I DECLARE (4 page)

God can do in a split second what might
otherwise take you many years.

The best wine is often thought to be twenty or thirty years old. Yet, in His first public miracle, Jesus produced the finest-quality wine in a split second, just a moment in time for what normally would take decades to do. So, if you've worried that you don't have enough time to accomplish your dreams and goals, you need to remember that—just as Jesus sped up the wine-making process—God can do in a split second what might otherwise take you many years.

Maybe it should normally take you twenty years to pay your house off. But the good news is God is in the accelerating business. He can give you one good break that will thrust you thirty years down the road. He can turn your water into wine.

Be encouraged; the God we serve knows how to speed up natural laws. He can take you farther more quickly than you could ever imagine.

I DECLARE Ephesians 3:20 over my life. God will do exceedingly, abundantly above all that I ask or think. Because I honor Him, His blessings will chase me down and overtake me. I will be in the right place at the right time. People will go out

of their way to be good to me. I am surrounded by God's favor.

This is my declaration.

Irene, a friend of mine, was working at home, refinishing a piece of furniture with an electric sander to remove the old stain. It was a tool she'd had for some time. It wasn't in that great of shape. As she was working, one of the main parts broke off and it wouldn't work anymore. So she put the sander and the broken part into a Lakewood Church bag that she'd just happened to have at home. She went up to the hardware store.

This gentleman came over to help her. She showed him the broken part and asked if he had it. He looked at her in the strangest way, almost like this glaze came his eyes and he said, "No, we don't have that part.

We don't even carry that model." But he reached up on the shelf and got a brand-new, top-of-the-line sander and said, "Here, I want you to have this. It's our gift to you."

Irene had never even met the man, never seen him before. She was totally taken back. She said, "Are you sure you want to give this to me?"

He said, "Yes. I'm positive. Just go up to the counter and give them my number: 5-5-5."

So she went up to the counter almost in disbelief. There were three registers open. They had five or six people in each line. She stood at the back of the line. All of the sudden the lady working the register looked over and said, "Hey, lady. Come up here. I want to check you out right now."

Irene pointed at herself and said, "Do you mean me?"

She said, "Yes, I mean you, the highly favored woman."

Irene was kind of embarrassed. She didn't want to cut ahead of others, but the lady insisted, so she went up there and showed her the sander and said, "This man said he wanted to give this to me."

She said, "Well, I don't know if he can do that. Who was he?"

"I don't know but he said his number was 5-5-5," Irene said.

She said, "Well, he can do whatever he wants. He's the regional manager."

Just as Irene was about to leave she said to the lady, "By the way, why did you call me up in front of all these people?"

The lady said, "I saw your Lakewood Church bag and I watch every Sunday. And I know anybody that goes to Lakewood has to be highly favored."

When you walk in God's favor, His blessings
will chase you down and overtake you.

I believe that those who stay in faith are highly favored. You need to prepare for an exceeding, abundant, above-and-beyond life; a life where people go out of their way for no reason to be good to you; a life where you get promoted even though you weren't the most qualified; a life where you find yourself in the right place at the right time.

When you walk in God's favor, His blessings will chase you down and overtake you.

I DECLARE I am special and extraordinary. I am not average! I have been custom-made. I am one of a kind. Of all the things God created, what He is the most proud of is me. I am His masterpiece, his most prized possession. I will keep my head held high, knowing I am a child of the most high God, made in his very image. This is my declaration.

Psychologists say our self-worth is often based upon what we believe the most important people in our lives think of us. For children most likely that would be their parents. For adults, that could still be a parent, a spouse, a friend, or a mentor.

The problem with this philosophy is that people can disappoint us. They can say things or do things that bring heartache and pain. If we're receiving our value only from those who hurt us, we'll likely feel less and less valuable over time. Sooner or later they will say something that cuts like a knife, or they will show by their actions that we're not really that important.

The key to really understanding and maintaining a true sense of value is to let your Heavenly Father be the most important person in your life. Base your sense or value on what He says about you.

When you make mistakes some may criticize and make you feel guilty, like you're all washed up. But God says, "I have mercy for every mistake. Get up and go again. Your future is brighter than your past."

Let your Heavenly Father be the most

important person in your life.

Others may make you feel like you're not talented, you're not attractive, or you don't have anything special to offer. But God says, "You're amazing. You're beautiful. You're one of a kind."

People may disappoint you and reject you, even say things that can wound your spirit. If you're receiving your value and your worth only from them, you'll go through life feeling inferior, insecure, with little self-worth. But if you will learn to receive your value from your Heavenly Father and listen to what He says about you, then you'll feel accepted, approved, redeemed, forgiven, confident, and secure. You will feel extremely valuable and that's exactly the way God wants you to be.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "You are God's masterpiece." Do you realize a masterpiece is not mass-produced? You didn't come off an assembly line. You're not average. You're not ordinary. You've been custom-made. You are one of a kind. God created you in His very own image. He looks past all those other things and He looks right at you and says, "There's my masterpiece. That's my son. That's my daughter. That's what brings the most joy to my heart."

I DECLARE that God is bringing about new seasons of growth. I will not get stagnant and hold on to the old. I will be open to change knowing that God has something better in front of me. New doors of opportunity, new relationships, and new levels of favor are in my future. This is my declaration.

Sometimes the very things that we fight against, the very things that we think are trying to pull us down, are actually the hand of God trying to push us into a new season. God will stir us out of comfortable situations and He'll put us in situations that make us stretch—situations that force us to use our faith. We may not like it. It may be uncomfortable. But God loves you too much to just leave you alone.

