Read Living in the Abundance of God Online
Authors: John Osteen
Living in the Abundance of God (10 page)
J
OEL
T
he apostle Paul wrote many of his letters while incarcerated, often in prison cells not much bigger than a small bathroom. Some historians and Bible commentators believe that the raw sewage system of that day ran right through one of the dungeons in which he was imprisoned. Yet Paul wrote such amazing faith-filled words as, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Notice that we are to rejoice and be joyful at all times. In your difficulties, when things aren’t going your way, make a decision to stay full of joy
.
You need to understand that the enemy is not really after your dreams, your health, or your finances. He’s after your joy. The Bible says that “the joy of the L
ORD
is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10), and your enemy knows if he can deceive you into living down in the dumps and depressed, you are not going to have the necessary strength—physically, emotionally, or spiritually—to withstand his attacks
.
When you rejoice in the midst of your difficulties, you’re giving the enemy a black eye. He doesn’t know what to do with people who keep giving God praise despite their circumstances. Learn how to smile and laugh. Quit being so uptight and stressed out. Make your choice to enjoy your life to the fullest today
.
An Abundance
of
Provision
for
Your Every Lack
I
f we want to live our lives in the abundance of God, we must have a faith that doesn’t limit God. I realize there are people who say that no one can limit God, but that’s not what I find in His Word or in my personal experience.
In Psalm 78, the psalmist recounts God’s miraculous deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt. Yet even after they had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, the people “spoke against God: They said, ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?’ Therefore the L
ORD
heard this and was furious; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; and by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained meat on them like the dust, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; and He let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them their own desire” (vv. 19–29).
Have a faith that doesn’t limit God
.
Verses 40–42 reveal the heart of the problem: “How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again
they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel
. They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy.”
ON’T
L
IMIT
G
OD
T
HROUGH
D
OUBT
, U
NBELIEF, AND
I
GNORANCE
As remarkable as this story is, and as often as we wonder how the Israelites could act this way, the truth is that we tend to do the same. In bringing us to faith in Christ, God has given us great miracles and mighty deliverances, but as we travel our way through our own wildernesses, we sometimes get a little weary and forget what God has done. It is easy to begin to limit God and say, “Well, God helped me last year, but I wonder if He’s getting tired of helping me.”
We can limit God through our unbelief and doubts. When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, he said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28). And the Bible says that Peter did indeed step out of the boat and walk on the water. We tend to focus on Peter sinking in the water, but the Bible emphasizes that he truly did walk on the water. It was not until Peter looked about him at the boisterous wind and the waves that he began to sink.
“And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ ” (Matthew 14:31). See,
doubt sinks you. Faith holds you up
.
When you look around at your circumstances and see all the things that are coming against you, and everything that could happen to you, and everything that the enemy tells you is going to happen to you, you begin to sink. But when you keep your eyes on Jesus, you keep walking on the water.
We limit God by doubting Him. We limit God by our unbelief. And we can limit God by our ignorance.
Faith begins where knowledge is. If we do not know that God is a miracle-working God, that limits God. If we do not know that God heals the sick, that limits God. If we do not know that God can provide for our every need, that limits God. We must have knowledge of the Word of God.
According to Psalm 78, the people of Israel were so obstinate in their unbelief that they made God angry. God had delivered them through the Red Sea and by the power of miracles brought them out of Egypt. With their own eyes they had witnessed phenomenal deliverances from God. Yet when they got into the desert, they began to complain. They said, “Can God take care of us in this wilderness? What about our children? How are we going to get clothes for them? What about our own bodies? What are we going to eat?” They questioned whether God could provide them with “a table in the wilderness.”
One provocation came after another, and finally God became “furious” with them. They said, “What are we going to do? Can God, this God who brought us out of Egypt, can He furnish food and clothes out here in the middle of the desert?” The Bible states they limited the Holy One of Israel.
If we do not know that God can provide for our every need, that limits God
.
In response, God said, “I’ll show you what I can do. Moses, strike the rock, and it’ll give forth water,” and it did. And then He said, “I’ll show you how you’ll eat,” and He rained manna down for forty years. When they cried out for meat, He brought the south and east winds together and rained down so many birds upon them that they ate until it came out of their nostrils.
God said, “Don’t ever say, ‘Can God?’ ” Rather, you should shout, “God can!”
I don’t know what you face today. I do not know what needs you have; but don’t limit God by ignorance, doubt, and unbelief. We have a great God. He made the world. He flung the stars from His fingertips. He keeps everything in order by the word of
His mighty power. He is the great I A
M
, and He’s a God of love and mercy who wants to provide for all of your needs. So don’t limit God.
ON
’
T
L
IMIT
G
OD BY
Y
OUR
M
IND
, F
INANCES, OR
J
OB
You can limit God by your mind. Sometimes we face life’s challenges and are determined to figure it all out on our own. We think,
What in the world am I going to do? What in the world could God do for me? I’m all on my own on this, and nobody’s going to help me
. You get your mind all worked up, but it’s the carnal mind, which is enmity against God (Romans 8:7). Your carnal mind can’t see a way out, but our minds are finite. God is bigger than our minds.
Whenever I think about living in the abundance of God, I think of Casey, who was a house mover down in Beaumont, Texas, and a street evangelist for Jesus. One day he and all his men went way out in the country to move a building. Some of the men in his crew thought he was out of his mind because he was always talking about miracles. When he got way out in the country, he pulled off on the shoulder of the highway and said, “You know what, I’ve forgotten my chain. I have to have a chain to do this job.”