فصل 4

CHAPTER FOUR

I AM BLESSED

A Magnet for Blessings

When you honor God with your life, keeping Him in first place, He puts something on you called a commanded blessing. The commanded blessing is like a magnet. It attracts the right people, good breaks, contracts, ideas, resources, and influence. You don’t have to go after these things, trying to make something happen in your own strength, your own talent, hoping that life works out. All you have to do is keep honoring God, and the right people will find you. The right opportunities will come across your path. The favor, the wisdom, and the vindication will track you down. Why? You’ve become a magnet for God’s goodness.

The military has what’s called a heat-seeking missile. They program a target into the computer and fire the missile off, which can travel thousands of miles. The intended target can be flying in the air, zigzagging here and there, trying to lose it. But it doesn’t have a chance. That heat-seeking missile follows it everywhere it goes. It eventually overtakes it and accomplishes its purpose.

In the same way, when you keep God in first place, just like that heat-seeking missile finding a target, God will send blessings that chase you down, favor that overtakes you. Out of nowhere, a good break comes. Suddenly your health improves. Out of the blue, you’re able to pay your house off. Unexpectedly, a dream comes to pass. That’s not a lucky break. That’s not a coincidence. That’s the commanded blessing on your life. Like a magnet, you’re attracting the goodness of God.

That’s what it says in Deuteronomy 28: “When you walk in God’s ways, making pleasing Him your highest priority, all these blessings will chase you down and overtake you.” One translation says, “You will become a magnet for blessings.” That means because you are honoring God, right now, something is attracted to you. Not fear, sickness, depression, or bad breaks. No, like a heat-seeking missile, favor is tracking you down, promotion is headed your way, divine connections are searching you out. You are attracting the goodness of God.

You may be facing an illness. Instead of thinking, I’m never going to get well. You should see the medical report, your attitude should be, Healing is looking for me. Restoration is tracking me down. If you’re struggling in your finances, instead of thinking, I’ll never get out of debt. I’ll never accomplish my dreams, you need to tell yourself, Abundance is looking for me. Favor is in my future. Good breaks are tracking me down. If you’re single, don’t conclude, I’ll never get married. I’m too old. It’s been too long. No, you need to declare, The right person is looking for me. Divine connections are tracking me down. They’re already in my future. Like a magnet, I’m drawing them in.

Keep Being Your Best

When I look back over my life, it is evident that most of the favor and most of the good breaks came to me. I didn’t go after them. I was simply being my best, and God did more than I could ask or think. I never thought I could stand up in front of people and minister. I spent seventeen years behind the scenes at Lakewood doing the television production. I’m not bragging, but during those seventeen years, I was faithful. I gave it my all. I made my father look the best I possibly could. I’d go the extra mile to make sure the lighting was perfect, camera angles were just right. I would even go over to my parents’ house every Saturday night and pick out a suit and a tie for my father to wear the next day on television. My mother would say, “Joel, Daddy’s a grown man. You don’t need to come over every week. He can pick out his own clothes.” The problem is, I had seen what my father picked out before! Let’s just say he liked a lot of color. I wanted that broadcast to be perfect. I wasn’t looking to become Lakewood’s senior pastor. I was content where I was behind the scenes. But when my father went to be with the Lord, this opportunity came looking for me. I never planned on doing it; it chased me down.

God’s dream for your life is so much bigger than your own. If you will keep being your best right where you are, you will come into favor, promotion, and opportunity bigger than you ever imagined. You won’t have to go after it; it will come to you. Like a magnet, you’ll draw it in.

