Introduction
My desire is to speak faith into the lives of others, encouraging them when they are discouraged, calling forth the seeds of greatness God planted within, assuring them that their best days are ahead. This book is filled with hopeful messages intended to do just that. My prayer is to inspire you and to expand your vision so you might find the courage to overcome any obstacles and accomplish your dreams. God has great things in store for you. A new season is coming. I hope my words ignite your faith and increase God's favor in your life.
Psalm 84:11 says no good thing will God withhold to those who walk uprightly. When you have a heart to please God and when you live a life of excellence and integrity -- being your best each day, living with purpose and passion and a desire to help others -- God's promise is that He will not withhold what you need to become you or what He has created you to be.
God will not withhold wisdom, creativity, good breaks, the right connections, strength, joy, or victory.
You may have been through challenging times. The economic downturn has affected people of all ages and incomes. Millions have lost their jobs. Millions more have seen their savings depleted. Many have lost their homes. Relationships have been strained. We've all been tested.
History has shown that economic depressions and recessions surely do cause suffering, but they also serve as catalysts for inspiration, creativity, and new levels of achievement that ultimately make for better lives and a better world. Many of the world's strongest corporations and family businesses were forged in times such as these. Some doors have closed, but others will open.
To give you strength and to fortify your faith, I've put this book together in five parts. Each is designed to build on the other. The goal is not simply to inspire and motivate you, but also to help you see that God's plan is at work in your life. He walks with you. You may not perceive a way out right now, but He does. You may not feel that you have all that it will take to emerge stronger, but He does. With God in your heart, you will persevere and prevail.
The book begins with a section entitled "It's Time to Believe," because tough times require strong faith, because this too will pass, because big problems precede bigger things to come, because every disappointment gives us fresh opportunities, and because each season of scarcity gives way to new seasons of increase.
It's time to reaffirm your belief that you are one of our Father's children. You are made in His image and He loves you.
"It's Time for Favor" is the section about faith fortification. Here you can bulk up with encouragement to pray bold prayers, to seek thriving over surviving, to choose faith over fear, to expect favor in your future, and to speak faith-filled words.
In "It's Time for Restoration," I offer you the tools of forgiveness and renewal. These tools include God's ability to turn back time, your power to come back from setbacks and to bounce back from disappointments. Restoration comes too from living a resurrected life and from holding on to your promise of a better day.
"It's Time to Trust" builds your resolve by reminding you of those things you can trust: that all things work together for good, that God remembers you, that you can gain strength through adversity, and that there will come an anointing of ease.
Finally, I've concluded the book with "It's Time to Stretch." We stretch to grow. We stretch to build strength. We stretch to reach beyond previous levels of accomplishment and fulfillment. The final chapters will motivate you to step into your divine destiny, to stay open for something new, to find your place of blessing, and to believe for a supernatural year.
As you read these chapters, keep your heart pure, strive for excellence, and prepare yourself, because it's your time for God's goodness, favor, and restoration. It's your time to walk in the fullness of His blessing.
-- Joel Osteen Copyright © 2009 by Joel Osteen
Chapter 1
You're Closer Than You Think!
While on vacation in Colorado, I woke up early for a hike. The three-mile trail ran to the peak of Beaver Creek Mountain. At the base a sign said it should take about three hours to reach the top.
Looking up to my destination, I was intimidated. The trail was extremely steep. The altitude at the base was 8,000 feet above sea level. The peak stood at more than 11,000 feet.
Just walking up the first set of stairs, I began breathing heavier than normal. I had to remind myself to take it easy. At home in Houston, I run several miles a few times a week and play a lot of basketball. But the elevation there is only fifty feet above sea level. The thinner air in the Colorado mountains had me doubting whether I could make it to the top.
I started out with just my cell phone and a bottle of water. Determined, I set a pretty good pace. The first fifteen minutes seemed fairly easy. The next fifteen minutes were increasingly difficult. I felt as though I were carrying an extra load. I had to stop every so often to catch my breath.
