Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week (15 page)

My sister Lisa was born with symptoms similar to cerebral palsy. The doctors told my parents that she’d never be able to walk, never be able to feed herself. They said, “You might as well prepare to take care of a disabled child.” Of course, my parents were devastated. They prayed. They believed. They stood in faith, and little by little Lisa got better and better. Today she is perfectly normal. She’s on staff with us here, and she often ministers for us.

I have another minister friend by the name of David Ring. Like Lisa, he was born with a form of cerebral palsy. But God’s plan for his life was different. David Ring was not healed. When he talks it takes him three or four times as long to get the words out. When he walks, his legs and arms don’t function normally.

David easily could have sat at home and thought,
Too bad for me. I have this disability. My speech is slow. I can’t get around. God, I thought You wanted me to do something great. I thought You wanted me to be a minister. I must have been wrong. I have this handicap.

Let me tell you about David Ring: Nothing slows him down. He travels the world speaking to thousands of people, telling them about the goodness of God and encouraging them to overcome obstacles. When he speaks, he is difficult to understand because he speaks very slowly. But I love the way he always starts. He says, “My name is David Ring. What’s your excuse?”

Think about this. Lisa was healed from cerebral palsy, and she’s honoring God with her life. David Ring is living with cerebral palsy, and he’s honoring God with his life. What am I saying? You must take what God gives
you and make the very most of it. You cannot sit around thinking,
Why did this happen to me?

Faith is all about trusting God even when you don’t understand His plan. God could have healed David just like He restored my sister Lisa. But God is sovereign. I don’t claim to understand it all, but I do know this: God is good. He has a great plan for your life, a destiny for you to fulfill. No matter how many disadvantages or setbacks you must deal with, if you shake off the self-pity, stop blaming, and keep pressing forward, nothing will be able to keep you from becoming all that God created you to be.

Stop making excuses. Quit dwelling on disappointments, on the unfairness and hurt inflicted upon you. Know that God has something great coming your way. The worst handicaps are those you place on yourself. Too many people are waiting for God to make them perfect before they pursue their dreams and destinies. Go after yours right now.

Honor God with what you have. He wants to take your liabilities and turn them into assets. First, though, you have to accept that God may not remove your challenge, but He will use it to your advantage.

In the Scripture there is a story of a man who was born blind (see John 9). Some people were asking Jesus, “Why was he born this way?” and “Whose fault was it, his or his parents?”

They were trying to find someone to blame, a reason or an excuse. We tend to do the same things today. But I love the way Jesus answered. He said, “It’s not anybody’s fault, not his or his parents. The reason he was born this way was so that the goodness of God could be displayed.”

Jesus was saying when you have a setback, or when life deals you a tough blow, don’t be bitter. Don’t settle there. Recognize that you are a prime candidate for God to show His favor and goodness through.

If you feel you are disadvantaged or disabled, instead of saying, “It’s not fair, God,” your attitude should be:
God, I’m ready. I know You have something great in store. I refuse to live defeated and depressed. I know this disadvantage is simply another opportunity for You to show up and show out.

That’s exactly what Tony Melendez did. He was born without any arms. As a little boy he had a desire to play the guitar. Something inside said,
You’re supposed to sing and write music
. Tony didn’t know any better. He could have said, “Too bad for me. I’d love to play the guitar, but I don’t have any arms.” Instead, his attitude was,
I may not have any arms, but I do have feet. I may not have any fingers, but I do have ten toes.

Tony learned to play the guitar with his feet. He can play better with his feet than most people can play with their hands.

When God puts a dream in your heart, when He puts a promise on the inside, He deposits in you everything you need to accomplish that dream. God wouldn’t have given Tony the desire without giving him the ability. It just wasn’t the “normal” way. Tony had to be bold enough to say, “I am living a no-excuses life. Yes, this may look like a handicap. Yes, in the natural, I may have a disadvantage, but I know with God there are no handicaps. I know when God made me He wasn’t having a bad day. He made me with a purpose, with a destiny to fulfill, and I will do my best to bring honor to Him.”

Tony has a “can-do” attitude. Other people are hung up on what they can’t do or what they don’t have, but those “disadvantages” are really advantages just waiting to come to life.

Today, Tony has unprecedented favor. He has traveled to more than forty countries, singing and sharing his story of faith. God is using him to do great things.

Most people never have to deal with anything as challenging as Tony’s missing limbs. Yet people often let more common problems like divorce, job loss, or financial challenges overwhelm them. They need to adopt Tony’s no-excuses mentality, press forward, and give God time to turn their liabilities into assets.

In my early days as pastor at Lakewood, I felt as though my laid-back personality was a disadvantage. My father was a fiery leader. I felt I needed a more dynamic, outgoing personality when I took charge.

I said, “God, You have to change me. I have a disadvantage. I’m soft-spoken. I’m more reserved.”

My father could fire up a crowd. I’ve seen other ministers with powerful voices preach deep theological messages with great eloquence. They can move the whole congregation just with their delivery and enunciation. They are very dramatic. I have a Southern drawl. I talk softly, in a normal tone.

When my father went to be with the Lord I said, “God, I don’t know if I can fill his shoes. I’ll see what happens.” But what I thought would be a liability turned out to be an asset. I realized that God made me like this on purpose.

