Daily Affirmations & Prayers (April 2023)

Daily Affirmations & Prayers (April 2023)

“Lord, You said I will lend and not borrow. You said my cup will run over. You said I will have a bountiful year.” That’s the promise. Now build the altar. “Lord, thank You that You’re my provider. Thank You that You have supernatural increase, that You take pleasure in prospering me.” Maybe you’re dealing with an illness. God said He would restore health back unto you. That He would heal you of your wounds. “When I feel better, I’m going to build that altar.” No, build it now. That’s what’s going to activate the healing. “Lord, thank You that I am healed. Thank You that I will run and not be weary, that strength, energy, vitality is flowing through me.”

You may not see how you could come into overflow, how you could have more than enough, but all God has to do is shift the winds, cause the right people to be good to you, cause that contract to come your way, cause that loved one you’ve never met to leave you an inheritance. All the circumstances may say it’s impossible. God is asking you, “When did I become weak? Is there any limit to My power?” Get in agreement with God. He’s about to shift some things in your favor.

When you say, “I’m a victim,” you’re saying what someone did to you has limited your future. People don’t have that kind of power over you. Circumstances cannot stop what God has ordained for your life. The Scripture says, “What God has purposed who can annul?” The only way it will stop you is if you start living like a victim, discouraged, in self-doubt. Shake that off. Those disappointments are setting you up for double. That betrayal, the closed door, the person that tried to make you look bad, it looks like they succeeded and you didn’t get the promotion. God saw it. It’s setting you up for something bigger than you’ve imagined.

God gave you breath to breathe. He woke you up this morning. He told your heart to beat. He’s the One that sustained you. When you have the right perspective, it is a big deal. He’s protected you from things you know nothing about. The disappointment, the loss, it may not have been easy, but you’re still standing, still healthy, still blessed. If it had not been for the goodness of God, where would you be? Sometimes you build an altar simply for the fact that you’re still here. The enemy couldn’t finish you off. You may be up against some big obstacles, but God is saying, “Am I not the God that parted the Red Sea? Am I not the God that closed the mouths of lions? Am I not the God that gave Sarah a baby at ninety? Am I not the God that has brought you this far, that has protected you, promoted you, favored you, made ways where you didn’t see a way?”

When you look back over your life, you need to remember what God has done. “Am I not the God that brought you through the pandemic? Am I not the God that caused that contract to go through? Am I not the God that put you at the right place and you met your spouse? Am I not the God that turned that child around? Am I not the God that gave you beauty for those ashes?” Make sure you’re building altars, recognizing His favor, thanking Him for His goodness. That’s where He’s promised to bless you: at the altars you’ve built.

God has spoken promises to all of us. He’s whispered things in your spirit that may seem impossible. How can you accomplish that dream, how can you get well, how can your family be restored? You have the promise. Now do your part and build the altar. Thank God that it’s on the way. Remind Him of His greatness. Go back over some of your, “Am I not the God” stories. Make them personal. “Are You not the God that opened that door I couldn’t open? Are You not the God that prospered me despite my environment? Are You not the God that freed me from the addiction, that blessed me with a spouse, that protected me in the pandemic, that turned my child around, that caused that contract to go through?” When you look back at the altars you’ve built and you thank God for what He’s done, that’s fuel for your faith. That makes it easier to build those altars looking ahead, thanking God for what He’s about to do.

God told the Israelites in Exodus 20, “Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will bless you there.” God will bless you where you’ve built altars. When you’re always thanking God for what He’s done, remembering His goodness, talking about how He’s made ways where you didn’t see a way. While you’re thanking Him, God says He will bless you. You’re there to express your gratitude, but when you’re at the altar, God says, “I will be good to you.” This begs the question, “Are we not being blessed, because we’re not building altars?” Are we not seeing favor, because we’re not acknowledging God’s goodness? God said, “Build altars where I remind you who I am.”

