Break Out!: 5 Keys to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life (26 page)

When my father was seventy-seven years old he had to go on dialysis. He was still ministering most weekends, but his health started to go downhill. He ended up in the hospital. The whole church was praying, believing that he was going to come out of it like he had done so many times before.

Unfortunately, this time he didn’t make it. It could have looked like that storm got the best of him. But God was still in control. That storm didn’t defeat him. It promoted him. Those winds blew him into his eternal home, into the arms of his Heavenly Father.

For our family, though, it seemed like everything was out of control. This was one of those storms we could not see the end of. We didn’t know how it would work out. The critics were saying Lakewood would never make it without my dad. My own thoughts were telling me, “It will never work out. Lakewood has seen its best days.”

God could have changed it. God had healed my mother of terminal cancer years before. He is God. He could have healed my father as well. We all face situations that don’t turn out the way we had hoped. We prayed. We believed. Still, our loved one didn’t make it. Our prayers weren’t answered the way we wanted, on our timetable.

It’s easy to be negative, to grow bitter, and to give up on our dreams. My father and I were best friends. I worked with him for many years. We traveled the world together. All of a sudden he was gone. I had to do what I’m asking you to do. I said, “God, I know this storm is not a surprise to You. I can’t bring my dad back. I can’t make it happen my way. So God, I’m turning loose the sails and I’m letting Your wind blow me to where You want me to go.”

I relinquished control and came back to that place of peace.

I refused to go around worrying, “How will it work out? What will happen next?” Instead, I said, “God, I trust You. I know You are in control of these winds.”

That storm blew me from behind the scenes at Lakewood to the position I’m in now as leader of our church. I never dreamed I could speak in front of people, but that is where the storm took me. This is what the Scripture means when it says, “What was meant for your harm God will use to your advantage.”

The stormy winds may be blowing in your life today, the waves raging. Maybe you can’t see the end. Why don’t you take a step of faith and say, “Okay, God. I’m letting You do it Your way. I know You have my best interests at heart. This storm cannot take me where You will not permit it to go. So God, I trust You.”

When you do that, those winds will blow you to a new level of your destiny. It may not happen overnight, but God is a faithful God. His plan for your life will not be stopped by a storm, by a bad break, by the loss of
a loved one, or by an injustice. God said no weapon formed against you will prosper. He said when the enemy comes in like a flood He will raise up a barrier.

You may be in a storm. There may be pressure all around you. You could easily be worried, but know this: the battle is not yours. The battle is the Lord’s. God is saying, “If you’ll trust Me, I will shift those winds, and instead of blowing you backward they will thrust you forward.”

Today, Lakewood Church is experiencing its greatest days of ministry. The critics said we would never make it, but today Lakewood is stronger than ever. God used the winds of the storm that were meant to destroy us. He shifted their direction, and those winds have taken us places we never could have gone on our own.

The same winds that try to hold you back will be the winds God uses to thrust you forward. I read about this executive who worked for a large home improvement company. He had been with the company for more than thirty years and was in senior management. They had retail stores all over the country. Then the company did a corporate restructuring, and its leaders decided that they didn’t need him anymore. Here he had practically built the company from the ground up. Just when he thought he could relax and enjoy the fruit of his hard work, he had to start all over.

He felt betrayed, but he understood this principle: God can direct the winds of the storm. Instead of becoming bitter and sitting around all angry, he forgave those who hurt him.

He let go of the job that didn’t work out. He began to dream of new opportunities. He found some friends and they started another company. This new company took off, and it has become one of the largest, most successful home improvement stores in all the nation. In fact, his new company put his old company out of business.

God knows how to shift the winds that were meant to destroy you and instead use them to increase you. Quit mourning over what you lost. Let go of whatever didn’t work out. Forgive those who hurt you. When you dare say, “God, I trust You to make my wrongs right,” then those winds trying to hold you back will shift direction and push you forward.

God is in complete control. If God wanted you to have that job from
which you were laid off, you would still have it. Let it go. He has something better. If God wanted that person who left you to stay, then that person would have stayed. Let it go.

If your prayers are not answered the way you wanted and on your timetable, don’t be bitter. Don’t be discouraged. Let it go. God has something better, something greater, something bigger in your future.

The three Hebrew teenagers Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were facing a huge storm. They were about to be thrown into a fiery furnace because they wouldn’t bow down before the king’s golden idol. I’m sure they prayed, “God, please keep us out of this fire. This is dangerous. We could be killed. God, we’re asking You to not let this happen.”

They wanted God to do it their way, but God chose to do it another way. Sometimes God will deliver you from the fire. Other times God will make you fireproof and take you through the fire. There are two kinds of faith. There is a delivering faith and there is a sustaining faith.

Delivering faith is when God keeps you from the fire. God keeps you out of the adversity. But most of the time we need sustaining faith. Sustaining faith is when God takes you through the storm, through the difficulty, and the wind is blowing. You are filled with doubt, anxiety, fear, and bitterness. You have all these opportunities to get discouraged. But when you know that God is in control of the storm you won’t be worried. Even if you go through the difficulty, you know God will take care of you. He will make you fireproof.

These three teenagers had their hands and feet bound with cords, and they were thrown into the fiery furnace. But the only thing the fire burned off were the cords that were holding them back. They went in tied up, but they walked out totally free. The God we serve knows how to burn up the limitations that are holding us back while not harming anything we need.

It would have been a great victory to simply survive the fire. We would all celebrate that. But really, it was a greater victory for God to take them through the fire and make them fireproof.