When I was in my early twenties, I walked into a jewelry store and met Victoria for the first time. Like a magnet, she couldn’t keep her hands off me! (That’s my side of the story anyway.) We went out on our first date and had so much fun. It was at the Compaq Center, where we now have our services. The next week she invited me to come to her house and have dinner. We laughed and had a great time. I called her the next day at work to thank her, but she was busy and not able to talk. I called her that evening at home, and she wasn’t there. I called her the next day and the next day and the next and the next. But she was always either busy or not available; for some reason she couldn’t talk. Finally, I got the message. She’s avoiding me. She doesn’t want to see me. I thought, That’s fine. I won’t call her anymore. About two weeks later, I was sitting in a little diner eating breakfast early one morning all by myself, and Victoria came walking in. She saw my car out in the parking lot, came in and sat at the table, and said, “Joel, I’m so sorry I keep missing all of your calls.” She came back to her senses and came looking for me! (Again, that’s my side of the story. In reality, she ate breakfast and then made me pay for it.) Friend, God has the right people in your future. When you honor God, the person He has designed for you, the right one, will come across your path as though drawn by a magnet. You don’t have to worry. You don’t have to play games and try to convince somebody to like you. If they don’t like you, let them go. If they don’t celebrate you and see you as a gift, a treasure, as one of a kind, move forward. Don’t hang on to people who are not attracted to you. The right person will not be able to live without you. The one whom God designed for you will think you’re the greatest thing in the world. You keep being your best right where you are, honoring God, and God will do for you what He did for me. He’ll cause you to be at the right place at the right time. Those divine connections will come across your path.

It Will Happen at the Exact Right Time

What God has planned for you is much bigger than anything you’ve ever dreamed. If God were to show you right now where He’s taking you—the favor, the promotion, the influence—it would boggle your mind. You may think, as I did, that you’re not the most qualified. You don’t have the personality or the talent. That’s okay. It’s not going to happen just because of your talent, your personality, or your hard work. It’s going to happen because of the commanded blessing on your life. God’s anointing on you is more important than your talent, your education, or what family you come from. You could have less talent, but with the favor of God, you will go further than people who have much more talent. You may not see how this can happen. It doesn’t seem possible. But you don’t have to figure it out. If you’ll just keep being your best right where you are, getting to work on time, doing more than you have to, being a person of excellence and integrity, the right people will find you and the right opportunities will track you down.

Now, don’t be frustrated if it doesn’t happen on your timetable. You have to pass some tests. You have to prove to God that you’ll be faithful right where you are. If you’re not faithful in the wilderness, how can God trust you to be faithful in the Promised Land? You have to keep a good attitude when you’re not getting your way. You have to be your best when you’re not getting any credit. Do the right thing when it’s difficult. That’s when your character is being developed. If you pass these tests, you can be certain God will get you to where you’re supposed to be. The right people are in your future. So are the right opportunities, the good breaks, the wisdom, the contracts, the houses. God said, “No good thing will He withhold because you walk uprightly.” I’ve learned that in a split second one touch of God’s favor can take you further than you could go in your whole lifetime on your own. Quit thinking, I’m getting further behind. I’ll never accomplish my dreams. No; God has explosive blessings in your future. He has blessings that will thrust you years and years ahead.

You say, “Joel, this all sounds good. But I don’t really have the talent. I don’t know the right people. I don’t have the money.” That’s okay; God does. He’s already lined up everything you need. There are good breaks right now that have your name on them. There are contracts, buildings, and businesses that have your name on them. There are ideas, inventions, books, movies, and songs that have your name on them. As you keep honoring God, being your best, like that magnet, you’re going to draw in what already has your name on it.

When is this going to happen? At the exact right time. If it hasn’t happened yet, don’t get discouraged. God knows what He’s doing. If it would have happened earlier, it wouldn’t have been the best time. Just keep being faithful right where you are and keep living with this attitude that something good is coming your way.

When you do that, you’re going to draw in like a magnet what already has your name on it. There’s healing with your name on it. If you’re single, there’s a spouse with your name on him or her. If you’re believing to have a child, there’s a baby with your name on him or her. God has already chosen them to be yours. There’s a business with your name on it. There’s a number one movie with your name on it. There’s an invention that will touch the world with your name on it.

Your “Eventually”s Will Track You Down

Here’s the whole key. You don’t have to seek the blessing. Seek God, and the blessings will seek after you. This is where we miss it. Very often, we think, I have to get this promotion. I have to meet this person. I must get my career going faster. And yes, we have to use our talents, be determined, and take steps of faith. But you can stay in peace. You can live at rest, knowing that because you’re honoring God, the right people will find you. The right opportunities will track you down.