Sometimes we don’t go to God because we already feel condemned, we already know what we’ve done wrong. We think, “Here comes more judgment; He’s going to let me have it.” No, God is waiting to gladly welcome you. Not to judge you, not to make you feel worse, but to restore you. He has a robe of honor; He has a ring of authority. When you really know who your Heavenly Father is, you’ll go to Him with confidence, knowing that He accepts you—faults and all. He has mercy for your mistakes. He’s not in the judging business; He’s in the restoring business.

When you start to take new ground—you go after your healing, your freedom, your abundance—the enemy thinks that’s his territory. He thinks that ground belongs to him, so you’ll hear that roar louder than ever. He’s hoping to intimidate you to turn back and not go after what God put in your heart. How many people hear the roar and give up on their dream, quit believing for their healing, think that they could never come out of debt? Have a new perspective: the roar is a sign that you’re moving toward what God promised. You wouldn’t hear the roar if you weren’t about to go where you’ve never been and see favor, influence, opportunity, like you’ve never seen.

God is about to shift some things in your life. He’s going to cause provision to come looking for you. You couldn’t have made it happen. You didn’t have the connections, the experience, the background. But you’ve kept God first place. You’ve been faithful. You’ve honored Him with your first fruits. Now, He’s going to cause the winds to blow in your direction. A shift from borrowing to lending. A shift from renting to owning. A shift from employee to employer. A shift from not enough to more than enough. A shift from getting by to abundance.

Ephesians 1 says, “Long before God made the world, He chose you to be in Him, without fault.” You may have made mistakes, you got off course, did things you’re not proud of. We let the accuser heap up all of that baggage, remind us of how unworthy we are, how we don’t deserve God’s goodness. “Look what you’ve done. You should be ashamed; you knew better.” No, God sees you without fault. How could this be? He’s already paid the price for your sins, your mistakes, your failures. He sees you without fault, but that won’t do you any good if you don’t see yourself without fault. If you’re down on yourself, living guilty and condemned, even though God will gladly welcome you, even though He’s longing to be good to you, you won’t see that goodness because you don’t come fearlessly into His presence.

The Scripture says, “When Job prayed for his friends, he got well.” When he served others, he went higher. If he had stayed focused on himself, he would have stayed where he was. Something powerful happens when you get your mind off yourself and you go out and be good to somebody else.

If we could do this in our own strength, we wouldn’t need God. God will put dreams in your heart that you can’t accomplish by yourself. You don’t have the resources, the funds, the connections. It’s easy to get discouraged and let what we see in the natural talk us out of it. This is where you have to stir your faith up and say, “God, I believe You have supernatural provision.” God wouldn’t have put that dream in your heart if He didn’t have a way to bring it to pass.

God is going to do some things that leave you awestruck. The reason we can’t see how is we’re natural and God’s supernatural. We’re limited, but God is unlimited. If you get stuck on the how, you’ll talk yourself out of it. Your mind will come up with a thousand reasons why it’s not going to happen. God’s ways are not our ways. He has ways you’ve never thought of.

We can stay in peace. He’s the Lord, our provider. Not our job, our provider; our boss, our provider; our salary, our provider. No, the God who spoke worlds into existence, the God who makes streets out of gold, the God who causes fish to show up, the God who brings water out of a rock, the God who puts rams in a thicket, the God who said you’ll lend and not borrow, the God who said your cup will run over. That’s Who’s ordering your steps. That’s Who has planned out your future. You may know Him as your Savior. That’s the most important. You may know Him as your healer. That’s good. But you also need to know Him as your provider. He has supernatural provision.

When we look at our circumstances, sometimes we don’t see how we can get ahead. How we can accomplish our dreams, how we can own and not just rent, how can we leave an inheritance to our grandchildren like the Scripture says. With inflation, higher gas prices, food costing more, in the natural, we may not see a way. But God is a supernatural God. When we come to the end of our resources, He steps in and says, “I’ll make streams in the desert. I’ll take five loaves and two fish and multiply them to feed thousands.”

