I DECLARE (5 page)

If you are to activate that favor, you must get in agreement with God by declaring, "I do have favor." You cannot drag through the day thinking, Why do I always get the short end of the stick? Why do I always have these bad breaks? When those discouraging thoughts come and try to convince you that nothing good is in store, just as an act of faith you need to reach up and adjust your crown of favor. Make sure it's on straight. God has already blessed you. He has already made you more than a conqueror. He has already given you that crown of favor.

How do you tap in to what God has already done?

Very simple: just act like you're blessed, talk like you're blessed, walk like you're blessed, think like you're blessed, smile like you're blessed, dress like you're blessed. Put actions behind your faith, and one day you will see it become a reality.

I DECLARE that I will live as a healer. I am sensitive to the needs of those around me. I will lift the fallen, restore the broken, and encourage the discouraged. I am full of compassion and kindness. I won't just look for a miracle; I will become someone's miracle by showing God's love and mercy everywhere I go. This is my declaration.

You're never more like God than when you help hurting people. One of our assignments in life is to help wipe away the tears. Are you sensitive to the needs of those around you? Your friends? Your neighbors? Your coworkers?

Many times behind the pretty smile, behind the Sunday praise, there is a person who's hurting. She's alone. His life is in turmoil. When someone is struggling, reach out. Be a healer. Be a restorer. Take time to wipe away the tears.

Your job is not to judge. Your job is not to figure out if someone deserves something, or to decide who is right or who is wrong. Your job is to lift the fallen, to restore the broken, and to heal the hurting.

I can become someone's miracle.

Too often we become focused on our own goals, our own dreams, and how we can get our miracle. But I've learned something that is more important: I can become someone's miracle.

There is healing in your hands. There's healing in your voice. You are a container filled with God. Right now you are full of encouragement, full of mercy, full of restoration, full of healing. Everywhere you go you should dispense the goodness of God.

If you get around me you'd better get ready. You will be encouraged. You may have made mistakes but I will tell you: God's mercy is bigger than any mistake you've made. You may have wasted years of your life making poor choices, but I will tell you God still has a way to carry you to your final destination.

You may have had an addiction since you were a teenager. But I will let you know that the power of the Most High God can break any addiction and set you free. That's what it means to dispense good. You lift the fallen. You encourage the discouraged. You take time to wipe away the tears.

Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan who was riding his donkey and he saw a man on the side of the road beaten and left for dead. He put him on his donkey and took him to a place where he could recover. I love the fact that the Good Samaritan walked so the injured man could ride.

Sometimes you may have to trade places with someone who is hurting. You must be willing to be inconvenienced.

You may have to miss dinner in order to wipe away a tear. You may have to skip working out one night in order to encourage a struggling couple. You may have to drive across town and pick up a coworker who is addicted and take him to church with you on Sunday. If you want to live as a healer, you must be willing to change places with those who are hurting.

I DECLARE I will put actions behind my faith. I will not be passive or indifferent. I will demonstrate my faith by taking bold steps to move toward what God has put in my heart. My faith will not be hidden; it will be seen. I know when God sees my faith He will show up and do amazing things. This is my declaration.

In the Scripture there was a man who was paralyzed. He would lie in bed at home all day long. One day he heard Jesus was in town teaching people. He convinced four of his friends to carry him on his bed over to the house where Jesus was speaking.

When they arrived the place was packed and they couldn't get in. They had gone to great lengths to get there. I'm sure the four men were tired. I'm sure their backs were hurting and their shoulders were sore.

They'd traveled all that way to no avail. What a disappointment. What a letdown. They could have easily become discouraged and said, "Too bad. It's not going to happen."

But not the paralyzed man: he was determined. I can see his four friends turn to take him home. He says, "No, no. We're not heading home just yet. I'm not leaving until I get my miracle."

You are closest to your victory

when you face the greatest opposition.

This man understood: You are closest to your victory when you face the greatest opposition. A lot of people give up too easily.

"Joel, I tried but they told me no."

Tried to get my degree but the college was full."

"I tried to buy that new home but they wouldn't give me a loan."

"We tried to go to Lakewood but the parking lot was just too crowded."

You must be more determined than that. You have to have a "never say die" attitude. If you can't get in the door why don't you try the window? If you can't get through the window why not be bold and go through the roof? That's what this man did in the Bible story.

He said to his friends, "I've got an idea. Take me up on the roof. Cut a hole in it and lower me down so I can have a front row seat there in front of Jesus."

Where there is a will there is a way. They lowered this paralyzed man down on his bed, all curled up, and put him right in front of Jesus. The Scripture in Mark 2:5 begins, "When Jesus saw their faith..."

That's my question for you today. Do you have a faith that God can see? Are you doing something out of the ordinary to show God you believe in Him? It's not enough to just pray. It's not enough to just believe. Like this man, you have to do something to demonstrate your faith.

Jesus looked at the man and said, "Rise. Take up your bed and walk." Immediately, the man got up. He picked up his bed. He went home perfectly whole. But it all started when he dared to do something where God could see his faith.

There were other people in the room who did not get well. What was the difference? This man put action behind his faith. God is looking for people who have a faith He can see. Not just a faith He can hear. Not just a faith that believes, but also a faith that is visible. A faith that is demonstrated. It's one thing to pray. It's one thing to believe. But if you really want to get God's attention, put actions behind what you believe in.

