Read Starting Your Best Life Now: A Guide for New Adventures and Stages on Your Journey Online
Authors: Joel Osteen
Tags: #Christian
Starting Your Best Life Now: A Guide for New Adventures and Stages on Your Journey (3 page)
God has everything you need.
Perhaps at this point you are saying, “Joel, I don’t want to get my hopes up. I’ve prayed. I’ve done everything I know to do. Nothing’s changed. If I don’t get my hopes up and nothing good happens to me, at least I won’t be disappointed.”
Friend, you
must
get your hopes up, or you won’t have faith. Consider the fascinating account of two blind men who heard that Jesus was passing by. Despite a lifetime of blindness, they must have thought,
We don’t have to stay like this. There’s hope for a better future.
So they began to cry out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Matthew 9:27).
When Jesus heard their cries, He posed an intriguing question, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (v. 28 nasb). Jesus wanted to know whether they had genuine faith. The blind men answered, “Yes, Lord; we believe.” Then the Bible says, “[Jesus] touched their eyes and said, ‘Become what you believe’ ” (the message). What a powerful statement about their faith!
You will become what you believe!
SO WHAT ARE YOU BELIEVING?
Are you believing to rise above your obstacles, that you can live in health, abundance, healing, and victory? One of the most important aspects of seeing ourselves God’s way involves developing a prosperous mind-set. Understand, God has already equipped you with everything you need to live a prosperous life and to fulfill your God-given destiny. He planted “seeds” inside you filled with possibilities, incredible potential, creative ideas, and dreams. But you have to start tapping into them. You’ve got to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have what it takes.
God created you to excel, and He’s given you ability, insight, talent, wisdom, and His supernatural power to do so. You don’t have to figure out how God is going to solve your problems or bring it to pass. That’s His responsibility. Your job is to believe.
Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word:
“Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant” (Psalm 35:27).
Start looking through eyes of faith. See yourself prospering, and keep that image in your heart and mind. You may be living in poverty at the moment, but don’t ever let poverty live in you. God takes pleasure in prospering His children. As His children prosper spiritually, physically, and materially, their increase brings God pleasure.
W
HAT YOU BELIEVE HAS A MUCH GREATER IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE THAN WHAT ANYBODY ELSE BELIEVES.
DISCOVER
the Power of Your Thoughts and Words
Keep your mind set on the reality
that God is a miracle-working God.
Start talking to your mountains
about how big your God is!
Choose to dwell on the promises of God’s Word.
I heard a story about two farmers. When the rain fell, one farmer said, “Thank You, Lord, for watering our crops.” But the other farmer said, “Yeah, but if the rain keeps up, it’s going to rot the roots.”
When the sun came out, the positive farmer said, “Thank You, Lord, that our crops are getting the vitamins and minerals they need. We’ll have a wonderful harvest this year.” But the negative farmer said, “Yeah, but if it keeps up, it’s going to scorch those plants. We’re never going to make a living.”
SO WHO DO YOU SOUND LIKE?
Whether or not you are aware of it, a war is raging all around you, and the battle is for your mind. Your enemy’s number-one target is the arena of your thoughts. If he can control how you think, he’ll be able to control your entire life.
Indeed, thoughts determine actions, attitudes, and self-image. Really, thoughts determine destiny, which is why the Bible warns us to guard our minds. Almost like a magnet, we draw in what we constantly think about. Whether we dwell on depressing, negative thoughts or positive, joyful thoughts, our life follows our thoughts.
And our thoughts also affect our emotions. We will feel exactly the way we think. You cannot expect to feel happy unless you think happy thoughts. Conversely, it’s impossible to remain discouraged unless you first think discouraging thoughts. So much of success and failure in life begins in our minds.
To win the victory in your mind, you can’t sit back passively and expect this new person to suddenly appear. If you don’t think you can be successful, you never will be. When you think thoughts of mediocrity, you are destined to live an average life.
Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word:
“As [a man] thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7
NASB
).
