I DECLARE (7 page)

Fear and faith have something in common. They both ask us to believe something will happen that we cannot see.

Fear says, "Believe the negative. That pain in your side? That's the same thing your grandmother died from. It will probably be the end of you."

Faith says, "That sickness is not permanent. It's only temporary."

Fear says, "Business is slow. You're going under."

Faith says, "God is supplying all of your needs."

Fear says, "You've been through too much. You will never be happy."

Faith says, "Your best days are still out in front of you."

Here's the key: What we meditate on is what takes root. If we go around all day thinking about our fears, playing them over and over again in our minds, they become a reality.

That's what Job said: "The thing I feared came upon me" (Job 3:25).

A man told me that when things were great in his life—he'd become engaged, his business was blessed—he didn't enjoy it. Instead of thanking God, he was afraid it would not last and that it was too good to be true.

I told him, "You are helping your fears come to pass. When negative thoughts come, don't let take root.

Just switch over into faith and say, 'Father, You said Your favor will last for a lifetime. You said goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.'"

That's choosing faith instead of fear.

Don't use your energy to worry.

Use your energy to believe.

Today we have so many opportunities to worry and live in fear. People are worried about the economy, worried about their health, worried about their children. But God is saying to you: "Don't use your energy to worry. Use your energy to believe."

It takes the same amount of energy to believe as it does to worry. It's just as easy to say, "God is supplying all of my needs" as it is to say, "I'll never make it."

Don't expect the worst. That's using your faith in reverse.

Instead say, "God, my life is in Your hands. I know You're guiding and directing my steps and I'm not expecting defeat. I'm not expecting failure. I'm expecting to have a blessed year. I'm expecting to go over and not under."

I DECLARE I am equipped for every good work God has planned for me. I am anointed and empowered by the Creator of the universe. Every bondage, every limitation, is being broken off of me. This is my time to shine. I will rise higher, overcome every obstacle, and experience victory like never before!

This is my declaration.

God has equipped and empowered you with everything you need. You don't have to struggle and try to make things happen. It's already in you: the strength, the creativity, the ideas. God's already lined up the right people. He's already given you the breaks you need by anointing you with oil, His blessings and grace.

When I was growing up, I'd play football on the beach with a bunch of my friends. Back then I'd put Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil all over my body to keep from getting sunburned, but it turned out to help my game, too. I'm already kind of fast, but with that oil, nobody could tackle me. Big guys twice my size would grab me but I'd slip right out of their hands. I had an advantage. I was all oiled up.

That's the way it is when you walk in your anointing: things that should bring you down won't. Maybe you were laid off from the job. You should feel discouraged, but instead you stay in faith and you end up finding a better job.

Maybe your discouragement is due to a relationship that came to an end. You should feel bitter, but instead you stay in faith and God opens up another door to a better relationship.

God can take what was meant for my harm

and turn it around and use it to my advantage.

When you face tough times, remind yourself, "I've been anointed for this. I will not be negative. I will not lose my joy. I will stay full of praise. I know God is in control, and I believe He can take what was meant for my harm and turn it around and use it to my advantage."

If you do that, then one day you will look back on your life and realize that you made it through difficult times through the anointing God put on you. He gave you strength when you didn't think you could go on. He gave you joy when you should have been discouraged. He opened up a door when you didn't see any way out. Now you can look back and say with me, "Where would I have been if it had not been for the goodness of God in my life?"

I DECLARE that I will ask God for big things in my life. I will pray bold prayers and expect big and believe big. I will ask God to bring to pass those hidden dreams that are deep in my heart. If certain promises don't look like they will happen, I will not be intimidated and give up. I will pray with boldness, expecting God to show Himself strong, knowing that nothing is too difficult for Him. This is my declaration.

A lot of times we think we're not supposed to ask for too much. After all, we don't want to be greedy. We don't want to be selfish. I have people tell me, "Joel, if God wants me to be blessed, He'll bless me. He's God."

But that's not the way it works. God expects us to ask. James 4:2 says, "You have not because you ask not." If you're not asking for God's favor, His blessings, His increase, then you're not releasing your faith.

I know people who do ask, but they pray such small prayers: "God, if You'll just give me a fifty-cent raise." They act like they are inconveniencing God.

"God if you will just help me survive this marriage," they say.

No, dare to ask big.

Jesus put it this way, "According to your faith it will be done unto you." That means if you pray little you will receive little. But if you learn to pray bold prayers, and big prayers, and expect big, and believe big, it allows God to do big things in your life.

You may have a dream deep down on the inside, but you've never asked God for it. It's not wrong to ask. It's not selfish to ask. God expects us to ask.

If you learn to pray bold prayers...

it allows God to do big thing in your life.

The Scripture says in Psalm 2:8, "Ask of Me and I will give you the nations." God is saying, "Ask Me for big things. Ask Me for those hidden dreams that I've planted in your heart. Ask Me for those unborn promises that may seem unlikely to happen in the natural."

In your quiet time—when it's just between you and God—dare to ask Him for your deepest hopes, your deepest dreams. It may seem impossible, but just be honest and say, "God, I don't see how this could ever happen, but I have a dream to start my own business. God, I'm asking for You to help." Or, "God, I'd love to go back to college but I don't have the time. I don't have the money. God, I'm asking You to make a way."

Dare to ask God for your greatest dreams, your greatest desires.

