We all have things that are trying to hold us back, whether it’s guilt from past mistakes, temptations that we can’t seem to overcome, or a dysfunction that’s been passed down to us. It’s easy to learn to accept it and think that’s who we are, but God didn’t create you to go through life weighed down by addictions, dysfunction, guilt, or the past. He created you to be free. When Jesus hung on the cross, before He took His final breath, He said, “It is finished.” He wasn’t just talking about His life and how He had finished His purpose. He was putting an end to all the negative things that could keep us from our destiny. He was saying, in effect, “The guilt is finished. The depression is finished. The low self-esteem is finished. The mediocrity is finished. It is all finished.”
Instead of accepting the addiction and thinking, This is the way it’s always going to be. Everybody in my family has it, you need to announce to that addiction, “It is finished. You don’t control me. You can’t keep me from my destiny. The price has been paid. I am free. I am clean. I am whole.” As long as you accept the addiction, you’re allowing it to stay. But when you tell the addiction, tell the past mistakes, tell the poverty, “It is finished. This is not who I am. I am blessed. I am prosperous. I am victorious,” in the unseen realm, strongholds are broken, chains are loosed, and favor is released.
Are there things you’re living with to which you need to say, “It is finished”? Are you going around feeling guilty, down on yourself because of past mistakes, not expecting anything good? You need to announce to that guilt, “It is finished. I’m done beating myself up, living condemned. God’s mercy is bigger than my mistakes. I am redeemed. I am restored. I am forgiven, and I am excited about my future.” Are you living with a sense of shame, feeling inferior because of how somebody treated you? Perhaps they did you wrong and walked away, and now the accuser whispers, “It’s because you’re not good enough. You’re not attractive enough. You don’t deserve to be loved.” Announce to that shame, “It is finished. I’m not inferior or unworthy. I know who I am. I am a child of the Most High God. I’m wearing a crown of favor. I have royal blood flowing through my veins.”
No matter what someone did or didn’t do to you, it does not change who you are. You may have had bad breaks and gone through unfair situations, but don’t have a victim mentality; have a victor mentality. God says He will pay you back double for the unfair things that have happened. That person who did you wrong and thought they were hurting you—the truth is, they were helping you. They qualified you for double. They thought they were setting you back, but in reality they were setting you up. Now, do your part and say to the self-pity, “It is finished. I’m not living discouraged, dwelling on my disappointments, and reliving my hurts. I’m letting go of the old, and I’m moving up to the next level that God has in store for me. Father, thank You that double is coming my way.”
We all can find a reason to live negatively, thinking we’re at a disadvantage. You might have been overlooked by your boss or had somebody walk out of a relationship with you. I’m asking you to get rid of the excuses. It’s time to say, “It is finished. I’m done thinking about what I didn’t get, what didn’t work out, who hurt me.” You have to tell the past, tell the self-pity, tell the discouragement, “It is finished.” As long as you justify your condition, you’re giving it permission to stay.
In John 5, Jesus met a disabled man who was lying by the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem and had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Surrounding this pool there were five porches that were filled with sick people who were waiting for those certain times when an angel would stir the waters and the first person to get in would be healed. When Jesus saw the man lying there, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?” It seemed as though the answer was obvious, because everyone at the pool was there to be healed. Nevertheless, the Scripture states that Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?” In other words, there was nothing in this man’s actions or his behavior or his attitude that said he wanted to get well, nothing that said, “I’m expecting things to change.” He had his bed there by the porch, and I can imagine that he had his whole area set up around it—a table, a lamp, books, pictures. Over the course of thirty-eight years, he had gotten comfortable in his dysfunction. He thought, This is my lot in life. It’s never going to get better. He was surrounded by other people who were sick, who were blind, who were afflicted. He gravitated to people who were like him. Everyone there was needy. Everyone there was complaining. Everyone there was discouraged.
You need to be careful about whom you surround yourself with, especially in difficult times. You may have an illness, but don’t go find other sick people to hang around. Misery loves company. If you struggle with an addiction, don’t hang out with people who are addicted. That’s going to cause you to get stuck. If you’re depressed, don’t go find five depressed friends so you all can be depressed together. Find people who have what you want. If you’re struggling in your finances, get around blessed people, generous people, people who are well off. If you tend to be negative and critical, don’t stay around people who are like that. Find people who are happy, positive, and grateful. There should be something about you that says, “I want to get well. I want to be blessed. I want to go to the next level.”