When you align your thoughts with God’s thoughts and you start dwelling on the promises of His Word, when you constantly dwell on thoughts of His victory and favor, you will be propelled toward greatness, inevitably bound for increase and God’s supernatural blessings. Begin by agreeing with the psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made, and I’m going to be happy. This is going to be a great day.” Magnify your God, and go out each day expecting good things.
E
VERY DAY, WHEN YOU FIRST GET UP, SET YOUR MIND FOR SUCCESS.
God works where there is an attitude of faith.
I realize that life is tough, and the demands on your life can be overwhelming. We all get knocked down occasionally and get discouraged. I am not so unrealistic as to pretend that nothing bad ever happens to us. Bad things happen to good people. Obviously, we can’t ignore problems and live in denial.
But I am saying that if we get depressed or discouraged, we need not remain there. We can choose our thoughts. Nobody can make us think a certain way. If you’re not happy, nobody is forcing you to be unhappy. Nobody’s coercing you to be sarcastic or sullen. You decide what you will entertain in your mind.
WE NEED TO STOP THE ExCUSES
We must take responsibility for our lives. As long as we keep blaming our problems on our family tree, our environment, past relationships with other people, our circumstances, and attributing blame to God, Satan,
anyone
, or
anything
, we will never be truly free and emotionally healthy. To a large extent, we can control our own destinies.
Simply because the enemy plants a negative, discouraging thought in your brain doesn’t mean you have to nurture and help it grow. If you do, though, that thought will affect your emotions, your attitudes, and eventually your actions. You will be much more prone to discouragement and depression, and if you continue pondering that negative thought, it will sap the energy and strength right out of you.
So how do you ascertain the source of a thought? Easy. If it’s a discouraging, destructive thought; if it brings fear, worry, doubt, or unbelief; if the thought makes you feel weak, insecure, or inadequate, I can guarantee you that thought is not from God. You need to get rid of it immediately, or it will take root and create an enemy stronghold in your mind from which attacks can be launched.
Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word:
“Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]” (Ephesians 4:23
AMP
).
It’s not your circumstances that have you down; your
thoughts
about your circumstances have you down. It is possible to be in one of the biggest battles for your life and still be filled with joy and peace and victory—if you simply learn how to choose the right thoughts. Stay full of faith. Stay full of joy. Stay full of hope. If you will transform your thinking, God will transform your life.
W
E CAN CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THAT
G
OD IS GREATER THAN OUR PROBLEMS.
There is a miracle in your mouth.
I love what David did when he faced the giant Goliath. He didn’t complain and say, “God, why do I always have huge problems?” He didn’t dwell on the fact that Goliath was a skilled warrior and he was just a shepherd boy. Rather than focus on the magnitude of the obstacle before him, David looked Goliath right in the eyes and changed his whole atmosphere through the words he spoke aloud. He said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty” (1 Samuel 17:45).
Now, those are words of faith! He didn’t merely
think
them; he didn’t simply
pray
them. He spoke directly to the mountain of a man in front of him and said, “Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air” (v. 46). And with God’s help, he did!
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE SAID TO GOLIATH?
Our words have tremendous power and are similar to seeds. By speaking them aloud, they are planted in our subconscious minds, take root, grow, and produce fruit of the same kind. Whether we speak positive or negative words, we will reap exactly what we sow. That’s why we need to be extremely careful about what we think and say.
The Bible compares the tongue to the rudder of a huge ship (James 3:4). Although the rudder is small, it controls the ship’s direction. Similarly, your tongue will control the direction of your life. You create an environment for either good or evil with your words, and you are going to have to live in that world you’ve created. If you’re always murmuring, complaining, and talking about how bad life is, you’re going to live in a pretty miserable world.
However, God wants us to use our words to
change
our negative situations. If you want to change your world, start by changing your words.
Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21
NASB
).
The Bible clearly tells us to speak to our mountains (Mark 11:23–24). Maybe your mountain is a sickness or a troubled relationship with someone you love. Whatever your mountain is, you must speak to that obstacle. Start calling yourself healed, happy, whole, blessed, and prosperous. Stop talking to God about how big your mountains are, and start talking to your mountains about how big your God is!