People may not recognize you yet: your boss doesn’t give you credit, relatives discount you and think you don’t have much to offer. You may be overlooked now, but the time is coming when you’re going to be noticed. People are going to recognize your value, your gifts, your talents. God is going to cause you to stand out. You’re going to go from being unnoticed to being in charge, from being not recognized to being the favorite. You couldn’t have made it happen on your own. That’s God’s blessing on your life.

Victory starts in your thinking. As long as you feel like a victim, it’s going to limit your destiny. You won’t pray bold prayers, you won’t believe for big dreams, you won’t expect God’s favor. No matter what’s happened in your past, no matter how many generations there’s been dysfunction, abuse, lack, struggle, you’re the generation that’s going to set a new standard. You’re the one that’s going to see this shift in your thinking. “We’re not slaves. Were not victims, limited, at a disadvantage. We are children of the Most High God.”

We all face situations where it seems like the door is shut. We’re working hard but not getting good breaks, the loan didn’t go through, we still haven’t met anyone. Thoughts will tell you, “That door is never going to open. You can’t accomplish your dreams. You don’t have the training. You’re locked out.” Sometimes it’s like a door has slammed in our face: a person walked away, a friend betrayed us, we came down with an illness. The door looks permanently locked. It’s dead bolted; it’s got a chain. But the Scripture says, “God will open doors that no person can shut.” God is your doorkeeper. He’s in control of the doors in your life.

If you’re going to see what God promised you come to pass, the Scripture says, “Don’t faint in your mind.” The first place we lose the battle is in our thinking. Thoughts will tell you, “Nothing happened when you prayed. You’ll never get well. You’ll never break the addiction. You’ve been struggling for years.” Don’t believe those lies. The roots have been cut off. It’s just a matter of time before you see things change in your favor. What’s trying to stop you is temporary.

When someone hurts you, does you wrong, if you keep thinking about it, then you’re letting them continue to hurt you. Don’t give them your power. You have to let it go. Give it to God. He saw what they did. He saw your tears, your heartache. He has beauty for those ashes. But here’s the key: you have to let go of the ashes before you can see the beauty. It’s an exchange.

If you’ll stay in faith, you’re going to see the new thing. Like God did for the Israelites, He’s going to bring you out of captivity. He’s going to free you from limitations and negative things that have been passed down in your family line. In this new thing, God is going to break generational curses, addictions. Poverty and depression will no longer hold you back. There are about to be streams in that desert. That barren land is about to be turned into fertile land, an abundant land, where dreams come to pass. He’s going to catapult you to where no one in your family has gone.

There’s a big windshield in front of you and a very small rear-view mirror. The reason it’s so small is because what’s behind you is not nearly as important as what’s in front of you. Where you’re going is what matters, not where you’ve been. Is there something you need to forget, so you can see the new thing, something you need to quit dwelling on, so you can step into the favor and abundance that God has for you?

The Israelites had been through many struggles and had unfair things happen. They made mistakes, brought trouble on themselves. But Isaiah said, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Behold, God is doing a new thing.” The principle is, if you’re dwelling on the past, you won’t see the new thing. If you’re focused on who hurt you and what wasn’t fair, why a friend walked away, then you’ll miss your destiny. God is saying, forget the former things; quit dwelling on your mistakes. This is a new day.

Get your hopes up. Start expecting God’s favor; start believing for the unusual. God wants to make you an example of His goodness. He’s already set in motion something better than you can imagine. You can’t see it yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s not en route. Keep believing, talking like it’s on the way. Keep doing the right thing. You’re going to see God exceed your expectations

Look around; find the favor connections in your life. Don’t be jealous because they have more; don’t be intimidated because they’re further along. Celebrate them, honor them, cheer them on. If you’ll do this, I believe and declare, because you’re connected to favor, new doors are going to open, new opportunities, new levels. You’re going to rise higher, accomplish dreams, and reach the fullness of your destiny.

