The Power of I Am: Two Words That Will Change Your Life Today (19 page)

The Scripture says, “As your days are, so shall your strength be.” This means your strength will always be equivalent to what you need. If you were to get a negative medical report, you’re going to have the strength to deal with it. You’re not going to fall apart. “Oh, I can’t believe this is happening.” Your strength will always match what you’re up against.

When my father went to be with the Lord, my first thought was,
How am I going to deal with this?
My dad and I were very close. We had traveled the world together. All of a sudden he was gone. But what I thought would be very devastating and would knock the wind out of me wasn’t anything like I had imagined. I felt a peace I had never felt, a strength, a resolve, a determination. I should have
been upset and anxious, but that whole time I was at peace. Deep down I felt a rest. In my mind there were thoughts of worry, anxiety, and discouragement, but in my spirit I could hear God whispering, “Joel, I’m in control. It’s all going to work out. I have you in the palm of My hand.” That was finishing grace pushing me forward, propelling me into my destiny.

The psalmist said in Psalm 46, “God is a very present help in times of need.” In the difficulties of life, if you will get quiet and turn off the negative voices, you will feel a peace that passes understanding. You should be falling apart, but there is grace for every season.

Victoria and I were in Colorado one time, driving through the mountains. We rented a large SUV with an eight-cylinder engine. As long as we were on the flat roads, the engine was as quiet as could be. But as we started going up the steep winding mountain roads, just when we thought the vehicle couldn’t make it, when it looked like it was going to stop, you could hear those extra two cylinders kick in. You could actually feel the car, almost as though it lifted up and took off with a new power.

Those two extra cylinders were there all the time. The extra power was always available. It just showed up when we needed it. It was strength in reserve. Sometimes in life we think,
How am I going to make it up that steep hill? I’ve gotten this far, but how am I going to deal with this illness? How am I going to raise this difficult child? I went through a loss, and I don’t think I can go on.
The good news is that God has some strength in reserve for you. When you hit a tough time, don’t worry. There are two more cylinders about to kick in, a strength you haven’t tapped into yet. You’re going to feel a force pushing you forward, taking you where you could not go on your own. That’s finishing grace.

I’ve learned that the closer you get to your destiny, the tougher the battles become. The higher you go up the mountain, the more
God promotes you, and the steeper the hill is. The critics will come out of the woodwork. People may not celebrate you. There will be unexpected challenges—a health issue, a business slows down, or you lose a loved one. It’s easy to think,
I was doing so well. If I just wouldn’t have had this bad break. Now I’ve got this steep hill to climb.
That challenge is a sign that you are close to your destiny. The same God who gave you the grace to start is the same God who is going to help you finish. He knows exactly where your path is leading. Nothing you’re facing is a surprise to Him. He knows every hill, every disappointment, and every setback. He said that His grace is sufficient. You will never come to a hill where you don’t have the strength to climb it.

You may face some challenges, as I did when my dad went to be with the Lord, when you think,
I don’t know how I’m going to make it up this hill.
The reason you think that way is you haven’t needed those two extra cylinders yet. You have not felt the full force of finishing grace. When it kicks in, it’s going to propel you forward. You’re going to climb mountains that you thought were way too steep. You’re going to overcome obstacles that looked insurmountable, accomplish dreams that you thought were impossible. How will you do this? Finishing grace. You’ll tap into strength in reserve.

This is what the Apostle Paul did in the Scripture. He faced some huge hills. It didn’t look as though he could fulfill his destiny. He was doing the right thing, sharing the good news, helping other
people, but then he was arrested and put in prison. The closer he got to his destiny, the more obstacles he faced. He was alone, in a dungeon, on death row. It looked as though God had forgotten about him. But Paul wasn’t defeated, depressed, or feeling sorry for himself. Even though he was in chains, he couldn’t be stopped from doing what God wanted him to do. Since Paul couldn’t go out and speak publically, he thought,
No problem. I’ll start writing.
He wrote book after book. “Here’s a letter to the Ephesians. Here’s a letter to the Colossians, to the Romans, to the Corinthians.” He wrote over half of the books of the New Testament, much of it from a prison cell. His enemies thought they were stopping him, but they were doing just the opposite: causing his voice to become amplified. Here we are some two thousand years later, and we still feel Paul’s influence. What they meant for harm, God used for good.

