"A young lady told me she divorced her husband after years of struggling in their marriage.
She had done her best to keep it together, but it just didn't work out.
"At least now I'm surviving," she said.
She was happy that she made it through, but I could tell the wind was out of her sails.
This beautiful girl had lost the sparkle in her eyes.
I told her it was good that she'd put the bad marriage behind her, but I added, "Now, you must leave that survival mentality behind you, too.
God has new seasons in front of you.
He has new doors He wants to open.
He wants the next part of your life to be better than the first part.
But you can't make the mistake of just settling and thinking I've been through so much. I'm just glad to be where I am."
A survival mentality will keep you from God's best.
You must shake it off.
Pray for God's help: You promised that what was meant for my harm You would use to my advantage. I may have been through the fire, through the famine, through the flood, but I know it's my time for favor. It's my time to see more of Your goodness in my life.
Make up your mind that no matter what comes your way, no matter how difficult, no matter how unfair, you will do more than simply survive.
You will thrive in spite of it.
Bad news may come.
The economy may drop.
Your health and relationships can hit hard times.
The good news is that no matter what happens to us, God is still on the throne!
There are no recessions in heaven.
God does not cut back because of high gas prices.
He's never short on food and water.
I am happy to report that all is well in His kingdom.
Here is the key: As long as our Source is okay, we will be okay.
If we stay connected to the vine, keeping God first, believing and expecting His favor, then as His branches, we will not just survive, we will thrive!
Still, you have to keep your faith out there.
Negative voices will try to steal your dreams and talk you into settling for life as it is.
If you let those words take root, you will be stuck in survival mode.
If you expect less, you will get less.
I want you to expect more.
Expect that God will increase you in a greater way.
Expect this to be your best year ever!
Really, it's not that impressive to be blessed and promoted when the economy is strong, business is great, and everybody around you is being blessed.
Some might say you are just benefiting from a strong economy and good times.
But when times are tough and the news is dark and still God shows up and does something extraordinary— that is a great testimony to the faithfulness of our God.
When God prospers you in the desert and people see you increasing even though they're stuck, that's when they'll know it makes a difference to serve the Most High God.
My father had a friend who was a very successful orange grower in Florida. He owned hundreds and hundreds of acres of groves. One winter forecasters predicted a hard freeze would hit.
Such cold was rare for his part of the state. He and other growers feared a freeze would destroy their orange trees and wipe out their businesses.
Still, this grower was a man of great faith.
He believed God could do anything.
Just before the freeze, he went into his grove and marched around his trees, praying out loud: "God, I'm asking You to protect my crops and keep them from freezing."
His friends and fellow growers thought he was behaving strangely.
But later they wondered if he knew something they didn't.
The big freeze lasted more than twenty-four hours. Other growers worried the whole time that their crops would be destroyed.
Our friend just kept thanking God for protecting his crops.
When the freeze ended, the groves all around his were destroyed. Every tree was dead. But his groves were untouched. Big healthy oranges hung on his trees. It looked like God had put a big blanket over his property.
The other growers were amazed.
Those who'd made fun of him for praying in his groves said: "Next time, pray for our crops, too!"
God is well able to take care of us. He can prosper us even in the desert if we'll just be bold enough to believe.
Scripture says: "No weapon that is formed against you will prosper."
Disappointments and setbacks will come. But you don't have to get down and go into survival mode.
Stay in faith and believe that God will protect you supernaturally.
Believe that you will see His unprecedented favor.
Maybe you are trying to sell your house in a neighborhood where all others are going unsold for months.
Why don't you be bold like the orange grower?
Believe for favor.
March around your property and pray: "God, I know I'm not supposed to simply survive. I'm supposed to thrive. So I'm asking that Your favor would cause my house to stand out."
Maybe business is slow. Others in your market are struggling. Why not thank God for bringing you new clients, giving you new opportunities, opening up supernatural doors?
Instead of getting discouraged and thinking, Oh, man, the bad economy will hit me hard. My business will probably go down, try thanking our Father for bringing you the best year ever!
You might as well get ready for promotion, for divine connections, for supernatural breaks, to have your best year so far, to thrive, and not just survive.
You might wonder: Does giving thanks really bring favor?
My sister Lisa and her husband Kevin found a new house that met their needs, so they decided to sell theirs.
Most homes in their neighborhood were taking three months to a year to sell. They prayed and asked God for His help.
On the first day their house went on the market, a woman called and said she wanted to buy it. Not only that, she said, "If you'll take it off the market right now, I'll pay you more than you have it listed for."
That is unprecedented favor.
A bad economy does not limit God's power.
What goes on around us does not limit Him.
God is limited only by our thinking.
That is why it is so important that we don't fall into survival mode and start thinking, My business can't expand. The economy is too slow. I'll never sell my house because no others are selling. I'll never get a promotion when the business is cutting back.
God likes to show up and show out in hard times.
He likes to do the extraordinary because it brings Him more honor.
When we spread the good news of what God has done— I had my best year in a bad year. I sold my house when no others were selling. My crops survived the killing frost— our words bring God more honor than just bragging about His goodness.
Get ready for God to show up and show out in your life in a greater way.
God wants to do the extraordinary.
He wants to make you an example of his goodness.
If you believe to barely get by, you will barely get by. If you believe that you will have a tough year, your faith will draw that in. So I encourage you to believe that you are blessed— not that you will be blessed— but that you are already blessed. Believe God's favor surrounds you in a greater way.
You may say: "Joel, I don't really feel blessed. I don't feel like I have favor. I never get any good breaks."
This is what faith is all about.
You must believe it before you see it!!!
You need to act like you're blessed, talk like you're blessed, think like you're blessed, dress like you're blessed, walk like you're blessed, treat people like you're blessed.
That's your faith at work.
You will draw in the goodness and favor of God.
And that's a whole lot better than fretting that the value of your home dropped $ 10,000 overnight, or that your company is downsizing, or that the price of groceries has gone through the roof.
Don't dwell on your problems.
If you have a poor mouth, you will have a poor life.
Jobs may be disappearing, but you are still connected to the Vine.
A relationship may fall apart, but God is still on the throne.
You may not see a way out because your resources are limited, but God owns it all.
Stay in faith.
Make the decision that you will thrive, not merely survive."
- J. Osteen
Stay Strong