You have to know that your life matters. You are important to God. He thinks you are so valuable that He took time to plan all of your days before you were born. You have a divine assignment. The Scripture says, “He’s working all things according to the counsel of His will.” That means He has the final say. He said His plans for you are for good. He said He will do exceedingly, abundantly above all you can imagine. Now keep God first place. Keep honoring Him with your life. Do the right thing when it’s hard. Don’t try to figure everything out. He’s doing things that you can’t understand right now. It won’t make sense. If you have to know everything, you’re going to be frustrated. Leave it in His hands. “God, I don’t know what You’re doing, but I trust You. I know You’re in control and You’re moving me toward my divine purpose.”

If you’ll stay in faith, at some point, you’re going to see what God was doing behind the scenes. Suddenly, things will fall into place. Suddenly, you’ll meet the right person. Suddenly, your business will take off. What happened? You saw what God was up to all those months and years that you didn’t think anything was happening. Behind the scenes, things were coming together.

When God puts you with eagles, don’t have a chicken mentality. Don’t start talking about how you’ve never seen anything like that, how that could never happen for you. Let it take root on the inside. Breathe it all in; get used to it. That’s where God is taking you. You have to make room for the new things God has in store. If you live with a limited vision, thinking that could never happen, that it’s so far above anything you’ve ever seen, then you’re right. It’s not going to happen. You’ll never go where you can’t accept. God gave you the favor connection to let you get a glimpse into the next level, to show you where He’s taking you.

God has some things in your future that are not going to make sense, that are going to boggle your mind. He knows how to give you property that seems impossible. He knows how to turn that child around, how to restore your health, how to cause people to favor you, how to open doors you couldn’t open. What I want us to see is that God’s been working for generations, getting us ready for this moment. You’re going to come into some generational blessings, generational favor, generational increase. It’s the hand of God doing things you never saw coming.

God is doing things that you can’t see right now. We’re looking at it situationally; He’s working generationally. He can see the big picture. There may be things that don’t make sense. You did the right thing, but the wrong thing happened. God is still in control. Don’t judge your life by one season. Let it unfold. You’re going to see the hand of God, doing things you didn’t see coming.

You’re part of the bigger plan. God is using you not only to fulfill your purpose, but to bring about His purpose in others. That’s why you shouldn’t fight everything you don’t like, live upset over the betrayal, bitter over that door that closed, frustrated because the dream hasn’t come to pass. God knows what He’s doing. We’re not going to understand it all right now. We can only see a small part of His plan. He’s looking ahead four hundred years. You can be confident that His plans for you are for good. They may not look good at the time, but if you’ll stay in faith, you’ll see what God is up to. You’ll come into these moments of favor that catapult you ahead.

You don’t know what God is up to. It looks like a setback, but really, it’s setting you up. It’s positioning you for new levels of your destiny. David said, “God, I trust You. My future is in Your hands.” Quit worrying about tomorrow. Your future is in God’s hands. It’s already been set. What God has purposed will come to pass. He’s already lined up the right people, solutions to problems. What you’re worried about, He’s already worked out. It’s a part of His divine plan. Why don’t you come back to a place of peace, a place of faith. He didn’t bring you this far to leave you now. What He started, He will finish.

You don’t have to fight those battles. Don’t try to do it in your own strength. You have a defender. Stand still and you will see the deliverance of the Lord. It’s because the blessing is stronger than the curse. The people you’re up against, the circumstances may seem bigger, more powerful, more influential. The cancer, the addiction are intimidating. Stay in peace. The blessing on you is greater than what’s trying to stop you.

Some of you have come from generations of abuse, mistreatment, things that were not fair. That victim mentality can be passed from generation to generation. Yes, there was injustice in the past. Yes, there were things that were not fair, but this is a new day. The reason you’re reading this is because you’re the one to break the cycle. You’re the one to say, “I am not a victim. I am a victor. I’m going to set a new standard, I’m going to believe for better things, I’m going to live whole, free, expecting favor.”

