She found other promises: “God, You said children are a gift from God to be enjoyed.”

She presented her case, made her arguments, and brought forth her proof. About three years later her daughter had a total change of heart. Today, the mother and daughter are best friends. She’s as kind and respectful as can be. They do everything together, including coming to church together.

The mother told me just recently, “Joel, now when I say, ‘My children will rise up and call me blessed,’ I don’t say it by faith anymore. It’s become a reality. God has brought that promise to pass.”

That’s what God wants to do in all of our lives.

Are you pleading your case, or are you presenting your case by reminding God what He promised you? There is an amazing promise in Genesis 12:2 that God makes to all of us. Referring to the seed of Abraham, God
says, “I will make your name great.” Another translation says, “I will make your name distinguished.” That’s a great promise to remind God.

I have a friend who grew up in a family with a very bad reputation. Their name was anything but distinguished. They were known for crime, drugs, and other illegal activities. Many of his relatives had gone to prison. Their reputation as criminals went back for three or four generations.

As a young man he gave his life to Christ. He headed down a better path. He was doing his best to overcome all this negative baggage, but it seemed like this dark cloud followed him everywhere he went. When people learned his last name, especially in his community, they treated him differently. They didn’t want to have anything to do with him. It was like he wore this badge of dishonor.

I told him to remind God of His promises. Every day he needed to say, “God, You said You would make my name great. You said if I would honor You, You would honor me.”

Instead of pleading his case and saying, “God, this is not fair. Why was I born into this family? Why do I have to deal with this bad reputation?” he presented his case: “God, You said You would make my name distinguished.”

He went on to become a very successful coach. One day, he brought me a photograph in which he was accepting an award. He was chosen as the Coach of the Year in his school district. In that school lobby there is a plaque with the names of all of the winners of that award. Each year they add a new coach to it.

He pointed to the top name. It said, “Coach of the Year” and under it in big, bold letters the plaque read, “Distinguished honorees.” There was his name. He smiled and said, “Joel, God has made my name distinguished.”

God is a faithful God. Don’t plead your case. Don’t tell God why you can’t be successful, why you can’t get well, why you’ll never get out of debt. Present your case. Remind God what He said about you. Make a list of the promises you’re standing on.

When you go to the courtroom of Heaven, so to speak, take some evidence. Bring your proof. “God, You said I’m blessed and cannot be cursed.” Present your case like my sister Lisa: “God, You said You would make me the happy mother of children.”

“God, You said You would restore what the enemy has stolen.”

Don’t keep silent. Remind God again and again. Not nagging God. Not begging God. No, go to Him in faith with a
You said
.

If you put God in remembrance of His promises and do not put Him in remembrance of your problems, then He will be faithful to His word. What God promised, He will do.

O
ne of the greatest abilities God has given each of us is our ability to believe. If you believe, you can be successful. If you believe, you can overcome mistakes of the past. If you believe, you can fulfill your God-given destiny. There is incredible power in what we believe.

What you believe is greater than what the medical report says. We respect medical science, but God has the final say. When you get in agreement with God and believe what He says about you, then what you believe can supersede any natural law.

What you believe is greater than what is in your bank account. I have a friend who came to the country with nothing but the clothes on his back. Today, he runs a Fortune 500 company. Against all odds, he believed he could do what God put in his heart.

Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:19 that we would understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for those who believe. Notice the power is activated only when we believe. That means right now the Creator of the universe is just waiting to release healing, restoration, favor, promotion, and abundance. The only catch is that we have to believe.

Sometimes, God will put a promise in your heart that seems impossible, a promise that says, “You will be healthy. You will start a business. You will meet the right person and get married.”

It’s easy to think, “It’s never happening to me. I’ve been this way too
long. I’ve made too many mistakes. The medical report is too bad. Nobody in my family has been successful.”

We can always come up with excuses. But instead of talking yourself out of it, just respond with three simple words, “Lord, I believe.”

God says your children will be mighty in the land.

“Lord, I believe.”

God says He will restore the years that were stolen. He will bring you to a flourishing finish. “Lord, I believe.”

God says whatever you touch will prosper and succeed. You will lend and not borrow, be the head and never the tail. Now, don’t come up with five reasons why that will not happen. Your response should be: “Lord, I believe.”

When you get in agreement with God, the incredible greatness of His power is activated.

In the Scripture a man came to Jesus and said, “My little daughter is very sick. She is close to death. Will You come to my home and pray for her?”

Jesus agreed, but along the way He kept getting stopped, one interruption after another. Finally word came back to Him saying, “No need to come. You’ve waited too late. The little girl has died.”

The people were very distraught, but Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. If you will only believe, the little girl will be well.”

Notice the phrase “only believe.” Jesus went to the home, prayed for the little girl, and she came back to life. You, too, may be facing situations that seem impossible. In the natural you can’t see how you could ever be healthy, how you could overcome the addiction, or how your family could ever be restored. But God is saying to you what He said to them: “If you will only believe, I will turn the situation around. If you only believe, breakthroughs are headed your way.”

