The Power of I Am: Two Words That Will Change Your Life Today (15 page)

Stay in peace. God has your back. David said it this way in Psalm 23: “God will prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies.” That means God will not only make your wrongs right, but God will bless you in front of your enemies. God could promote you anywhere, but He will give you honor, recognition, and favor in front of the people who tried to pull you down. That person who lied about you and tried to keep you from rising higher, don’t worry about him or her. One day they will see you receiving the credit that you deserve.
When people are talking about you or spreading gossip, just imagine that the angels are headed to the grocery store. God just turned the oven on. He is getting your dinner prepared. It’s not going to be just you. There are going to be some onlookers. Those people who tried to push you down, they’re watching you get promoted. They said you don’t have what it takes. They’re watching you accomplish your dreams. They wouldn’t give you the time of day. Now they’re trying to rent a facility from you. Stay in peace. God has you covered!

All the things that come against us to try to get us upset—people talking, gossiping, spreading rumors, not giving you respect—are all distractions. That’s the enemy trying to lure us off course, get us bent out of shape, and waste our valuable time and energy on something that doesn’t really matter. Don’t give that the time of day. That’s not a battle you’re supposed to fight. Stay on the high road, and God will bring it under your feet. He will make those enemies your footstool.

When you’re tempted to worry or tempted to get upset, just imagine yourself leaning back in a big comfortable chair, putting your feet up and resting them on top of that problem. You’re saying, “God, it’s under my feet. I know You are in control.” When you’re in peace, it’s a position of power. When you’re at rest, God is fighting your battles.

I know a man who was trying to get his wife to the United States. He is an American citizen, but his wife is not. She lives in Europe. He went to the government office to get a visa and the proper paperwork lined up. The man working behind the counter was very rude to him, wouldn’t give him any help at all, and made it very confusing. Several weeks later this man had his paperwork filled out and notarized. He went back to the office, and the man was just as rude. The other authorities had told him it would probably take six months to get her visa, but this man said, “No, no. It’s going to take at least
five years
.
We’re all backed up. We’re not going to get to your paperwork for a long time.”

This man was very frustrated. He was even tempted to give the guy a piece of his mind. But instead he just kept his cool, reminded himself that it was under his feet. By faith, he could see God setting the dinner table. Several weeks later, he got a call back from the man at the office, telling him that the visa was ready. He was so shocked. It was a miracle. He went to the office and said to the man, “I thought you said it would be five years?”

The man said, “It should have been. But ever since I met you, I can’t get you off my mind. I wake up thinking about you. I eat lunch thinking about you. I go to bed thinking about you. You’re making my life miserable. Take the visa and go!” Friend, God knows how to apply pressure. God knows how to make somebody uncomfortable. You don’t have to fight the battle. Stay on the high road and watch God make your enemies your footstool.

Isaiah put it this way: “No weapon formed against you will prosper.” He didn’t say that we won’t have difficulties or never have a problem. That’s not reality. Challenges will come. People may talk. You may get a negative medical report. A family member may get off course. God said, “The problem may form, but you can stay in peace, knowing that it’s not going to prosper against you.” Because you’re His child, because you’re in the secret place of the Most High, God has a hedge of protection, mercy, and favor around you that the enemy cannot cross. No person, no sickness, no trouble, and no disability can stop God’s plan for your life. All the forces of darkness cannot keep you from your destiny.

When you face these challenges and you’re tempted to worry, you
need to tell yourself: “This problem may have formed, but I have a promise from Almighty God that it is not going to prosper.” In other words, “They may be talking about me, trying to make me look bad, but I’m not worried about it. I know God is my vindicator. He will take care of them.” “My child may be running with the wrong crowd. That’s all right. I know it’s not permanent. It’s temporary. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” “This medical report may not look good, but I know God made my body. He has me in the palm of His hand. Nothing can snatch me away.”