Who are you listening to? What God says about you: that your latter days will be better than your former days, that your children are mighty in the land, that what you touch prospers and succeeds? Or what the enemy is whispering, “It’s never going to get better, nothing good is in store, it’s too late, you’ve made too many mistakes.” Pay attention to what you’re giving your attention to, who you’re allowing to influence you. When those thoughts come, telling you what you can’t do—doubt, insecurity, lack, not enough—you have to consider the source. Where are those thoughts coming from? That’s the enemy. He’s been lying since the Garden of Eden. Don’t let him in your ear. Don’t let him convince you to believe things that contradict what God says.

If you’re going to overflow with hope, you can’t consider all the circumstances. If you stay focused on how big the problem is and what the experts said and how impossible it looks, you’re going to be discouraged. Quit considering the circumstances and start considering your God. He spoke worlds into existence. He parted Red Seas. He closed the mouths of hungry lions.

Some of the things you’re worrying about God has already done. You haven’t seen it, but in the unseen realm, things have changed. That anxiety that you’ve been praying about, asking God to take away, it’s already dead. That trouble at work, God has already cut off the source. Now, do your part and stay in faith till it manifests. Keep thanking God, keep talking like you’re free, keep thinking like you’re healthy, keep acting like you’re victorious.

If you allow negative voices to continue, “You can’t do it, it’s too big, you’ll never get well.” Those wrong voices will keep you from your destiny. There are dream stealers, people that will tell you all the reasons it’s not going to happen. But there are also dream releasers, people that will fuel your faith, people that will tell you, “You’re well able, you have what it takes, the favor of God is on your life.” Who’s in your ear: dream stealers or dream releasers? Tune out all the negative, naysayers, never work out. Get around people that speak faith, speak abundance, speak victory. People that ignite your dreams, that lift you, encourage you, build you up.

Psalm 119 says, “Lord, give me a discerning mind.” It’s important to discern, “Is this a good voice, is this a positive influence, is their advice something I should take?” There can be many different opinions, even things that on the surface seem right and look like good suggestions, require you to ask God for discernment. Because every good thing is not a God thing. Every piece of advice is not for you. They can be good people, with good intentions, but what they’re telling you may not be God’s plan for your life.

Who’s in your ear? Who are you taking advice from? Are they moving you forward, helping you to grow and step into your purpose or are they causing you to compromise, live upset, make poor decisions? Those are the wrong voices. Learn to tune them out. You don’t have time to waste being distracted, deceived, manipulated. If you’ll get rid of the wrong voices, the right voices will show up. Every morning, we should pray, “Lord, give me a discerning mind. Help me to see beyond the surface, to make decisions that honor You.”

When Jesus died, we came out from under the old covenant into a better covenant. In the new covenant, we don’t have to go to people to see what God says. The Holy Spirit lives on the inside of each one of us. He’s called your counselor, your guide, your advisor. He’ll give you advice. He’ll help you make the right choices. It’s not that God is not speaking to us; it’s that we’re too busy listening to others. You have to get rid of the wrong voices, then you’ll hear the right voices.

God has already lined up the people you need for the new thing. Stay open. It may not happen the way you’re expecting, but can I encourage you: God’s way will be better, bigger, more rewarding, more fulfilling. Don’t limit what you’ve seen in the past to what God is going to do in your future. God never does His greatest feats in your yesterdays; they are always in your tomorrows.

In Luke 5, Jesus borrowed Peter’s boat to teach the people from the shore. When He finished, He told Peter to launch out into the deep and he would catch a great haul of fish. Peter had fished all night but he went back out and tried it again. He caught so many fish that his net began to break. Verse 7 says, “Peter shouted for help and his partners came. Soon both boats were so loaded with fish, they were concerned they were going to sink.” Peter was blessed because he obeyed. Because he obeyed, he had favor. But notice, the favor didn’t stop with him. He had so many fish that his partners, those that were connected to him, they received the overflow. When you’re connected to someone that’s blessed, someone that’s favored, as they increase, you will increase.