When Jesus asked this man if he wanted to get well, instead of saying, “Yes, that’s what I’m believing for, that’s my dream,” he said, “Sir, I don’t have anybody to help me get in the water. When the water is stirred up, somebody always beats me in.” He was justifying his condition. He was saying, “I’m this way because I’m at a disadvantage. Nobody will help me.” As long as you’re making excuses for where you are, you’re going to get stuck. “I’m this way, Joel, because I had a bad childhood. I’m bitter because a business partner cheated me. I’m negative because I have this illness.” I’m asking you to get rid of the excuses. Nothing that’s happened to you has to keep you from your destiny. If it were going to stop your purpose, God wouldn’t allow it. You may not understand it, it may not be fair, but if you will take the hand you’ve been dealt and make the most of it, God will get you to where you’re supposed to be. No person, no bad break, no addiction, and no sickness can stop you. God has the final say. Tell the self-pity, “It is finished.” Tell the excuses, “It is finished.” This is a new day. God is about to do a new thing.
Jesus said to the disabled man, “Get up! Pick up your bed and walk.” Instantly the man was healed. He stood up, picked up his bed, and was able to walk out of there. What you think is permanent, what looks as though it’s never going to change—that addiction you’ve had for years, the illness, the situation in your finances—you don’t see a way, but God has a way. Right now, He’s fighting your battles. Things are changing in your favor. It may look permanent, but God is saying, “It’s only temporary. I’m about to turn it around.” Breakthroughs are headed your way. Start looking for new beginnings, for healing, for freedom.
What’s interesting is that this disabled man didn’t have a lot of faith. He didn’t say, “Yes, I believe I can get well.” He made excuses, yet God in His mercy healed him. Imagine how God feels when He sees you shaking off the self-pity, shaking off the excuses, and saying, “Lord, I believe You can turn my child around. I believe You’ll take me to the next level. I believe You’ll free me from this addiction.” When you believe, God will make things happen that you couldn’t make happen. Tell the excuses, tell the doubt, tell the negative thoughts, “It is finished.” It’s time to put a stop to the things that are trying to hold you back.
In the first chapter, I described how my father grew up in a very poor family of cotton farmers who lost everything during the Great Depression. He went to school with holes in his pants and holes in his shoes. He started life at a disadvantage, with no money, very little education, and no future to speak of. The odds were all against him. He had a good excuse to settle where he was and accept a life of mediocrity. But at the age of seventeen, when he gave his life to Christ, he could feel seeds of greatness rising up, seeds of increase, seeds of abundance. On the outside, everything said, “You’re poor. You’re at a disadvantage. You’re limited. You don’t have a future.” But down in his spirit, he could hear God whispering, “This is not who you are. You can do better than this. You can set a new standard. You were made for more.” When he told his parents he was going to leave the farm and become a minister, they thought he had lost his mind. They said, “John, you better stay here on the farm with us. All you know how to do is pick cotton.” They meant well, but sometimes well-meaning people will try to talk you out of your destiny. If my father had stayed in that limited environment, he would never have seen the fullness of what God had in store.
You have to separate yourself from people who see you only for who you used to be and not for who you’re about to become. Some people who knew you back then will try to keep you in the same box that you grew up in. They’ll try to put limitations on you: “You can’t accomplish that dream. You’re not that talented. You’d better play it safe.”
In the Scripture, this is what happened with David. His family didn’t see him as a giant killer or as a king. They discounted him. David’s father, Jesse, didn’t even bother to bring him in from the shepherds’ field when the prophet Samuel was choosing one of his eight sons as the next king of Israel. Jesse thought, Ah, it’s just David. He’s so small and so young. He doesn’t have the experience. But people don’t determine your destiny. What they say about you and how they try to make you feel cannot stop what God has ordained for your life. You need to distance yourself from people who are always trying to put limitations on you and talk you out of what God has put in your heart. Sometimes that includes the people who have known you the longest, because they can see you only one way.
Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in Him until after He rose from the dead. He was performing miracle after miracle, but they didn’t see Him as the Messiah. They only saw Him as their brother and thought, Oh, it’s just Jesus. There’s nothing special about Him. We grew up with Him. Even when Jesus began to gain popularity, the Scripture tells us that His brothers scoffed at Him and made fun of Him. “Yeah, right. You’re the Messiah!” They tried to discount Him and talk Him out of His destiny. Jesus let it go in one ear and out the other.