The same God Who kept them safe in the fiery furnace has put a hedge of protection around you. Whether you realize it or not, you are fireproof. Don’t complain about the storms. Don’t be discouraged and think, “Oh,
this is too big. This health issue, this financial difficulty, this legal battle, it will be the end of me.”

No, all it will do is burn up the limitations that are holding you back. You are coming out stronger, increased, promoted, and without smelling like smoke, just like those teens.

Why? Almighty God is in control of the furnace. He is in control of the winds. God is even in control of our enemies.

When Moses told Pharaoh, “God said, ‘Let the people go,’ ” Pharaoh said
no
—not once, not twice, not three times. He said
no
again and again and again. What’s interesting is the Scripture says, “God caused Pharaoh to say
no
.” It wasn’t even Pharaoh’s choice. God caused him to refuse. Why? So God could show His power in a greater way.

Sometimes God will not remove the obstacle. He won’t deliver you from the storm, not because He is mean, and not because He is trying to make your life miserable. He wants to show His favor in your life in a greater way. You may be in a storm, but remember: God is in control. Stay in peace.

Do like Daniel in the Scriptures. His enemies had him thrown into the lion’s den, with hungry lions. The king came back the next morning to check on him, fully expecting to find him torn apart. You know what he found? Daniel, sound asleep, right next to hungry lions.

Daniel wasn’t worried. He wasn’t taking tranquilizers and he wasn’t hiding in the corner. Daniel was in peace. He knew he was lion proof. He knew the storm could not take him where God could not keep him.

Maybe you feel like you’re in the lion’s den, or maybe a fiery furnace. You could easily live all stressed out, and worried. God is saying, “Come back to that place of peace.” He has you in the palm of His hand.

As long as you’re being your best, honoring Him, the fierce winds may come, but he will shift the winds in your direction. Instead of defeating you, they will promote you. What is now your test will become your testimony.

This lady I know received a bad medical report. The doctors found what they thought was cancer. We prayed and believed that the report would come back negative, but a few weeks later they found out indeed it was cancer.

She’s been coming to Lakewood Church a long time. She knows she is not a victim. She is a victor. She understands that God is in control of the storm. She didn’t get bitter. Her attitude was, “God, I’ve prayed. I’ve believed. I’ve done my part. Now God, I’m going to trust You. I believe these winds will blow me to where You want me to go.”

For one year she took chemotherapy. Now, she has been cancer free for more than six years. She is one of Lakewood’s Prayer Partners. She prays for others and she goes back to that hospital and volunteers, encouraging others facing cancer.

It’s great for God to deliver us from the fire. That’s always our prayer, but even if it doesn’t happen that way, God will still take care of you. Stay in faith. That just means you will have a greater testimony. You will see God’s favor in a new way. I love the fact that this woman who survived cancer is now helping people overcome in that same area.

Your test will become your testimony where you can tell people, “Hey, look. God did it for me. He can do it for you.”

The Apostle Paul’s ship hit a big sandbar and broke apart. He and the others on board swam over to a small island called Malta. That was not where Paul had planned on going. He could have thought, “God, You said I would stand before Caesar. What happened? Your plan didn’t work out.”

But that storm didn’t stop God’s plan. It was a part of God’s plan. On that small island the father of the tribal chief was extremely sick. Paul prayed for him and he was healed. They brought others one by one to Paul. He prayed and God healed. Paul shared his faith, and the whole island came to know the Lord.

What happened? God used the winds of that storm to blow Paul to people in need. Had it not been for the storm the chief’s father could have died. The people of Malta never would have heard the Good News.

The storms you experience may be meant for your harm, but God knows how to direct the winds. He will not only protect you but also take you to a place where you can be a blessing to others in need. On the way out of your storm, don’t be surprised if you have interruptions, inconveniences, and other setbacks you hadn’t planned on. God ordained them so you can be a blessing.

Don’t just look for your miracle. Become somebody’s miracle. When
you reach out to others in need—when you lift the fallen, when you encourage those who are down, when you befriend the lonely—your own breakthrough will come. The Scripture says, “Pray one for another so that you may be healed.” One of the tests you have to pass is being good to others in the midst of your storm.

I’ve heard the saying, “When everything comes against you, remember that airplanes take off against the wind, not with the wind.” Those winds were never meant to push you down. They were meant to lift you to a higher level of your destiny.

When an eagle faces a storm he doesn’t try to fight his way through the wind, through the rain, frustrated, struggling, putting forth all this effort. He simply stretches out his wings, and he lets the strong winds lift him higher and higher. Finally he rises above the storm, where it’s as calm and peaceful as can be.

Maybe you are worried about a medical report, a child, or a challenge at work, and you can’t sleep at night because of anxiety and fear. When the winds are blowing and things come against you, it’s easy to get frustrated and start fighting and trying to change what you were never meant to change.

Be an eagle instead. Put your trust in God. “I’ve done everything I can. Now I’m going to quit struggling. I’m not trying to make it happen my way. God, I’m trusting You.”

When you come back to that place of peace knowing that God is in control of the storm, then those winds meant to push you down will end up lifting you higher and higher.

You may be in a difficulty right now. God didn’t deliver you from the fire like He did the Hebrew teenagers. But let me encourage you. God has made you fireproof. You will come out of that fire promoted, increased, and better, without the smell of smoke.

What is your test now will soon become your testimony. Shake off the discouragement. Shake off the self-pity and get ready for God to do something new. Those winds blowing against you are about to shift direction. They will thrust you forward into the fullness of your destiny.