People may try to stop you, but finishing grace will get you to where you’re supposed to be. They may push you down, but finishing grace will lift you back up. They may try to discredit, belittle, or leave you out. Don’t get upset. They are a part of the plan to get you to your destiny. God will use them to propel you forward. As long as you stay in faith and keep honoring God, you will accomplish your assignment. He is the author and the finisher of your faith.

Now, quit focusing on who is against you, on how steep the hill is, on how impossible it looks. God has the final say. He brought Joseph out of prison. Paul stayed in prison, but they both fulfilled their destinies. If God doesn’t turn it around the way you thought, He may cause you to have great influence right in the midst of your enemies as Paul did. In the midst of those difficulties, you can shine, be a bright light, and have God’s favor. Bottom line is this: No person can stand against our God. No bad break can keep you from your destiny. God has given you finishing grace. He is going to get you to where you’re supposed to be.

When Paul came to the end of his life, he said, “I have finished my course.” One translation says, “I finished my course with joy.” Notice, he didn’t finish defeated, depressed, or sour. He finished with a smile on his face. He finished with a spring in his step. He finished with a song in his heart. That’s what it means to have a flourishing finish.

We all have things come against us. It’s easy to lose our passion and drag through life discouraged, negative, and bitter, but there is no victory if you finish your course that way. You have to make up your mind,
I’m not only going to finish my course; I’m going to finish it with joy, with a good attitude. Not complaining, but with a song of praise. Not thinking about what I don’t have, but thanking God for what I do have. Not looking at what’s wrong in my life, but thanking God for what’s right in my life.
When you tap into finishing grace, you won’t drag through the day. You will enjoy the day.

Thousands of years ago in Greece, there was a famous race called the Torch Relay. All of the runners received a torch. At the start of the race, they would light their torches, and the runners would take off running with their torches lit. The only way you could win the race was to cross the finish line with your torch still lit. Even if you finished first, if your fire went out, you were disqualified. So the whole time they were running, in the forefront of their minds was protecting their fire, keeping it from wind or rain or anything that might put it out. They were constantly checking their torches to make sure that they were still lit.

It’s the same principle in the race of life. If you’re going to finish your course with joy, you have to guard your fire. You can’t let your flame go out. Too many people have lost their passion. They’re still running, but their torch is no longer lit. At one time they were passionate about their dreams, then they had some setbacks. Now they’re running, which is good, but they let their fire go out. They lost their zeal. If that’s you, I’ve come to relight your fire. God is not
done with you. You have not seen your best days. You have to shake off the blahs. Shake off the discouragement. There is a flame that is still alive inside you. The Scripture talks about how we must fan the flame, stir up the gifts. It’s not enough to just finish. You have to finish your course with your fire still burning.

For as long as I can remember, my father struggled with high blood pressure. Toward the end of his life, he didn’t feel well. The medicines made him dizzy. His kidneys quit working properly, and he had to go on dialysis. We used to travel overseas a couple of times a year. He really looked forward to it. But when his health went downhill, he had to stay at home and take dialysis three times a week. He never wanted to live if he couldn’t preach. Even though he didn’t feel well, he never missed a Sunday.

Victoria used to go pick him up and bring him to church a little bit late. Sometimes she would call and say, “Joel, I’m not sure your dad can minister today. It doesn’t seem as though he feels well.”

I would run down from the TV department during the service. When he arrived, I would ask, “Daddy, are you sure you’re up to this?”

He would smile and say, “Yeah, Joel. I’m ready to go.”

When he walked out on the platform, nobody knew he wasn’t up to par. He still had a spring in his step, a smile on his face. He could have been at home, negative and complaining, “God, I’ve served You all these years. Look what it comes down to. I can hardly even minister.”

Instead, he kept his fire burning. He guarded that flame. He was determined to not just finish his course, but to finish it with joy.

One night when my dad was seventy-seven years old, he wasn’t feeling well. He asked my brother-in-law Gary to come over and visit with him. They were talking at about two o’clock in the morning and Gary asked him what he thought about the difficulties he was having.

My father said, “Gary, I don’t understand it all, but I know this: His mercy endures forever.”

