Don’t Be Limited By a Lack of Faith

A woman shopping in Houston happily hummed a tune as she collected the items she wished to purchase and approached the cashier. The clerk just stared at her for a long moment, as though wondering what was wrong with her, offering an obligatory, “How are you doing today?”

That’s all it took. The woman nearly bubbled over. “How nice of you to ask! I’m doing great. I am so blessed!”

The clerk looked at the woman quizzically for a moment and then said, “Let me ask you a question. Do you go to Lakewood Church?”

“Why, yes I do. How did you guess?”

The clerk shook her head and smiled, “I should have known. Everybody that comes in here like you is from Lakewood.”

What a great compliment! That’s the way it should be. God’s people should be the happiest people on earth. So happy, in fact, that other people notice. Why? Because we not only have a fabulous future, we can enjoy life today!

Living your best life now means being excited about the life God has given you. It means believing for more good things in the days ahead, while living in the moment and enjoying it to the hilt.

Too often, we get comfortable with where we are in life and use that as an excuse to remain in mediocrity. “My parents were poor,” we say with a pout. “Before them, my grandparents were poor. Nobody in my family has ever amounted to much, so I guess I won’t either.”

 

Don’t believe that lie. My dad came from the poorest of families. His parents were cotton farmers, and they lost everything in the Great Depression. My grandmother worked 14 to 15 hours a day washing people’s clothes, earning 10 cents an hour.

They were good people, but nobody in our family line had ever amounted to much, living instead under a curse of poverty and defeat. Then one day, at age 17, my dad committed his life to Christ, and God put a dream in his heart to preach.

Certainly, the odds were against him. But God is not limited by our environment, family background or present circumstances. God is limited only by our lack of faith.

I’m so thankful that Daddy didn’t listen to all the naysayers. He believed that God had more in store for him than staying home and picking cotton. And because he stayed focused on his dream and was willing to step out in faith, he broke that curse of poverty. Now, my siblings and I, and our children, grandchildren, even our great-grandchildren, are all going to experience more of the goodness of God.

Let me challenge you to believe for more. Don’t travel the road for the next 50 years and be at the same place you’re at today.

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