Break Out!: 5 Keys to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life (14 page)

Recently a friend told me that he wanted to start a business, but ran into a problem. He had done all this great research. He put together a fantastic presentation. But then he realized he didn’t have enough experience in this type of business. When he looked at it all on paper, he wasn’t qualified. His heart told him, “Yes, I can do this,” but his mind kept coming up with reasons why it would not work out.

You have to remind yourself that because you keep God in first place, because you honor Him with your life, there is something about you that can’t be put on paper, something that’s indefinable. It’s Almighty God
breathing in your direction. It’s God causing good breaks to come. It’s the right people being attracted to you. It’s the Still Small Voice giving you inside information, letting you know things that are critical to your success and can’t be measured.

You can have less talent, but with God’s favor you’ll go further than people who have more talent. You can have less experience and less training, but because Almighty God is smiling down on you, you will go farther than people who have more training and more experience.

If you own a small business, you may not have all the equipment, all the marketing, all the money backing you up that your competition has, but because you honor God, His favor can cause you to defy the odds and outperform companies that should be running circles around you.

One of our Lakewood members had this happen to his small computer company. Even though he has only three employees, a new client came to him from a competitor that was more than a hundred times his size. This other company had a huge staff, offices all over the world, and practically unlimited resources, but this client said, “We like your work. We’re going to move our account to your firm.”

Now his company is outperforming a competitor many, many times his size. That other company’s executives are scratching their heads, thinking, “What is it with this man?” I’ll tell you what it is. It’s the gracious hand of God. It’s God’s favor causing him to stand out. God’s favor is causing people to be drawn to him.

It’s not how influential or educated someone is; when you have the favor factor, you have an advantage. God’s favor opens the right doors. His favor will bring good breaks. The favor of God will cause you to accomplish what you could not accomplish on your own. It gives you an edge.

Now, if you’re to see the gracious hand of God at work, you can’t go through the day intimidated, thinking that you’re average or just hoping for some good breaks. You have to carry yourself as if you have God’s hand on you. You have to think like you have favor, talk like you have favor, walk like you have favor, and dress like you have favor. Not arrogantly, thinking that you’re better than somebody else, but just living with this quiet confidence, knowing that you have an advantage. You have an edge. The gracious hand of God is on your life.

That was what Nehemiah did. According to the Scripture, he heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down. People were living in the city unprotected. God put a dream in his heart to rebuild those walls. In the natural it was impossible. He was living more than a thousand miles away, working as a cupbearer to the king. He didn’t have the money, the manpower, or the influence. On paper he didn’t have a chance. The dream was much bigger than he could accomplish on his own. But Nehemiah understood this principle; he knew he had the favor factor.

One day he asked the king for permission to take a leave of absence to go back to Jerusalem and build those walls. Notice his confidence, his boldness. He wasn’t high up in the king’s staff. He wasn’t a cabinet member, an advisor. He was working in the kitchen, cleaning the tables. But when he asked for the time off, the king didn’t hesitate.

“No problem, Nehemiah,” the king said. “Go ahead and go back and rebuild those walls.”

God caused him to have favor. But Nehemiah didn’t stop there. He said: “Your Majesty, I need your help. I need you to write letters to all the leaders of the regions telling them I will be traveling through their realms, telling them who I am and what I’m doing. Your letter will assure that I’ll have protection, so they won’t harm me.”

The king agreed. Nehemiah wasn’t finished.

“One more thing,” he said. “I don’t have any money. I don’t have any resources. I need you to write a letter asking the people who own the timber mills and the supply houses to give me materials to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.”

Once again the king said, “No problem, Nehemiah. I’ll do it for you.”

Nehemiah left that day not only with the letters of protection, but also with the materials he needed to complete the task. Nehemiah 2:8 tells us why this happened. Nehemiah said, “The king granted me these requests because the gracious hand of God was upon me.”