I DECLARE God is working all things together for my good. He has a master plan for my life. There may be things I don't understand right now but I'm not worried. I know all the pieces aren't here yet. One day it will all come together and everything will make sense. I will see God's amazing plan taking me places I never dreamed of. This is my declaration.

Everyone deals with disappointments and challenges that don't seem to make sense. It's easy to grow discouraged and think, Why did this happen to me?

Why did my loved one not make it? Why did this person treat me wrong? Why did I get laid off?

I want you to understand that even though life is not always fair, God is fair. And He promises in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for our good.

I believe the key word is together. You cannot isolate a challenge in one area of your life and say, "Well, my whole life is ruined." That is just one part of your life. God can see the big picture.

One disappointment is not the end. Your life doesn't stop because of a single setback. The challenge you are facing is simply one piece of your puzzle. There is another piece coming that will connect it all. It will work together for your good.

Some people become bitter before all their pieces come together. God has promised a great plan for you. He has predestined you to live in victory. When events occur that you don't understand—hard times that don't make sense—don't let yourself be stuck there. God has more pieces coming your way.

You may feel like your life is missing something, whether it's in the area of your finances, your career, or your marriage. But all God has to do is add some to the puzzle, and your life will feel whole and complete. Those new parts may be the right people, the right opportunities, or the right breaks at just the right time.

Don't be impatient. It's not over

until God says it's over.

Don't be impatient. It's not over until God says it's over. If you will keep pressing forward, one day you will look back and see how it all played into a master plan that God had designed for our lives. You have to have a deep inner trust, a confidence down in your heart that says, "I know God has a great plan for my life. I know He is directing my steps. And even though I may not understand this, I know it's not a surprise to God. Somehow, someway, He will work it out to my advantage."

I DECLARE God is going before me making crooked places straight. He has already lined up the right people, the right opportunities and solutions to problems I haven't had. No person, no sickness, no disappointment, can stop His plan. What He promised will come to pass. This is my declaration.

A friend told me that he was trying to resolve a legal situation a while back but he ran into a government bureaucrat who told him it would take two years for his transaction to go through. My friend asked very kindly and politely, "Is there any way that it could happen sooner?"

The man, who was the official in charge of that office, answered back very gruffly: "I said it would be two years and I meant it will be two years. The system is all backed up. I've got so much work in front of you. It will be a long time before I get to your paperwork."

My friend did not give up.

"Well, that's fine," he said, "but I will pray and believe that somehow God will cause it to happen sooner."

That made the bureaucrat even more aggravated. And he said back sarcastically, "Pray all you want, but I'm in charge and I'm telling you it will take two years."

Six weeks later the same official called my friend and said, "Come on in. Your paperwork is ready."

My friend thought it was a mistake. "Are you sure it's mine?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," the bureaucrat said.

My friend went there as quickly as he could. He said to the official, "Thank you so much. But I thought you said it would take at least two years."

"I did," the bureaucrat said. "But ever since I met you I can't get you off my mind. I wake up in the morning thinking about you. I eat lunch thinking about you. I go to bed thinking about you. And I am so sick and tired of thinking about you. Take your paperwork and go."

It says in Deuteronomy, chapter 9, "Today you are about to face people much stronger and much more powerful." Then comes the promise: "But the Lord your God will cross over ahead of you like a devouring fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you can quickly conquer.'"

Almighty God is going before

us, fighting our battles.

You may be facing a situation that seems impossible, like the bureaucrat who frustrated my friend. It may not appear that you have a chance. But God will take care of your enemies so you can quickly conquer them.

It's not by our own strength or by our own power. It's because Almighty God, the One who holds our future in His hands, is going before us, fighting our battles, making crooked places straight, even causing our enemies to want to be good to us.

I DECLARE everything that doesn't line up with God's vision for my life is subject to change. Sickness, trouble, lack, mediocrity, are not permanent. They are only temporary. I will not be moved by what I see but by what I know. I am a victor and never a victim. I will become all God has created me to be. This is my declaration.

In Scripture, Joseph had a big dream in his heart, and when he was a young man, God promised that he would be a great leader and even help rule a nation. But before that dream came to pass Joseph had many adversities.

His brothers were jealous of him. They threw him into a deep pit. They left him there to die. But Joseph understood what it says in 2 Corinthians 4:18: "The things that are seen are temporary." One translation says the things that are seen are "subject to change. But the things that are unseen are eternal."

The things we see with our physical eyes are only temporary, but the things we see through our eyes of faith are eternal. Yet too often we allow temporary things to discourage us and cause us to give up on our dreams.

Anything that doesn't line up with the vision

God placed in your heart should be seen not

as permanent but as subject to change.

Anything that doesn't line up with the vision God placed in your heart should be seen not as permanent but as subject to change. Joseph understood this principle. When he was thrown into the pit, he knew that his fate did not line up with the vision God had painted on the canvas of his heart.

Joseph saw himself as a great leader, so he didn't get discouraged. He knew deep down that the pit was only temporary It did not line up with what he saw through his eyes of faith. In a little while a caravan came by, and he was rescued and taken to Egypt.

Joseph worked as a slave for years in Egypt. But once again he didn't get discouraged. He just checked the picture and said, "No, this is not who I am. A slave does not match up with the promise God put in me. This too shall pass."

Year after year there were disappointments, setbacks, unfair situations. He just kept checking the painting God placed in his heart. One day the right doors did open up. Joseph was put in charge over all of Egypt. This time he could finally say, "Now this is permanent. This is what I've seen in my imagination all these years."