I read about researchers who were studying Alzheimer’s disease. They studied the brains of older people who had died, both people who’d had and not had the disease. They found that many people who had lesions on their brains that technically qualified them as having Alzheimer’s had never shown any signs of it when they were alive. Their minds were clear. Their reasoning was good. Their memories were sharp. Scientifically they had Alzheimer’s, but the symptoms never showed up. The common denominator is that they were positive. They were hopeful, and they stayed productive. That’s what Isaiah said. Just because the problem forms doesn’t mean it has to prosper. We may have things come against us because of genetics, things that have been passed down. The good news is God has the final say. God can override it, so stay in faith.

That’s what happened with our friend Ramiro, who was born with no ears. The doctors told his parents, “He is never going to be able to hear or to speak.” The problem had formed. In the natural, it didn’t look good, but we serve a supernatural God. Ramiro has parents who believe it doesn’t have to prosper. They didn’t sit around in self-pity thinking,
Poor old us.
They knew they were armed with strength for that battle. They knew that situation was under their feet. They prayed. They believed. They declared God’s favor.

When Ramiro was just a few months old, the doctors discovered that he had a very tiny start of an eardrum. These incredibly gifted
doctors performed surgery, created new ears, and helped to correct the problem. Ramiro improved, had more surgeries, and continued to improve. Today, Ramiro can not only hear, not only speak, but he can also sing. He helps to lead worship for our young adults. You may have heard him on
American Idol
singing “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” in front of millions of people.

Whatever you’re facing, it is under your feet. It is not permanent. It’s temporary. The power that is for you is greater than any power that comes against you. Keep the right perspective. You and God are a majority. You are armed and dangerous. The problem may have formed, but it is not going to prosper.

Maybe you need to start putting things under your feet. You’re letting that problem worry you and keep you up at night. God is saying, “I’ll fight your battles, but you have to give them to Me.” Come back to that place of peace. Don’t let people or circumstances upset you. If somebody is not doing you right, let God be your vindicator. He knows how to make your wrongs right.

Remember, when you talk to that sickness, that obstacle, or that depression, as an act of faith, do as David did and look down. It’s no match for you. If you will see these obstacles as being under your feet, God promises He will make your enemies your footstool. Instead of being a stumbling block, it will be a stepping-stone. As was true of Ramiro, nothing will keep you from your destiny. You will overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy, and become everything God has created you to be.

G
od’s dream for your life is that you would be blessed in such a way that you could be a blessing to others. David said, “My cup runs over.” God is an overflow God. But here’s the key: You can’t go around thinking thoughts of lack, not enough, struggle, and expect to have abundance. If you’ve been under pressure for a long time and have difficulty making ends meet, it’s easy to develop a limited mindset.
I’ll never get out of this neighborhood.
Or,
I’ll never have enough to send my kids to college.
That may be where you are now, but that’s not where you have to stay.

God is called El Shaddai, the God of More Than Enough. Not the God of Barely Enough or the God of Just Help Me Make It Through. He’s the God of Overflow. The God of Abundance.

Psalm 35 says, “Let them say continually, ‘Let the Lord be magnified who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His children.’” They were supposed to go around constantly saying, “God takes pleasure in prospering me.” It was to help them develop this abundant mentality. Your life is moving toward what you’re constantly thinking about. If you’re always thinking thoughts of lack, not enough, and
struggle, you’re moving toward the wrong things. All through the day, meditate on these thoughts: overflow, abundance, God takes pleasure in prospering me.

In the Scripture, the Israelites had been in slavery for many years. That was the land of Barely Enough. They were just enduring, surviving, barely making it through. One day God brought them out of slavery and took them into the desert. That was the land of Just Enough. Their needs were supplied, but nothing extra. It says their clothes didn’t wear out for forty years. I’m sure they were grateful. I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly want to wear these same clothes for the next forty years. If I have to, I’m not going to complain, but that’s not my idea of abundance. It wasn’t God’s either. God eventually took them into the Promised Land. That was the land of More Than Enough. The food and supplies were plenteous. The bundles of grapes were so large that two grown men had to carry them. It’s called “the land flowing with milk and honey.”
Flowing
means it didn’t stop. It never ran out. It continued to have an abundance. That’s where God is taking you.