Nehemiah recognized he had the favor factor. He knew God had put something on him. Even though on paper he wasn’t qualified—he didn’t have the experience or the resources—he said in effect, “I have something better than that: the gracious hand of God is on my life.”

When you understand you have this same favor, then like Nehemiah
you’ll rise up with a boldness, with a confidence, and you’ll pursue what God has placed in your heart. Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and he saw the city was in total disarray, much worse than he expected. He found some people and shared his vision to rebuild the walls. Trying to convince them to help, he said in verse 18, “I told them how the gracious hand of God was on my life.”

Notice how Nehemiah was always bragging on God’s favor. No doubt some of them said, “Nehemiah, you can’t do this. You’re not a builder. You’re not qualified. You don’t have the experience. This is impossible.”

But Nehemiah’s reply was: “No, there’s something about me you can’t see, something that can’t be put on paper. The gracious hand of God is on my life.”

They started rebuilding these walls and had all kinds of opposition. The city leaders tried to shut them down. The critics tried to stop them. Bandits came and started fighting. Nehemiah faced one challenge after another, but the favor of God helped him to overcome them. It should have taken them at least a year to complete the walls, but they did it in just fifty-two days.

When you realize God’s hand of favor is upon you, you will accomplish your dreams faster than you ever thought possible. You may be facing a situation like Nehemiah that seems impossible. Don’t go around talking about how big the problem is, or how you’re never going to make it.

Zip that up and do as Nehemiah did. Declare: “The gracious hand of God is upon my life.”

How will you get out of debt?

“The gracious hand of God.”

How will you get well?

“The gracious hand of God.”

How will you break that addiction?

“The gracious hand of God.”

How will you accomplish your dreams?

“The gracious hand of God.”

The more you brag on God’s favor, the more of His favor you will see.

We wouldn’t be reading about Nehemiah today if he had thought, “I’m
just average. I’d love to rebuild the walls but I don’t have the money. My boss will never let me off. I live too far away.”

Don’t disqualify yourself. God’s gracious hand is on you.

You have the favor factor, so don’t keep dwelling on everything you lack, the mistakes you’ve made, or the greater talents of the competition. You’re just looking in the natural, at what’s on paper, but there is something about you that cannot be measured, something that goes beyond your talent, your education, or your ability.

It’s the favor of Almighty God.

Quit telling yourself the wall is too big, the dream is too great, or the obstacles are too high. It will not happen in your own strength. It will not happen in your own power. It will happen because Almighty God favors you.

The victory will come because God smiles down on you. Get in agreement with God. Don’t go around thinking negative, self-defeating thoughts. Instead, say: “Father, thank You that Your gracious hand is upon me. I know I have an advantage. I have an edge. Other people may not see it. They may try to push me down and disqualify me. But that’s okay. I know the truth. I have the favor factor. I’m well able to fulfill my destiny.”

That is what Nehemiah did and he is one of the heroes of faith. When you are in difficult times, you need to declare God’s favor more than ever. David said in Psalm 41, “The favor of God keeps my enemies from defeating me.”

In your finances: Business may be slow. You can’t see how you will ever get ahead. You need to look at that debt, that lack, and say, “You will not defeat me. I have the favor of God. Whatever I touch will prosper and succeed.” Speak favor over your finances.

In your health: Maybe you’re facing a sickness. The odds are against you. The medical report says, “No way.” Look at that sickness and say, “You will not defeat me. The gracious hand of God is on my life. Healing is flowing through me. I’m getting stronger, healthier, better, every day.”

That is what Job did. He went through a nine-month period in which everything that could go wrong did. He lost his business. He lost his
health. He had big boils all over his body. I’m sure they were very painful. His wife said, “Job, just curse God and die. It’s never going to work out. This is the end of us.”

Job had plenty of opportunities to be negative, bitter, and to blame God. Instead, Job understood this principle: he knew the favor of God would keep his enemies from defeating him. In the midst of the adversity it didn’t look good. He felt bad. All the odds were against him. But he said in Job chapter 10, “God, I know You have granted me favor.”