Proverbs says, “The wealth of the ungodly will eventually find its way into the hands of the righteous for whom it has been laid up.” Notice that, because you’re the righteous, there’s something God has laid up for you. The good news is, at the right time, eventually it’s going to find you. That means right now, something’s looking for you—not defeat, struggle, lack. You are the righteous. Favor is looking for you. Good breaks are looking for you. Healing is looking for you. Influence is looking for you. You may not have seen it yet, but don’t get discouraged. Keep honoring God, and He promises some of these “eventually”s are going to track you down.

Our beautiful facility, the former Compaq Center, is an “eventually.” It was laid up for us. It had our name on it, and at the right time, it found us. The building was built back in the early 1970s. It was first called the Summit. Then the name was changed to the Compaq Center. But I believe if you’d peeled back the names when it was built way back then, you would have seen the name “Lakewood Church.” God had us in mind when it was built. Eventually, God said, “All right, it’s time to hand it over.” In the same way, there are some “eventually”s in your future. The great thing is, you don’t have to go after them; just go after God. Keep Him in first place. Live a life of excellence and integrity, and God promises the “eventually”s will find their way into your hands. This is what Jesus said: “Seek first the Kingdom and all these things will be added unto you.” Everything you need to fulfill your destiny has already been laid up for you. Now you just have to make pleasing God your highest priority. In other words, before you give in to temptation, be firm and say, “No, I’m going to please God and walk away. I want to fulfill my destiny. I want to come in to my ‘eventually’s.” Before you tell that person off, stop and declare, “No, I’m going to please God and keep my mouth closed.” At the office, when they’re not treating you right and you feel like slacking off, overcome that attitude and state, “I’m going to please God and keep being my best. I know I’m not working unto people; I’m working unto God.” You live like that, and all the forces of darkness cannot keep you from your destiny.

The amazing thing about our church facility is that I didn’t go after it; it came to me. Twice, I tried to buy land and build a new sanctuary, but both times, the property was sold out from under us. I thought, We’re stuck. There’s no more room. There’s no way to grow. But one day out of the blue, an old friend unexpectedly called and said he wanted to talk to me about something. He said, “Joel, the Houston Rockets basketball team is about to move out of the Compaq Center. That would be a great facility for Lakewood.” When he said that, something came alive inside me. I never dreamed we could have something this beautiful or special. It is the premier facility in the fourth-largest city in America, and it is on the second busiest freeway in the nation.

As was true for us, the “eventually”s God has lined up for you are going to boggle your mind. They are going to be more than you can ask or think. God has not only already arranged them; He’s taken it one step further. He’s already put your name on them. They’ve already been marked as a part of your divine destiny. What’s your part? Worry? Struggle? Try to make it happen? Manipulate this person, and maybe they’ll do you a favor? No, you don’t have to play up to people. You don’t have to beg people, hope that they’ll throw you a crumb here or there. You are not a beggar; you are a child of the Most High God. You have royal blood flowing through your veins. You are wearing a crown of favor. The Creator of the universe has called you, equipped you, empowered you, and chosen you.

All you have to do is keep honoring God and the blessings will find you. The right people will show up, the ones who want to help you. The good breaks, the businesses, and the contracts will track you down. One phone call, one person whom God has ordained to help you, can change the course of your life. How is this going to happen? Is it just through your talent, your ability, and your hard work? That’s part of it, but the main key is by honoring God. That’s what puts you in a position for His blessings to overtake you. That’s what makes you a magnet for His favor.

Dream Big. Believe Big. Pray Big.

I know you are a strong, powerful magnet. You are very close to attracting that for which you’ve been praying and believing. You’ve honored God. You’ve been faithful. Now God is about to release an “eventually” in your life. It’s going to be bigger than you imagined. When you meet that person, they’re going to be better for you than you ever dreamed. You waited a long time, but when they show up, you’re going to say, “You were well worth the wait.” “Well, Joel, you’re just getting my hopes up.” You’re right. You can’t have faith if you don’t first have hope. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, thinking, God has been good to me. I have a good family. I’m healthy. I’m blessed. But you haven’t seen anything yet. You haven’t scratched the surface of what God has in store.