Some of the new things God is going to do in your life are not going to be what you’re expecting. He’s going to do it a different way, with different people, in different circumstances. Stay open. Could it be that God is doing a new thing now and you don’t perceive it? He’s opening a door, but you don’t want to go through it, it’s not what you thought it would look like. He’s bringing people across your path that are divine connections, but they’re not what you were expecting. Don’t get set in your ways. The new thing may not look like what you had in mind.

It’s very freeing when you can celebrate people ahead of you, knowing that the seeds you sow into them—the honor, the respect, the resources—are going to come back to you. If you’re only sowing into horizontal relationships, people at your same level, then you’re going see horizontal favor. But when you’re secure enough in who you are to recognize the favor on people’s lives and you sow into vertical relationships, people that are ahead of you, then you’re going to reap some of that vertical favor.

Don’t just deal with the symptom; get to the root. Learn to live from a place of faith. “God, I trust You. I know You’re in control. You’re fighting my battles; You’re ordering my steps. You have a good plan for my life. You’re my provider, my protector, my way-maker, my vindicator, my deliverer. God, my life is in Your hands.” That’s how you keep your soul healthy. On a regular basis, you have to pull up roots, get rid of toxins, guard your heart.

Why are you letting that worry take root, losing sleep, living stressed out? You’ve seen God take care of you in the past. You’ve seen Him make ways where you didn’t see a way. You’ve seen Him provide in a pandemic, give you peace in a storm, favor in the fire. He did it back then; He’s going to do it again. He didn’t bring you this far to leave you. Why are you holding on to that guilt, beating yourself up over past mistakes? God has forgiven you; why don’t you forgive yourself? God doesn’t remember it; why don’t you quit remembering it? God has moved on; why don’t you move on?

Your soul may feel broken, wounded, hurt from mistakes you’ve made or from what someone else did. But your soul can be restored. When you get honest with yourself and you release what you need to release—guilt, worry, anger, jealousy—then healing will come. Joy will come. Peace will come. I believe even now, God is restoring souls. Emotional healing is taking place. Healing from the hurts, the pains of the past, what wasn’t fair, the loss, the heartache. Healing from self-inflicted wounds, mistakes we’ve made, regrets we’re living in. Healing from tormenting spirits, from mental illness, from anxiety, depression. God is doing a new thing. Forces that have held you back are being broken. You’re not to live wounded. He’s restoring your soul. Your latter days are going to be better than your former days. You’re about to step into a new level of joy, peace, fulfilment, abundance, victory. Don’t believe those lies that it’s too late, you’ve made too many mistakes, you’ve been through too much. No, the best part of your life is still in front of you.

Hebrews says, “Make sure that no root of bitterness springs forth and defiles you.” It describes bitterness as a root. A root is underground. You can’t see it, but if you let it grow, it’s going to spring forth. A bitter root will produce bitter fruit. What’s on the inside is going to show up on the outside. We try to fix the fruit. We deal with the symptom, but the fruit is not the real problem. We need to go to the source and get rid of the root. Proverbs says, “Guard your heart for out of it flow the issues of life.” One of our main responsibilities is to keep the toxins out. Keep those roots from springing up. Offenses are going to come. Cranky coworkers will come. Disappointments, hurts, jealousy, anger will come. You can’t stop it from coming. The question is are you going to let it take root, get down in your spirit, contaminate your joy, steal your peace, take your energy, open you up to sickness, trouble, defeat? No, keep your soul healthy.

Don’t discount yourself. Don’t look at all the reasons why you can’t be successful, why you can’t lead your company, why you can’t purchase a home, why you can’t get well. On your own, it may not happen, but you’re not on your own. There is a blessing on your life put there by the Creator of the Universe. This blessing is not natural; it’s supernatural. It will cause things to happen that you couldn’t make happen. It will cause opportunity to find you. Good breaks will chase you down: promotion, healing, vindication, the right people. You won’t have to go after it; the blessing will cause it to come to you.

