Break Out!: 5 Keys to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life (3 page)

I
was watching the television news when the weatherperson announced that we were under a “Flash Flood Warning.” That means conditions are ripe for possible flooding. Water could escape its normal boundaries and increase in such a way that drainage ditches and bayous are overwhelmed.

Just like that weatherperson, I’m here to announce to you that you’re under a Flash Flood Warning. Conditions are just right. You’ve honored God. You’ve been faithful. You’ve passed the test. Now God is saying: “There’s about to be a flood, but not with water. You will see a flood of My goodness, a flood of opportunity, a flood of healing, a flood of good breaks, to where you are overwhelmed with God’s favor. It’s beyond your expectations. It puts you into overflow.”

Now you may have experienced a lot of negative things in the past: bad breaks, disappointments, and heartache. It’s easy to become discouraged and let that overwhelm you. The negative thoughts will tell you: “You’ll never get well. You saw the medical report,” or “You’ll never rise any higher and accomplish your dreams. You’ve gone as far as you can go.”

Instead you need to get ready. Things have shifted. You’re about to come into this flash flood where suddenly you meet the right person, you qualify for that new home, you are accepted to a college, you’re chosen to play the lead role in a new television series, your song hits the radio, and your career takes off.

You will see the surpassing greatness of God’s favor. It will take you
beyond your normal boundaries. It will supersede what the medical report says. It will supersede your talent, your education, and your experience. It will thrust you to a level that you could have never reached on your own. It won’t be a little drizzle or a little sprinkle. It will be a flood of favor, a flood of talent, a flood of ideas, a flood of opportunity.

Why don’t you get this down in your spirit? A flood of God’s goodness.

One time the Bible’s King David needed a breakthrough. He faced an impossible situation. He and his men were up against this huge army—the Philistines. They were greatly outnumbered and had little or no chance of winning. David asked God for help and God gave David the promise that He would go with them and they would defeat the opposing army. So David and his men went out, and that was exactly what happened. God gave them a great victory. David was so overwhelmed by it, he said in 1 Chronicles 14:11: “God has broken through to my enemies like the bursting forth of water.”

David named the place of his great victory Baal-Perazim, which means, “the God of the breakthrough.” Notice, David likened God’s power to “the bursting forth of water.” In other words, he described it as a flood. He was saying when the God of the breakthrough shows up and releases His power it will be like a flood of His goodness, a flood of His favor, a flood of healing, a flood of new opportunity.

Think about how powerful water can be. Three or four feet of rushing water can pick up a huge car weighing thousands of pounds and move it all around. I’ve seen on the news, in these big floods, whole houses floating down a flooded river. Nothing can stop the force of that water. Anything in its way is moved out of its path. You may have difficulties that look extremely large, obstacles that look impassable, or dreams that look unattainable.

But know this: when God releases a flood of His power nothing will be able to stop you. That sickness may look big but when God releases a flood of healing it doesn’t stand a chance. Your opposition may be stronger, better financed, better equipped, but when God opens up the floodgates they’ll be no match for you.

You may not have the connections to accomplish your dreams. You don’t know the right people. You don’t have the funding. But when God
releases a flood of favor, people will come out of the woodwork to help you out. You won’t have to look for them. Good breaks, opportunity, the right people, will all search you out.

You need to get ready, not for a trickle, not a stream, not a river, but a flood of God’s favor, a tidal wave of God’s goodness, a tsunami of His increase. God is going to take you to a level that you’ve never been before. It will be unprecedented. You will go farther, quicker, than you ever dreamed of.

God said in Exodus 34:10: “I’m going to do great things that I have never done before anywhere on Earth. People will see what great things I can do because I’m going to do something awesome for you.” Now when God uses the word
awesome
, He is not talking about a trickle, a stream, a river. He is talking about a flood of favor, a flood of ideas, a flood of healing. It may not look like it in the natural right now, but remember you’re under a Flash Flood Warning. Any moment the heavens could open up. Any moment you could meet the right person. Any moment God could do something awesome, something that you’ve never seen before in your life.

The real question is this: will you let this seed take root? Every voice will tell you why this is not for you. “I just happened to be reading this book.” No, God has you here at the right place, at the right time, because He wants to do something amazing in your life. Get in agreement and say, “God, this is for me today. I’m raising my expectations. I’m shaking off doubt, negativity, disappointments, self-pity, little dreams, and little goals, and God, I will make room for a flood of Your goodness.”