Those were the last words my father ever spoke. Right then, he breathed his final breath and went to be with the Lord. But think about those last words. He wasn’t complaining. He was bragging on God’s goodness. He was not magnifying his problem, but magnifying his God. He crossed the finish line with his fire still burning, with his torch still lit.

The Scripture talks about how the saints of old died in faith. The truth is that one day we’re all going to die. You have to make a decision. Are you going to die in faith? Or are you going to die negative, bitter, and complaining, “I can’t believe this happened.”

Make up your mind that you’re going to die full of joy, with your fire still burning, with your torch still lit.

In 1968, the Olympic Games were held in Mexico City. During the marathon, a young runner from Tanzania fell and broke his leg. He was bloodied and bruised, but somehow he managed to get up and continue running. Long after everyone else had finished the race, he entered the stadium for his final lap. More than one hundred thousand people had been there earlier, but now, an hour or two later,
only a few thousand people remained. The main lights were off, the television cameras gone. The event was officially over.

As he struggled into the stadium and headed toward that final lap, when the few thousand people saw him, they stood up and began to cheer him on. They cheered louder and louder as if he were in first place. Drawing strength from the crowd, he began to smile and wave as if he were going to win the gold medal. It was a moving moment, later seen around the world.

A reporter asked him afterward, “Why didn’t you drop out of the race when you broke your leg? Nobody would have faulted you for it.” The young man from Tanzania said, “My country didn’t send me seven thousand miles to start the race but to finish it.”

In the same way, God didn’t breathe His life into you, crown you with favor, and put seeds of greatness inside you to just start the race. He sent you to finish it. The Scripture talks about how the race is not for the swift or for the strong, but for those who endure till the end. You don’t have to finish first. You’re not competing with anybody else. Just finish your course. Keep your fire burning. You weren’t created to give up, to quit. We can all find a reason to drop out of the race. We can all find an excuse. But you have to dig your heels in and say, “I am determined to finish my course.”

If you will tap into this finishing grace, those two extra cylinders will kick in when you need it. You’ll have a strength that you didn’t have. As did the Apostle Paul, you will finish your course with joy. You will complete your assignment and become everything God created you to be.

W
e all go through challenges, disappointments, and unfair situations. It’s easy to let it overwhelm us to the point where we think,
This is too much. I can’t deal with this illness. I can’t handle this difficult child.
Or,
I can’t take this traffic. It’s driving me crazy. This relationship issue, it’s going to be the end of me
.

God would not have allowed it if you couldn’t handle it. But as long as you’re telling yourself it’s too much, you’ll talk yourself out of it. Have a new perspective. You are not weak. You are full of “can do” power. You are strong in the Lord. All through the day, whether you’re stuck in traffic or facing a major disappointment, your attitude should be
I can handle it. I can handle this grouchy boss. I can handle this difficult child. I can handle these people talking about me. I can handle this legal situation.
You can’t have a weak, defeated mentality. You have to have a warrior mentality.

This is what Joseph did. He was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, and spent years in a foreign prison for
something that he didn’t do. But he didn’t get depressed. He didn’t start complaining. His attitude was,
I can handle it. God is still on the throne. He wouldn’t have allowed it unless He had a purpose for it, so I’m going to stay in faith and keep being my best.
In the end, he was made second in charge over all of Egypt. No person, no bad break, no disappointment, and no sickness can keep you from your destiny.

My mother was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in 1981 and given just a few weeks to live. She could have fallen apart and said, “God, it’s not fair. I’ve served You all these years. I don’t understand it.” Instead her attitude was,
I can handle it. I’m not a victim. I’m a victor. Nothing can snatch me out of God’s hands.
Today, thirty-four years later, my mother is still going strong, healthy, full of joy, full of peace, and helping others.

My father, back in the 1950s, was the pastor of a large denominational church. His future looked very bright. They had just built a beautiful new sanctuary. But through a series of events, my dad had to leave that church. It was a major setback, a big disappointment. He had given years of his life there. But he didn’t sit around nursing his wounds. His attitude was,
I can handle it. I know when one door closes, God always opens up another door.
He and my mother went out and launched Lakewood Church, and here we are today still going strong.