I wonder where you will be in five years if you will refuse to be a victim. I wonder how far God will take you if you’ll not live bitter over who hurt you, not lose your passion because you’re dealing with an illness, not give up on your dreams because a door closed and it didn’t work out the way you thought. Every voice will say, “You’re a victim. Come on; accept it. It’s not fair. God has forgotten about you.” Don’t give those voices the time of day. God is watching you. He sees you shaking off the self-pity, doing the right thing when it’s hard, being good to people that weren’t good to you, giving it your best when you’re not seeing progress. Your time is coming. Suddenly, doors are going to open. Suddenly, the right people will show up. Suddenly, you’ll see promotion, vindication, dreams coming to pass bigger than you’ve ever imagined.

Psalm 126 says, “Those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing with armloads of blessings.” Yes, we all have times when are hearts are heavy, we go through loss, get a bad medical report, we are mistreated on the job. It can feel like a dead end; it will never change. No, look at the rest of the scripture. Your heart may be heavy, but you’re going to come home laughing. How? With armloads of blessings. That tells me God is going to make the enemy pay for the trouble. He’s going to bring you out better than you were before.

What God has spoken to you may seem impossible, like it could never happen. Don’t get talked out of your dream. Don’t let doubt, what you don’t see happening, how unlikely it is, keep you from believing for what God promised. When thoughts tell you, “There’s no way; it’s been too long.” Just say, “No thanks. I know my right times are coming. Father, thank You that what You promised is already on the schedule. I don’t have to figure it out, but You’re going to make it happen, and it’s not going to be one second late.” We’re all going to wait, but learn to wait the right way. Wait in faith, wait with expectancy, wait with praise, thanking God in advance that it’s on the way.

We all have things we’re believing will change. We prayed, we believed, but we don’t see anything improving. What you can’t see is that the moment you prayed, in the unseen realm, the source of what was coming against you was cut off: the source of fear, the source of addiction, the source of sickness. There will always be times when it looks like God didn’t do what He promised. Don’t get discouraged because you don’t see anything happening. It’s just a matter of time. What God promised you is on the way.

When you’re in the suffering, in the struggle, in the mourning, you can’t see what God is about to do. Most of the time, God doesn’t show you what’s in store. All you can see is more of the same. “The Babylonians are bigger. There’s no way I can get out. No way I’ll get well. No way I’ll be happy after this breakup.” Don’t let the size of the Babylonians fool you. Don’t let those bad breaks, what you’ve been through, convince you that the suffering is permanent. In just a little while, our great God is going to show up and not only turn it around, but He’s going to fill your mouth with laughter. That means no more heartache, no more suffering, no more loneliness. God is about to do a new thing. He’s saying, you’ve suffered long enough. You’ve put up with the trouble, the heartache, the sorrow. Those tears of sadness are coming to an end. You’re going to see tears of joy, tears of gratitude, tears of thanksgiving. You’re going to be amazed at the goodness of God.

The Psalmist said, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy is coming in the morning.” Here’s the promise: joy is coming. Not maybe, not hope so, not there’s a good chance. The Most High God says joy is on the way. You’re going to laugh again, you’re going to dream again, you’re going to love again. You’re going to see God’s blessing in such a way that all you can do is laugh. Laugh in amazement, laugh in gratitude, laugh at the goodness of God.

It’s okay to feel things. It’s not a lack of faith to say, “God, my heart is heavy. I’m grieving. I don’t think I can go on.” When Jesus was on His way to be crucified, He fell down under the weight of the cross. He couldn’t carry it anymore. He’s the Son of God. Yet, in His human body, He didn’t have the strength. God didn’t say, “Son, what’s wrong with You? You need to be stronger, tougher.” No, God sent a man named Simon to carry it for Him. Sometimes you can’t carry the weight of what you’re under. You can’t carry the pressure. What I love about God is He’s merciful. He doesn’t hold things against us. If we had to perform perfectly, never complain, always have strong and unwavering faith, none of us would have a chance. God knows when the pressure is too strong, the weight too heavy that you can’t carry it by yourself.