Just as God can supernaturally open doors, sometimes He may supernaturally close doors.

Nothing happens by accident. God is directing each of your steps. That means if a friend does you wrong, if you go through a setback, if you lose a loved one, you can either embrace that change and God will use it to take you higher, or you can resist it and you'll end up becoming stagnant and settling for mediocrity.

Stay open for change. Don't approach change from a negative point of view. All change is not bad. It may be negative on the surface but remember, God would not allow it if He didn't have a purpose for it. He will use it to stretch you and to hopefully push you into a new dimension. You may be in a perfectly fine situation for years, but all of a sudden you will see a stirring taking place.

Maybe you thought you'd be in your job for another twenty years, but for some reason the people who were behind you are not behind you anymore. You don't have the favor you once had there. It seems like every day is an uphill battle. What is that? That's God stirring things up.

It's easy to become negative or bitter: "God, why is this happening? I thought I had Your favor." But a much better approach is to just stay open and know that God is still in control. If you will embrace that change, the winds that you thought would defeat you will actually push you to your divine destiny.

Don't approach change from

a negative point of view.

Maybe you are in a relationship, and deep down you know the person is not good for you. You know this individual is keeping you from being your best. But you may think, If I make a change I will be alone.

You don't want to rock the boat. That's why sometimes God will turn the boat over. God may force you to move forward, not because He's mean, not because He's trying to make your life miserable, but because He has such a great desire to see you reach your full potential.

So at times He may cause a friend to walk away. He'll stir things up and may even allow a friend to do you wrong, because He knows if He doesn't close that door you will never move ahead. Thirty years later that person would still be dragging you down, keeping you from your destiny. God would not have stirred it up if He didn't have something better in store. Don't fight change; embrace it, and you will step into the fullness of what God has in store.

I DECLARE that I will use my words to bless people. I will speak favor and victory over my family, friends, and loved ones. I will help call out their seeds of greatness by telling them "I'm proud of you, I love you, you are amazing, you are talented, you are beautiful, you will do great things in life." This is my declaration.

When you speak the blessing over your spouse, over your children, over your students, or anyone in your life, you are not just using nice words. Those words carry God's supernatural power. They release favor, ability, confidence, and God's goodness in extraordinary ways.

We should make it our mission to speak the blessing into as many people as we possibly can. With our words we can release favor into somebody else's life.

I heard about a small girl who had a cleft lip. Her lip was a little bit crooked and it made her smile awkward.

With our words we can release

favor into somebody else's life.

When she was in second grade other students would not play with her because she looked different. She grew up with these incredible insecurities. She just shrunk back, stayed to herself, and didn't really have any friends. One day the school was conducting hearing tests. The teacher had each student walk slowly away from her while the teacher whispered very quietly. The students were told to repeat out loud, in front of the whole class, what the teacher was whispering.

For most students the teacher would make general statements like "The sky is blue. There's a cat outside. Today is Tuesday."

The students would repeat each statement to show they could hear properly.

When it came time for the little girl with the cleft lip, she was nervous and afraid, but after she passed the hearing test the teacher smiled and told her, "I wish you were my little girl."

When she heard the teacher's approval and the blessing spoken over her, it did something on the inside. It gave her a new sense of confidence, a greater self-esteem. Not only that, when the other students heard how much the teacher loved this little girl, their attitudes changed. Now they all wanted to be her friend. They made sure to sit by her at lunch. They started inviting her over to their home after school.

What was that? The blessing was spoken not by a parent but by an authority figure, and it released God's favor in her life in a greater way. When she became a young lady, the little girl often spoke of that day as a turning point in her life.

I think about what might have happened if her teacher had withheld the blessing. What if she had just said something ordinary? Who knows where that young lady would be today?

It's so simple but it can have such a huge impact. That's why you should get in a habit of speaking the blessing every chance you get.

I DECLARE that I have a sound mind filled with good thoughts, not thoughts of defeat. By faith, I am well able. I am anointed. I am equipped. I am empowered. My thoughts are guided by God's Word every day. No obstacle can defeat me, because my mind is programmed for victory. This is my declaration.

Many of God's promises are in the past tense. In Ephesians God says, "I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing." He says in Colossians, "I have made you worthy." In Psalms He says, "I have surrounded you with favor as a shield."

All of those are put in past tense like it's already happened. Now you must do your part and come into agreement with God. You may not feel blessed today. A lot of things may be coming against you with your family, with your finances, or with your health.

Your mind may be telling you, This isn't for me. No way I'm blessed.

Instead, you must be bold and say, "God, if You say I'm blessed then I believe I'm blessed. My checkbook may not say I'm blessed. The economy doesn't say I'm blessed. The medical report doesn't say I'm blessed. But God, I know You have the ultimate authority. Since You say I'm blessed, my report is I am blessed."

God has already crowned you with favor.

When you get in agreement with God like that, it allows Him to release the promises that already have your name on them. You can pull it out of the unseen spiritual realm over into the physical, seen realm.

That's what the Bible says: "God speaks of nonexistent things as if they already existed."

But too many people go around thinking, Well, I wish I was blessed. I wish I had favor. No, you've got to reprogram your thinking. It says in Psalms that God has already crowned you with favor. You may not realize it, but there is a crown on your head right now and it is not a crown of defeat, of lack, of mediocrity. It is a crown of God's favor.