You may be in the land of Barely Enough right now. You don’t know how you’re going to make it through next week. Don’t worry. God hasn’t forgotten about you. God clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds of the air. He is going to take care of you.

You may be in the land of Just Enough. Your needs are supplied. You’re grateful, but there’s nothing extra, nothing to accomplish your dreams. God is saying, “I did not breathe My life into you to live in the land of Barely Enough. I didn’t create you to live in the
land of Just Enough.” Those are seasons. Those are tests. But they are not permanent. Don’t put your stakes down. You are passing through. It is only temporary. God has a Promised Land for you. He has a place of abundance, of more than enough, where it’s flowing with provision, not just one time, but you’ll continue to increase. You will continue to have plenty.

If you’re in the land of Barely Enough, don’t you dare settle there. That is where you are; it is not who you are. That is your location; it’s not your identity. You are a child of the Most High God. No matter what it looks like, have this abundant mentality. Keep reminding yourself, “God takes pleasure in prospering me. I am the head and never the tail.”

The Scripture says God will supply our needs “according to His riches.” So often we look at our situations and think,
I’ll never get ahead. Business is slow,
or
I’m in the projects. I’ll never get out.
But it’s not according to what you have; it’s according to what He has. The good news is God owns it all. One touch of God’s favor can blast you out of Barely Enough and put you into More Than Enough. God has ways to increase you beyond your normal income, beyond your salary, beyond what’s predictable. Quit telling yourself, “This is all I’ll ever have. Granddaddy was broke. Momma and Daddy didn’t have anything. My dog is on welfare. My cat is homeless.” Let go of all of that and have an abundant mentality. “This is not where I’m staying. I am blessed. I am prosperous. I am headed to overflow, to the land of More Than Enough.”

I received a letter from a young couple. They had both been raised in low-income families. All they saw modeled growing up was lack, struggle, can’t get ahead. Their families had accepted it, but not this couple. They had been coming to Lakewood and didn’t have a not-enough mentality. They had an abundant mentality. They knew God had a Promised Land in store for them. They took a step of faith. On very average incomes, they decided to build their own house. They didn’t take out a loan. Whenever they had extra funds, they would buy the materials and hire the contractors. A couple of years later, they moved into a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood, all debt free. It was as though God had multiplied their funds. Not long ago they sold that house for twice what they had put into it. The lady wrote, “We never dreamed we would be blessed like we are today.” She went on to say, “My great-grandparents and my grandparents always told me that if I had beans and rice, that was good enough. But I always knew one day I would have steak.”

If you’re going to become everything God has created you to be, you have to make up your mind as she did. You are not going to settle for beans and rice. You are not going to get stuck in the land of Barely Enough or the land of Just Enough, but you’re going to keep praying, believing, expecting, hoping, dreaming, working, and being faithful until you make it all the way into the land of More Than Enough. Now, there is nothing wrong with beans and rice. Nothing wrong with surviving. But God wants you to go further. God wants you to set a new standard for your family. He is an overflow God, a more-than-enough God.

Jesus told a parable about a prodigal son. This young man left home and blew all of his money, wasted his inheritance, and decided
to return home. When his father saw him—the father represents God—he said to the staff, “Go kill the fatted calf. We’re going to have a party.”

But the older brother got upset. He said, “Dad, I’ve been with you this whole time, and you’ve never even given me a skinny goat.”

Let me ask you. Do you have a fatted-calf mentality, or do you have a skinny-goat mentality? Do you think beans and rice are good enough, or do you say, “I want some enchiladas. I want some fajitas. I want some sopaipillas”? You can live on bread and water. You can survive in the land of Barely Enough. We can endure the land of Just Enough. “Just enough to make it through. Just enough to pay my bills this week.” But that is not God’s best. Your Heavenly Father, the One who breathed life into you, is saying, “I have a fatted calf for you. I have a place for you in the land of More Than Enough.”

Now don’t go around thinking that you’ll never get ahead. You’ll never live in a nice place. You’ll never have enough to accomplish your dreams. Get rid of that skinny-goat mentality and start having a fatted-calf mentality. God wants you to overflow with His goodness. He has ways to increase you that you’ve never dreamed.