I don’t have the booming voice. I don’t have the dynamic personality. I don’t preach fancy sermons. But people tell me my messages are easy to understand, because my voice is calm and soothing. In fact, one lady said, “Joel, I listen to you before I go to bed every night. You put me right to sleep!”

She meant it as a compliment!

What is your handicap? What is keeping you from believing in yourself and from pursuing your divine destiny? God knew all the issues you would face, your struggles, your weaknesses and inadequacies. You are no surprise to God.

Luke 19:1–10 tells the story of a man named Zacchaeus. He had a disadvantage. He was too short. No doubt, growing up in school the other children teased him, calling him “Shorty” or “Peanut.” I can imagine he wanted to be more like everyone else. But understand, God makes us like we are on purpose.

One day, Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming through his town. All the people were lined up on the streets trying to get a glimpse of Him. Zacchaeus didn’t have a chance. He was standing at the back and could not see over anyone. He could have easily given up and felt sorry for him
self. Instead, he climbed a tree and had a great view, maybe the best. His disadvantage turned into an advantage.

When Jesus came down the street He looked above the crowd and saw Zacchaeus in the tree. Jesus called out to Zacchaeus and asked to have dinner at his house.

If Zacchaeus had been “normal” size, he wouldn’t have climbed the tree and caught the attention of Jesus in the crowd. But because of his “handicap,” Zacchaeus climbed higher and reaped one of the highest possible rewards!

Take a higher perspective as Zacchaeus did. Look at your supposed liability and consider that it may be an advantage. I realize now my laid-back, easygoing, soft-spoken personality is an asset. For me to act like someone else would not work. I’ve accepted who I am and so has our congregation.

I heard about another young athlete who was born without a right hand. One day he was at the doctor’s office having a physical so he could play football. The doctor asked him what his disability was.

He said, “Sir, I don’t have a handicap. I just don’t have a right hand.”

I love that attitude. “I don’t have a handicap. I just play the guitar with my feet.” “I don’t have a handicap. I just speak a little slower.” “I don’t have a handicap. I’m just not as tall as somebody else.”

I encourage you to live without excuses. Dwell on what you can do. Focus on your gifts. Refuse to feel sorry for yourself. Shake off self-pity. Concentrate on being everything God created you to be.

If you’ll live that way, in faith and unbowed, God will turn your handicaps and disabilities for your good. He will take every stumbling block and turn it into a stepping-stone. Something may look like a liability, but as with all the examples I’ve cited, God will transform it into an asset. There are no disadvantages with your God. You have everything you need to succeed!

M
any years ago my father received a letter from another minister that was very mean, critical, and hurtful. He accused my father of things that were totally false. My father was extremely hurt and a little angry. He wrote his attacker the meanest, ugliest letter he could come up with. He ripped his critic apart.

Then, he sealed the scathing letter in an envelope, walked to the end of the driveway, and put it in the mailbox for pickup.

As my father walked back to the house, an inner voice said,
You got even, didn’t you?

“Yeah, I got even,” Daddy replied.

You feel better, don’t you?

“Yeah, I feel better.”

You paid him back, didn’t you?

“Yeah, I paid him back.”

Then the voice said,
You sure did. You paid him back evil for evil.

My father gulped. He could feel that conviction. He knew God was speaking to him. He realized he had responded in the wrong way.

Daddy returned to the mailbox, retrieved the letter, and tore it up. He never sent it; never said another word about it to the man. He chose to let God be his avenger. He chose to let God make his wrongs right.

Sixteen years later my father received a phone call from the man who had attacked him. He was weeping. He said, “Pastor Osteen, that letter I sent you was so wrong. I feel so bad. Can you forgive me?”

God knows how to bring justice in your life. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen.

We all go through situations in which we are treated unfairly. Maybe somebody is gossiping about you, or picking on you, trying to make you look bad at school or work. The natural response is to defend yourself or to strike back. Human nature wants to get revenge. We like to get even. But the Lord says, “Vengeance is Mine” (Deuteronomy 32:35
NKJV
). That means God will make your wrongs right. God wants to repay you for every unfairness. He is a God of justice.

The bottom line is this: God wants you to have the last laugh.

Here’s how it can happen. Romans 12:19 says to never avenge yourselves, but to let God do it. Notice, you can avenge yourself, or you can let God be your avenger; but you cannot have it both ways.

If you take matters into your own hands, God will step back and say, “You go ahead. You don’t need My help.” But if you learn to stay on the high road, control your emotions, and let God be your avenger, He will show up and say, “All right. Let Me go to work.”

He sees every time you are hurt. He keeps the records. If you learn to stay on the high road and don’t waste time trying to pay back those who’ve hurt you, God promises to be your vindicator.

God will release favor and promotion in your life only when He knows your character can handle it. If you get upset every time somebody wrongs you and you try to vindicate yourself, you will not reach the place where God wants you to be.

David was anointed to be king many years before he took the throne. He had to go through a period of testing. During this time, King Saul was trying to kill him. It was very unfair. David had been good to Saul, but Saul turned it around. On two occasions, David had the opportunity to
end Saul’s life (see 1 Samuel 24; 26). He could have put an end to his frustration and misery. But David would not do it.

After the first incident where David had spared Saul’s life, he told Saul, “May the L
ORD
avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you” (1 Samuel 24:12
NIV
).