Job was basically saying what Nehemiah said: “The gracious hand of God is upon me.” Now, in the natural it didn’t look like Job had any favor. It looked like every bad break that could have come did. But this is what faith is all about. You can’t wait until you see it before you decide to believe it. You have to believe it first and then you’ll see it.

You may be thinking, “Joel, I don’t have any of this favor. God’s gracious hand is not on me. If you knew my situation, or if you could only see my problem, you would understand.”

You are right where Job was. You’re right where Nehemiah was. Your attitude will determine the outcome. In Job 10, Job said, “God, You have granted me favor.” He didn’t get restored and healed and see things turn around until chapter 42. Right at the beginning of the trouble, when it hit him the hardest, when he was the most tempted to get down, that was when he dug his heels in, lifted his face toward the heavens, and said, “Father, I want to thank You that I have Your favor.”

No wonder Job came out with twice what he had before. No wonder his enemies couldn’t keep him defeated. Many times we tend to put things off.

“God, as soon as it turns around, then I’ll know I have Your favor. Then I’ll thank You.”

“God, as soon as I rebuild the walls, then I’ll tell people Your gracious hand is upon me.”

“As soon as I accomplish my dreams, then I’ll brag on Your goodness.”

Yet, what causes God to defeat our enemies, what causes Him to give us breakthroughs and supernatural abilities, is our offering of thanks to God for His favor, even though we don’t see any sign of favor. He steps in when you say, “Father, thank You that Your gracious hand is upon me,” even
though nothing is going your way. Or when you say, “Lord, I know I’ve got what it takes,” even though you feel unqualified, inferior.

That’s what allows God to do amazing things. Job would have remained defeated if he had just sat back and thought, “Well, I’m a good person. I love the Lord. I hope God will do something about this trouble.” Instead, Job came out with the victory because he kicked his faith into gear and spoke favor in the midst of the adversity.

You may be up against big challenges. This is not the time to be passive. More than ever, like Job, like Nehemiah, you need to declare God’s favor. All through the day say, “Lord, thank You that Your gracious hand is upon me. Lord, thank You that Your favor keeps my enemies from defeating me. Lord, thank You that Your favor will make a way even though I don’t see any way.”

I was reading about this small fish called a Moses sole. It’s a little flounder found in the Red Sea where there also are large sharks. Sharks would typically eat this kind of fish. But back in the early 1970s, a group of researchers noticed something amazing about the little Moses sole. All the other fish that were the same size and same weight were eaten by sharks, but for some reason sharks would not eat the Moses sole.

The scientists discovered that the Moses sole has a very unique defense system. Whenever it senses any kind of danger, this fish naturally secretes poisonous toxins from its glands. The toxins literally cause the shark’s jaws to freeze. One report showed a picture of this little Moses sole inside the shark’s mouth. The shark had obviously come in for the kill. All the predator had to do was bite down. Dinner would have been served.

But the shark couldn’t do it. God put something on this little fish to protect him, and the shark’s jaw was paralyzed. He had to swim away from the Moses sole for a few seconds before his jaw would return to normal.

That’s what the Scripture means when it says, “The favor of God will keep my enemies from defeating me.” God has put something on you that will cause you to be victorious.

The way you release these poisonous toxins, so to speak, to keep the shark’s jaws frozen is by thanking God for His favor. Every time you say, “Lord, thank You that Your gracious hand is upon me,” toxins are released that paralyze the enemy.

“Lord, thank You that I’m surrounded by Your favor.” More toxins, more protection is released. But just the opposite happens if you go around talking about how big the problem is, how you will never make it. That negative attitude acts like bait and attracts the enemy, making it more difficult.

When you’re in tough times, remember the Moses sole. If you are negative, worried, or start complaining, you will attract more difficulty, but if you’ll dare to just declare God’s favor, it will release a power to keep your enemies from defeating you.