Just because you don’t see anything, doesn’t mean it’s not on the way. At the right time, it’s going to show up. You could see your new thing tomorrow, you could see your breakthrough this week, you could get that scholarship this month, you could see your healing, your promotion, your abundance this year. Stay in faith. God knows how to make a way where you don’t see a way. He can open doors no person can shut. He freed the Israelites from the most powerful regime of that day. There is no force that can stand against our God.

Hating on somebody, trying to make them look bad, spreading rumors, magnifying a fault, that may feel good, but the problem is, it’s going to boomerang and come right back to you. Criticizing them is not going to stop them. How do you know they’re not a favor connection, somebody God brought into your life to help you go to the next level? If you get jealous and intimidated, you’re letting what God meant for your good to become something that is holding you back.

Peter may not have had the faith, but he had the heart to please God. Don’t be discouraged if you feel like you have little faith, a small cup, limited by how you were raised, by how big the obstacles are, by how impossible your dream seems. You may wish you had more faith, but the good news is God has running-over blessings. Your lack of faith is not going to stop the awesome things He has in store.

God does things that defy the odds. Don’t limit this new thing to what you think can happen. “If I can just learn to live with this sickness.” No, God’s going to free you from that sickness. “If I can just pay my bills, Joel, I’ll be happy.” God is going to bring you into overflow. “If my child will just stay out of trouble.” That child is going to do great things. You may not see how and that’s okay. It’s not up to you. God is the one that makes rivers in the desert. He’s the one that parts Red Seas, cures the lepers, and multiplies the five loaves to feed thousands.

When we see someone that’s more successful, more talented, more blessed, it’s easy to get jealous. It’s easy to try to compete, try to discredit, talk about what they’re doing wrong and how they’re just lucky, they’re not really talented. Here’s a key. If you can’t celebrate someone else’s success, you will never get to where they are. If you’re jealous, intimidated, trying to outperform them, you’re going to get stuck. It’s a test. God brings these favor connections across our path. Are you secure enough in who you are to serve them, to honor them, to cheer them on, or will your pride keep you from connecting with their favor?

The Scripture says, “Peter was astonished at the amount of fish they caught.” He was amazed, bewildered. He had never seen that kind of catch. God is going to do things in your life that astonish you. Doors will open that you never dreamed would open. He’s going to put you in positions of influence and leadership. He’s going to give you resources, funds, opportunities you never thought possible. His idea of overflow is not just a little more of what you have; it’s a new dimension. It’s something unprecedented, something that you’ve never fathomed. It will astonish you.

You have been faithful—you’ve given, served, helped others—now God has some of these “cannot contain” blessings coming your way. He’s not limited by your job, by your salary, by what family you come from. He knows how to increase you. One good break, one idea, one inheritance, one contract can put you into more than enough. I’m asking you to get ready for overflow. Get ready for blessings that you cannot contain. “Joel, I don’t see how this can happen.” You don’t have to see how. All you have to do is believe.

When God says He’s going to do a new thing, that means it’s not going to be like the old thing. It’s going to be different. The new thing may not be what you were expecting. It may not happen the way you thought it would. Stay open to how God is going to do it. Don’t put Him in a box and limit Him to one way. Most of the time, the way we want it done is less than what God has in mind. What He has planned will be much bigger, much better. Trust Him to do it His way. If we’re set in how we want it to happen, we can miss the new thing.

Here’s a key: pulling someone else down will never make you rise higher. If you sow disrespect, you’re going to reap disrespect. If you sow rumors and stirring up trouble, you’re going to reap it. That will keep you from your destiny. A much better approach is to celebrate those that are ahead. Let’s be people that celebrate success, that learn from those that are ahead, that honor people that have been blessed.