My father could have stayed in that limited environment and accepted a life of poverty and lack. He could have lived with a scarcity mind-set, but he did what I’m asking you to do. He rose up and said, “It is finished. This may be where I am, but this is not who I am.” At seventeen years of age, he took a step of faith, left the farm, and started ministering wherever he found the opportunity. God began to promote him and open doors, and eventually he and my mom founded Lakewood, where he pastored for forty years. He went on to live a blessed, abundant life. My point is that my father broke the curse of poverty in our family. Now my siblings and I, and all our families and children, are living at a higher level because one man didn’t settle for the status quo. One man didn’t say, “I’m at a disadvantage. I’ve had bad breaks. This is as good as it gets.” Instead, he said, “It is finished. I’m a difference maker. I can set a new standard.”
You can be the difference maker for your family. You can put an end to negative things that have been passed down. What you’re dealing with may not have started with you, but it can stop with you. You need to say to the poverty, say to the lack, “It is finished. I will lend and not borrow.” Say to the addiction, the depression, the dysfunction, “It is finished.” God wants you to set a new standard. You have seeds of greatness. You are full of talent, ideas, and potential. You’re not limited by where you came from. Just because negative things have been passed down to you doesn’t mean they’re supposed to continue with you. You’re the one who can break the curse, break the poverty, break the depression, break the dysfunction.
You can take your family to the new level. Don’t talk yourself out of it. Don’t let circumstances discourage you. The odds may be against you, but the Most High God is for you. He is breathing in your direction right now. He’s going to open doors that no man can shut, bring talent out of you that you hadn’t known you had, and He’ll cause the right people to be good to you. Opportunities are going to track you down—good breaks, freedom, and increase. You’re stepping into the next level. Bondages that have held you and your family back are being broken. Now, do your part and have a new mind-set—an abundant mentality, a free mentality, a healthy mentality, a victorious mentality. I wouldn’t be where I am if my father had kept that poverty mind-set, that scarcity mentality, thinking, I’m at a disadvantage. I’ve had bad breaks.
We all could come up with excuses to settle where we are. I’m asking you to get rid of the excuses. It’s time to announce to anything that’s holding you back, “It is finished. This is a new day. I’m drawing the line in the sand. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We will live free from addictions. We will lend and not borrow, and we will be generous and help others. We will accomplish our dreams and become everything we were created to be.”
I have a friend who’s very successful today. His father was a police officer, and he was raised in a middle-class home. When he was eleven years old, his father told him to get in the car and said they were going to take a drive together. They drove for several hours to another state, and his father never told him where he was taking him. Finally they came to a very run-down neighborhood, with trash lying around everywhere and none of the buildings kept up. My young friend’s eyes were wide open; he’d never seen anything like it. They pulled into a makeshift dirt driveway of a house that was completely dilapidated. There was no front door, the windows were broken out, and it looked like it was vacant. He followed his father into the house, and he was shocked to find an old man in the front room sitting on a stool. The man was shirtless, hadn’t shaved, and looked like he was homeless. His father looked at this man and said, “Dad, I brought my son to see you.” My friend couldn’t believe that this man could be his grandfather. He’d never even seen a photo of his grandfather before and had never heard his father talk about him. The grandfather wouldn’t look up. He didn’t want anything to do with his son or his grandson. My friend’s father put some money on the counter and said, “Dad, I love you. I just wanted to say hi.” Then he turned around, and the two of them walked out of the shack. My friend said, “Dad, that was the most afraid I’ve been in my whole life. I never want to come back to this place.” His father said, “Son, that’s why I brought you here—to show you this is where we come from, but this is not who we are.”
You might have been raised in a limited environment. Perhaps your family members were good people, but they didn’t have any vision for a better future and they settled for mediocrity. As it was with my friend, you can set a new standard. Where you start is not important. Where you finish is what matters. God is going to use you not just to break a generational curse, but to start a generational blessing. Where you come from is not who you are. You are blessed, you are free, you are talented, and you are a child of the Most High God.