It’s not complicated. God didn’t say, “If you will pray three hours a day,” or, “If you’ll quote twelve chapters in the Scripture, then I’ll do it for you.” No, He said, “If you will only believe.” In other words, if you will just get your mind going in the right direction and believe you can rise higher. Believe you can overcome the obstacle. Believe your family can be restored. Believe you can do something great and make your mark in this generation.

When you believe, the surpassing greatness of God’s power is released. You may have to develop new habits. If you’ve been negative for a long time, you should retrain your thinking from “I can’t” to “I can.” From “It won’t happen” to “It will happen.” From “I’ll never get well” to “God is restoring health unto me.”

Reprogram your computer. Load in some new software.

First Chronicles 28:20 says don’t be discouraged by the size of the task, for the Lord your God is with you. He will see to it that it is finished completely.

When you believe, God will see to it that it’s taken care of. When you believe, you have the Creator of the universe fighting your battles, arranging things in your favor, going before you, moving the wrong people out of the way. You couldn’t have made it happen in your own strength, but because you are a believer, the surpassing greatness of God’s power is at work in your life.

Now don’t be intimidated by the size of the problem, or the size of your dream. “Well, Joel, I was laid off, and you just don’t know my financial situation.”

But I do know Jehovah Jireh; the Lord our provider. He is still on the Throne. One touch of God’s favor and you’ll go from barely making it to having more than enough.

“Well, you just don’t know my medical situation. It doesn’t look good.”

But I do know Jehovah Rapha; the Lord our healer has not lost His power. He has done it in the past. He can do it in the future.

“Well, Joel. I have big dreams, but I don’t know the right people. I don’t have the connections.”

That’s okay. God does. You have friends in high places. When you believe, God will bring the right people across your path. Don’t be intimidated by the size of what you are facing.

Here’s what I’ve learned: the bigger the problem, the bigger your destiny. The enemy would not be fighting you this hard unless he knew God had something amazing in your future. On the other side of that challenge is a new level of your destiny.

No disappointment. No setback. No injustice. No person. No hater. No jealousy can stand against our God. When you believe, all the forces
of darkness cannot stop God from taking you where He wants you to go. Be a believer and not a doubter.

It says in the book of Hebrews, “When we come to God we must believe that He is.” It doesn’t really finish the Scripture. Believe that He is what? The passage leaves it open-ended. This is saying when you believe, God becomes whatever you need Him to be. He is strength when you’re weak. He is healing when you’re sick. He is favor when you need a good break. He is a way maker when you don’t see a way. He is restoration when something has been stolen. He is vindication when you’ve been falsely accused. He is whatever you need Him to be.

You may know God by one name. You know Him as a Savior, and that’s great. That’s the most important way. But you need to find out what else He is. Do you know Him as a resurrection God, a God Who can bring back to life what you thought was dead? Do you know Him as an Ephesians 3:20 God, a God Who can do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond? Do you know Him as a healer, a restorer, a God Who gives beauty for ashes?

You may have endured hurts and disappointments, and people may have done you wrong, but you don’t have to live defeated, depressed, in self-pity. God wants to heal the hurts, give you a new beginning, and bring you out better off than you were before.

But you’ve got to know Him as a God Who gives beauty for ashes. There is so much more to our God. Don’t keep Him in a little box. Discover what else He is.

This young couple who belong to Lakewood Church dreamed of buying their first home. For the last year and a half or so they’ve heard me talking about believing for Ephesians 3:20 and how God wants to show us His unprecedented favor. And they dared to believe. They let that seed take root. For the last ten years they’ve been working very hard, saving their funds, so they could hopefully purchase a home.

At one point everything came together. They found the house they liked. It was a good price. They had the money for the down payment and they were so excited. But when they went to close on the home, there was a problem. The young lady was finalizing details at the real estate agent’s
office when her husband called. He said he had just been let go from his job. He had worked for that company for over six years. He always worked hard and had a good attitude, but his supervisor never particularly liked him. Over the years his wife just kept encouraging him, “You’re not working unto people. You’re working unto God.”

He did his best to stay on the high road, but it seemed like at the worst possible time he was let go. To make matters worse, this all happened on his birthday. He lost his job and the house of their dreams on the same day.

They were very disappointed. But the good news is this young couple didn’t just know God as a Savior. They knew Him as a God of restoration. They knew Him as a God of justice, a God Who will make your wrongs right.

They could have easily gotten bitter and dropped out of church, but they understood this principle: if you believe, you will see the goodness of God.

Instead of sitting at home every day depressed, in self-pity, the young man was either looking for a new job or at our church working as a volunteer week after week, month after month, as faithful as can be.

In the natural it didn’t look like anything was happening, but they weren’t discouraged by the size of their problem. They knew that as long as they believed, the Lord their God would see to it that they were taken care of.

Five months after the husband was fired, he got a call from his old company. He hadn’t talked to them since they let him go. It was an executive from the corporate headquarters. They had fired the old management team, and this new boss wanted him back. He not only restored his job but he restored all of his benefits, all of his retirement, all of his seniority.