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.
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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.