I DECLARE breakthroughs are coming in my life, sudden bursts of God's goodness. Not a trickle. Not a stream. But a flood of God's power. A flood of healing. A flood of wisdom. A flood of favor. I am a breakthrough person and I choose to live breakthrough minded. I am expecting God to overwhelm me with His goodness and amaze me with His favor. This is my declaration.

In the Bible, King David needed a breakthrough when he faced an impossible situation. He and his men were up against a huge army—the Philistines. They were greatly outnumbered. They had little or no chance of winning. David asked God for help, and God gave David the promise that He would go with them and they would defeat that army.

When David and his men went out, that was exactly what happened. God gave them a great victory. David was so overwhelmed by it, he said in 1 Chronicles 14:11, "God has broken through to my enemies like the bursting forth of water." He named the place Baal-Perazim, which means, "the God of the breakthrough." Notice, David likened God's power to the bursting forth of waters. He described it as a flood. He was saying when the God of the breakthrough shows up and releases His power it will be like a flood of His goodness, a flood of His favor, a flood of healing, a flood of new opportunity.

Think about how powerful water is: three or four feet of water can pick up a huge car that weighs thousands of pounds and move it all around. I've seen, on the news, big floods floating whole houses down the river. Nothing can stop the force of that water. Anything in the way is moved out of its path.

You may have difficulties that look extremely large, obstacles that look impassable, and dreams that appear unobtainable. But know this; when the God of the breakthrough releases a flood of His power nothing can stop it. Your sickness may look big but it's nothing for the God of the breakthrough. It doesn't have a chance when God releases a flood of His healing.

When the God of the breakthrough releases

a flood of His power nothing can stop it.

Your opponents may look powerful. They may be bigger, stronger, better equipped, and better financed. But they don't have a chance when God opens up the floodgates of His favor. You need to be ready, not for a trickle, not for a stream, not for a river. No, get ready for a flood of God's favor, a tidal wave of God's goodness, a tsunami of His increase.

You may be thinking "trickle" when God has an entire ocean to work with. You're thinking "stream" when God has a tidal wave. You should enlarge your vision. Dare to stretch your faith. God wants to release His favor like a flood. He wants to overwhelm you with His goodness.

I DECLARE there is an anointing of ease on my life. God is going before me making crooked places straight. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I will not continually struggle. What used to be difficult will not be difficult anymore. God's favor and blessing on my life is lightening the load and taking the pressure off. This is my declaration.

Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." God wants to make your life easier. He wants to help you when you're driving in traffic, shopping at the grocery store, raising your children, and dealing with that problem at work. Every day you should thank Him for His anointing of ease.

This is what David did. He declared in Psalm 23, "God anoints my head with oil." Oil makes things flow. Whenever there is friction or things are stuck, oil is used to lubricate it and make it more fluid. That is what God is doing with you when He anoints your head with oil. David went on to say, "Because God has anointed me, surely goodness and mercy will follow me wherever I go." That means things will be easier. What you used to struggle with will no longer be a struggle. For no reason people will want to be good to you. You will get breaks that you didn't deserve. You will have good ideas, wisdom, creativity, and you won't know where it came from. That is the oil God put on you. His anointing of ease.

I was once in a difficult situation I didn't know how to resolve. I was in another city far away from home.

I really needed some advice. So I called a friend. He said, "Joel, you really need to talk to one of my associates. He's an expert in this field. He'll be able to help you. But he's out of town for two weeks."

Well, I didn't have two weeks. That was like a lifetime to me. He asked me where I was and I told him. He said, "You've got to be kidding. That man just left two or three hours ago and that's exactly where he's heading."

When he gave me the address I found the man I needed would be less than two miles from where I was staying. When I heard that, I knew God was still on the Throne.

Here we were; both of us thousands of miles from home. We could have been anywhere in the world. What were the chances that we'd end up less than five minutes from each other?

What am I saying? God is directing every one of your steps. He has already lined up solutions to your problems.

God is directing every one of your steps.

He has lined up the breaks you need. I want you to go out each day knowing there is favor in your future. There is restoration in your future. There is healing in your future. There are good breaks just ahead of you. If you stay in faith you will see favor that will make your life easier.

I DECLARE that I am calm and peaceful. I will not let people or circumstances upset me. I will rise above every difficulty, knowing that God has given me the power to remain calm. I choose to live my life happy, bloom where I am planted, and let God fight my battles. This is my declaration.

A lady told me about one of her husband's relatives who was very opinionated. He was always making these cutting, demeaning remarks about her. This couple hadn't been married that long. Every time they went to family get-togethers, this relative would say something to offend her. She would get all upset and it would ruin the day. She reached the point where she refused to even go to family events.

Finally, she told her husband, "You've got to do something about that man. He's your relative."

She was expecting her husband to say, "You're right, honey. He shouldn't talk to you like that. I will set him straight." But the husband did just the opposite. He said, "Honey, I love you but I cannot control him. He has every right to have his opinion. He can say what he wants to, but you have every right to not get offended."

At first she couldn't understand why her husband wouldn't really stick up for her. Time and time again she would become upset. If this relative was in one room she would go to another. If he went outside she would make sure she stayed inside. She was always focused on avoiding this man.

One day she realized she was giving away her power. It was like a light turned on in her mind. She was allowing one person with issues to keep her from becoming who she was meant to be.

When you allow what someone says or does to upset you, you're allowing them to control you. When you say, "You make me so mad," what you're really doing is admitting that you're giving away your power. As long as that person knows they can push this button and you'll respond this way, you are giving them exactly what they want.