G
OD IS A MIRACLE-WORKING
G
OD.
Your words have the power to make or break you.
In 1981, my mother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer of the liver and given just a few weeks to live. After the best doctors in the world had exhausted their efforts, they basically sent my mom home to die. However, we serve a supernatural God, and He can make a way in our lives where it looks as if there is no way.
And my mother never gave up. She refused to speak words of defeat. She found about thirty to forty favorite passages of Scripture concerning healing and walked around boldly declaring faith-filled words. As she mixed her words with God’s Words, little by little, she began to feel better. She got her appetite back and slowly her strength returned. God was watching over His Word to perform it.
S
PEAK WORDS OF VICTORY, HEALTH, AND SUCCESS ABOUT YOUR LIFE.
HAVE YOU LISTENED TO YOURWORDS LATELY?
Our words are vital in bringing our dreams to pass. You have to begin speaking words of faith over your life. Your words have enormous creative power. The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it. This is a spiritual principle, and it works whether what you are saying is positive or negative.
In that regard, many times we are our own worst enemies. Statements such as, “Nothing good ever happens to me,” will literally prevent you from moving ahead in life. That’s why you must learn to guard your tongue and speak only faith-filled words over your life.
Understand, avoiding negative talk is not enough. You must start using your words to move forward in life. When you believe God’s Word and begin to boldly confess it, mixing it with your faith, you are actually confirming that truth and making it valid in your own life. And all heaven comes to attention to back up God’s Word, bringing to life the great things God has in store for you.
Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word:
“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18).
Whether we realize it or not, our words also affect others’ futures for either good or evil. We need to speak loving words of approval and acceptance, words that encourage, inspire, and motivate our family members, friends, and coworkers to reach for new heights. When we do that, we are speaking abundance and increase, declaring God’s favor in their lives.
It’s time to allow your emotional wounds to heal.
Let go of your excuses, and stop feeling sorry for yourself.
It’s time to get rid of your victim mentality.
If you’re going to go forward in life, you must quit looking backward.
We live in a society that loves to make excuses. One person will say, “Joel, I’m a negative person because my mother was so negative.” Another says, “Since my husband walked out on me, I’m always depressed.” While another says, “I can’t understand why I lost my wife. That’s why I’m so angry.”
Some people are always dwelling on their disappointments. They can’t understand why their prayers aren’t being answered, why their loved one wasn’t healed, why they were mistreated. Some people have lived so long in self-pity that it has become part of their identity. They don’t realize that God wants to restore what’s been stolen.
ARE YOU A PRISONER OF THE PAST?
We’ve all had negative things happen to us. You may have gone through things that nobody deserves to experience in life— physical, verbal, sexual, or emotional abuse. Maybe you’ve struggled with a chronic illness or an irreparable physical problem. Maybe your dreams don’t look like they can ever work out. I don’t mean to minimize those difficult experiences, but if you want to live in victory, you can’t let your past poison your future.
It’s time to allow emotional wounds to heal, to let go of your excuses and stop feeling sorry for yourself. It’s time to get rid of your victim mentality. Nobody—not even God—ever promised that life would be fair. Quit comparing your life to someone else’s, and quit dwelling on what could or should have been. Quit asking questions such as, “Why this?” or “Why that?” or “Why me?” Let go of those hurts and pains. Forgive the people who did you wrong. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made.
If you’re not willing to let go of the old, don’t expect God to do the new. If you’ve had some unfair things happen to you, make a decision that you’re going to quit reliving those things in your memory. To constantly dwell on all the negatives and to focus on the mistakes you’ve made only perpetuates the problem. You will never be truly happy as long as you harbor bitterness in your heart.
Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
You may even need to forgive God. Perhaps you’ve been blaming Him for taking one of your loved ones. If you don’t deal with it, you will wallow in self-pity. You must let go of those negative attitudes and the accompanying anger. Let it go.
T
ODAY CAN BE A NEW BEGINNING.