Some of you are going to write a book, a movie, or a song that will touch the world. The idea will come to you. You don’t have to go after it. Some of you are going to start a business that will become a global force. Some of you are going to have a ministry that will shake nations. Some of you will raise a child who will become a president or a world leader—a history maker. The “eventually”s God has in your future are going to boggle your mind. It’s like nothing you’ve seen before. God has raised you up to take new ground for the Kingdom, to go where others have not gone.

Dream big. Believe big. Pray big. Make room for God to do something new in your life.

If you would have told me years ago that one day I would be ministering around the world and have books translated into different languages, I would have thought, Not me. I don’t have anything to say. But God knows what He’s put in you—the gifts, the talents, the potential. You have seeds of greatness inside you. Doors are going to open that no man can shut. Talent is going to come out of you that you didn’t know you had. God is going to connect you with the right people. He will present you with opportunities that will thrust you into a new level of your destiny.

When my father was alive, Victoria and I went to India with him a couple of times a year. One time, we met a young pastor who came from an extremely poor family. They didn’t have electricity or running water and lived out in an open field in a little hut that they had built. The man next door was very wealthy. He owned a huge farm with thousands of cattle, many different crops, and he sold milk and vegetables to the village people. But he was greedy and charged more than he should have. Many people couldn’t afford it.

One day, about ten of the wealthy farmer’s cows got out and came over to the little hut where the pastor and his family lived. Having just one cow was a big deal, because it would provide milk and other products to sell to people. The workers came and retrieved those ten cows, then put them back inside the owner’s fence. The next day, the same ten cows got out and came back over. This happened again and again and again. The owner got so frustrated, he told his workers, “Just tell the pastor he can have those ten cows.” He gave them to him as a gift!

The pastor was thrilled and started selling milk and other dairy products to the people in the village, but he sold the products for much less. Before long, people were lined up at his door. He was able to buy more cows. His business kept growing so much that the owner of the large farm came over and said, “You’re putting me out of business. I can’t compete with you. Why don’t you take over my company?” The pastor purchased his company for a fraction of its value, and today he has a very successful company with several hundred employees. But it all started when the cows came looking for him and wouldn’t go home. What is that? Like a magnet, he attracted the goodness of God.

You don’t have to worry about how it’s all going to work out. God knows how to have the cows find you. What has your name on it—the real estate, the good breaks, the businesses, the favor—will eventually find its way into your hands. Proverbs says it this way: “Trouble chases sinners, while blessings chase the righteous!” You are the righteous. Right now, favor is chasing you. Promotion is chasing you. Healing is chasing you. Cows might be looking for you! Victory is coming your way.

Turn Up the Power

Don’t ever say, “I’ll never get out of debt.” “I’ll never get married.” “I’ll never be well again.” Do you know what that’s doing? Demagnetizing your magnet. It’s taking away the attraction power.

When I was a little boy, I used to play with a magnet. One day, I discovered the magnet had lost its drawing power. I had left it by something that demagnetized it. It looked the same, but it wouldn’t attract anything. In the same way, when we dwell on negative thoughts—can’t do it, not able to, never going to happen—that is demagnetizing our magnet. You are taking away its power to pull in what belongs to you.

Do you know what I’m doing today? I’m helping you to turn up the power on your magnet. When you realize God has put a commanded blessing on your life, and you go out each day with the attitude that something good is going to happen to you, that’s when God can do the exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond.

Each of us can look back over our life and remember a time when we unexpectedly saw God’s favor. You didn’t go after it; it came after you. God has done it in the past, and the good news is He’s not only going to do it again in the future, but what He’s going to show you will make what you’ve seen pale in comparison. He has explosive blessings coming your way. They are going to thrust you to a level greater than you’ve imagined. You’re going to look back and join me in saying, “How in the world did I get here? I’m not the most qualified or the most talented. I don’t have all the experience.” You may not, but God does. He knows how to get you to where you’re supposed to be. All through the day, make this declaration: “I am blessed.” I believe today the power of your magnet is being turned up. You’re about to draw in good breaks, promotion, healing, favor, ideas, contracts, and creativity. God is about to release what already has your name on it. You’re not going to have to go after it; it’s going to come after you. It’s going to be bigger than you imagined. It’s going to happen sooner than you thought. You’re about to step into the fullness of your destiny and become everything God has created you to be.