In the Scripture, Abraham was living in a limited environment. God told him to leave his country, to leave his extended family behind, and go to a land that He would show him. God was saying, “Abraham, you have to leave what’s familiar, leave what you grew up with.” I’m not suggesting that you abandon your family, but I am saying to leave behind the negative mind-sets you were raised with. Leave a scarcity mentality. Leave the limitations that people have put on you. You have to make room for God to increase you. Sometimes our environment is too small. It’s like the oak tree seed that I mentioned previously. If you plant it and leave it in a five-gallon pot, that oak tree will never become what it was created to be. It’s not because there’s something wrong with the tree. It’s because of the environment that it’s in.
In the same way, there’s nothing wrong with you. You have seeds of greatness in you. The Most High God breathed His life into you. Now make sure your pot is not too small. Make sure your environment is not holding you back. You need to be around people who inspire you, people who have gone further, people who are making a difference, not just people who are settling for the status quo. The prophet Isaiah says, “Enlarge the place of your tent. Stretch forth your curtains. Lengthen your cords. Strengthen your stakes. Make room for God to do a new thing.” Tell that limited mind-set, “It is finished. I’m dreaming big dreams. I’m praying bold prayers. I’m expecting to go further than how I was raised.”
After my father went to be with the Lord in 1999, many people asked me if I thought we could keep the church going. I never answered them arrogantly, but I told them, “I don’t think we can just keep it going. I believe we can go further.” It’s because God is a progressive God. He wants every generation to increase. Have a bigger vision. Don’t settle for what your parents had, what your relatives accomplished. You were made for more. You can be the one to set the new standard.
It’s easy to talk ourselves out of our dreams and live discouraged because of disappointments and things we don’t understand. We worked hard, but we didn’t get the promotion. We prayed, but our loved one didn’t make it. We did our best, but the relationship didn’t work out. Life is not always fair. I can’t explain why things happen as they do, but I can tell you that God says He will take what was meant for your harm and use it to your advantage. He says He will pay you back double for the unfair things that happened. He says He will give you beauty for the ashes, but I’ve learned you have to let go of the ashes before you receive the beauty. You can’t hold on to the old and expect to receive the new. The past is over and done. That’s why it’s called the past. Quit dwelling on it, quit reliving it. You’re not going to understand everything that happens, but God has a purpose for it. He knows how to bring good out of it. So keep moving forward.
This is what David did. He had a newborn baby who became very sick. Night and day David prayed and fasted for this baby. He wouldn’t eat and wouldn’t talk with anyone else. He spent all his time on his knees, asking God to heal his child. On the seventh day, the little baby died. David’s attendants didn’t know how he would handle the news, but when they told him, David got up off the ground, took a shower, put on new clothes, and went to the temple and began to worship God. When he finished, he went and had dinner with his men. They were so amazed, and they asked him, “David, why are you acting this way? When the child was living, you wept and refused to eat, but now that he has died, you’ve stopped your mourning and you’re acting as though everything’s okay.” David said, “When the child was alive, I asked God to let him live. But now that he has died, I cannot bring him back, but one day I will go to be with him.” David did everything he could. He prayed, he fasted, and he believed, but it didn’t work out his way. He could have lived bitter, with a chip on his shoulder, but David understood this principle. He said to the past, “It is finished. I don’t understand it, but I’m moving forward.”
We all have things in life that we don’t understand. It’s easy to live negatively, with a chip on our shoulder. But if we’re going to receive the double, if we’re going to see the beauty for ashes, we have to do as David did and say to the past, say to the things you don’t understand, “It is finished. I’m not going to dwell on what didn’t work out. I’m not going to try to figure out why. I’m going to let it go and keep moving up to the next level.” The past doesn’t have to stop you. That bad break, that loss, that disappointment—God is in control of your life. You wouldn’t be alive unless He had something amazing in front of you. You haven’t had too many bad breaks, you haven’t made too many mistakes. You’re on the verge of receiving double. You’re on the verge of beauty for ashes. Now, do your part and put on a new attitude, wash your face, and get ready for the new things God is about to do.
Let me declare this over you: The past, the hurts, the regrets—it is finished. The poverty, the lack, the limited mind-sets—it is finished. The addictions, the depression, the dysfunction, the guilt, the shame, the self-pity—it is finished. This is a new day. Things that have held you back are being broken right now. You’re going to step into a new level of freedom. You’re going to break generational curses and start generational blessings. You’re about to see beauty for ashes, healing, promotion, and breakthroughs. It’s headed your way!