About forty-five minutes into my hike, the trail got extremely steep -- almost like I was climbing straight up. My pathway snaked skyward through thick stands of aspen and ponderosa pine. The view was both beautiful and daunting. Despite the fact I am in shape from running and playing basketball, my legs were burning and my chest was pounding.
As I climbed over a big ridge, I had to stop for air. Sweat was pouring off my body. I thought: If there's another two hours like this, I don't know if I can make it.
Up to that point, I had not seen anyone else on the path. Suddenly an older gentleman heading down the mountain came around a curve. He wore a T-shirt, shorts, and hiking shoes and carried a walking stick. He seemed cool and calm. And he read me pretty well.
As we passed, he said something that changed my whole perspective. He smiled kindly and said in a calm voice: "You are closer than you think."
Hearing those words, I felt rejuvenated, as if he'd breathed new life into my lungs. Energy surged through my body. My legs grew stronger. I caught a second wind. From that point forward, with every stride, I repeated those words of encouragement: "I will make it. I'm closer than I think."
Though the climb was difficult, though my muscles and lungs were burning, I kept saying, "I'm almost to the top. I know I can make it." And sure enough, just ten minutes later, I clambered over these big boulders and beheld a beautiful sight: the summit.
According to the sign at the base, it was supposed to be a three-hour hike. But I'd made it in just under an hour! I was much closer than I'd thought when I passed that gentleman on the trail. Yet, without his encouraging words, I might have turned around. I might have talked myself out of continuing because I thought I had two more hours to go.
Until I met the older hiker, my perspective was limited and so was my thinking. I knew only what I'd read on the sign. He knew I was just ten minutes from my goal, and when he told me I was closer, he gave me a fresh perspective. He knew more about the trail ahead of me, just as God knows more about what lies ahead for you.
I don't know where you are headed, what your dreams are, or how many obstacles you have to overcome. But I encourage you to let these words reach deep down into your spirit. Receive them by faith.
You are closer than you think.
A global recession has forced many to postpone their dreams and cancel their plans. You may have lost your job. You may have lost your savings, maybe even your home. It could be that you have health concerns or relationship problems. Maybe you are frustrated because it's taking so long to get where you want to be in your life. Yet now is not the time to talk yourself out of your goals and dreams. Now is not the time to get discouraged. You may think, as I did climbing that trail, that you're not even halfway there. You may feel you have so far to go. But the truth is, you don't know. Your dream may just be up around the corner. You may think it will take another two years. But if you stay in faith, who knows? It may just be two more months. You are closer than you think. I believe it's your time.
Amber Corson was a stay-at-home mom with three young children. When her husband was laid off from his Florida construction job as the economy soured, Amber had to take a night-shift job to help support the family.
She'd been working that late shift for four weeks. One night she was driving home, tired, scared, missing her kids, and worried about their future. Amber felt like God had bigger plans for her family than to struggle. She prayed on that drive home. "God, please tell me what I can do to get my family through this."
She said His response came to her "like a breath."
"I gave you a gift. Go plant gardens. Do your heart's work."
Amber had a degree in horticulture that she'd never used. She was so talented she'd been certified as a master gardener. She had a natural talent for making things grow. That night, she told her husband what God had put in her heart. She prayed on it. In the next few weeks, she said, things "just fell into place like it had been planned for me all along."
She called her landscaping business Eden Paradise Gardens. It grew quickly and flourished beyond anything she had dreamed. It was her time!
God wants to breathe new life into your dreams. He wants to breathe new hope into your heart. You may be about to give up on a marriage, on a troubled child, on a lifelong goal. But God wants you to hold on. He says that if you'll get your second wind, if you'll put on a new attitude and press forward like you're headed down the final stretch, you'll see Him begin to do amazing things.
Tune out the negative messages. Quit telling yourself: I'm never landing back on my feet financially. I'm ne...
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
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