I met a lady a couple of years ago after a Lakewood Church service. She was in town for treatment at MD Anderson, our local cancer hospital. She was scheduled to have a tumor removed, and then she was to be treated with chemotherapy. All of her medical records, blood work, and X-rays were shipped from her hospital in her hometown. Her doctors in Houston wanted her to retake all the tests and redo all the X-rays just to double-check and verify everything. She was already scheduled for surgery when the doctor called her in. After reviewing the new tests, he couldn’t find the tumor. It was very clear on one of her hometown hospital’s X-rays, but on the new one done at MD Anderson, the doctors could not see it at all.

“I’ve been doing this for twenty-six years,” her Houston doctor said. “I have never seen anything like this before.”

What was that? A flood of healing. A flood of restoration. Friends, God can do what medicine cannot do. God made your body. He has you in the palm of His hand. The good news is, God has the final say. He said, “The number of your days I will fulfill.” That means sickness doesn’t determine how long you will live; God does. Nothing can snatch you out of His hand. If it’s not your time to go, then you won’t go. You may be facing a major illness. It doesn’t look good in the natural, but you’re under a Flash Flood Warning. Any moment you could see a flood of healing. Any moment God could turn that around.

Isaiah said: “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will raise up a barrier.” Several commentators believe that the comma was misplaced during translation. Instead of placing the comma after the word
flood
, they believe the comma should have been placed after the word
in
. It would say, “When the enemy comes in, like a flood God’s Spirit will raise up a barrier.” In other words, the flood imagery emphasizes God’s power and not the enemy’s.

I’ve learned when the enemy attacks, God reacts. God doesn’t just sit back and think, “Well, I wonder what’s about to happen. I wonder what they will do.” God goes to work. You are His most prized possession. It says in Psalms: “God is close to those that are hurting. He is close to the brokenhearted.”

God knows when you’ve got a bad medical report. He knows when you’re struggling with your finances. He knows when you’re being mistreated. You may not see anything happening, but you can be assured Almighty God not only is aware but He also is at work. He already has the solution. If you will stay in faith, at the right time, He will release a flood of His power, a flood of healing, a flood of restoration. He will not only bring you out, He will bring you out better off than you were before.

That was what happened to David when he defeated this great army. After he named the place of his victory “Baal-Perazim—the God of the breakthrough,” anytime David and his men passed that city they would say, “Remember that? That’s where the God of the breakthrough showed up. That’s where God released His favor like a flood.”

No doubt, even generations later, when David’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren passed through that city, they would say, “Oh, yeah. Granddaddy told us about this place. This is where the God of the breakthrough gave them a great victory. This is where God helped them defeat an enemy almost twice their size.”

Every one of us should have some Baal-Perazims. We should have places where we can look back and say, “That was where the God of the breakthrough did something amazing in my life. That was where God healed me. That was where God promoted me. That was where God protected me. That was where the God of the breakthrough visited my house.” When I drive up to our beautiful Lakewood Church each day I know it is our Baal-Perazim. I can say, “This is where the God of the breakthrough released His favor like a flood and gave us a beautiful facility, even though all the experts said we didn’t have a chance.”

Every time I see my mother I know her surviving cancer is another Baal-Perazim. I can say, “That’s where the God of the breakthrough released His healing like a flood.”

There is a popular country song that says, “Let’s give them something to talk about.” God wants to give
you
something to talk about. He wants to overwhelm you in such a way that everywhere you go you can tell your friends, your neighbors, your children, and your grandchildren about the great things God has done for you.

We are not supposed to drag through life defeated and discouraged, saying, “I never get any good breaks. I never get promoted. My back has been hurting for three years.” No, get over into faith. If you’ll start living breakthrough minded, God promises He will show up and give you something to talk about.

Not long ago this lady came up to me so excited. Her family member needed a series of surgeries. It was vital for this family member to continue living a productive life. But the problem was the surgeries were expected to cost $400,000, and they were not covered by insurance. She didn’t have the funds. But month after month, this lady just kept praying, kept believing, kept trusting that the God of the breakthrough would make a way. She didn’t need a trickle. She didn’t need a stream. She didn’t need a river. She needed a flood of God’s favor.

Then, one day out of the blue her employer called her in. She had worked for this company for nearly thirty years. She didn’t even know they were aware of her relative’s health situation. But they said, “You’ve been so good to our company. We’ve decided to underwrite the surgeries that your family member needs.”

Four hundred thousand dollars! What was that? It was the God of the breakthrough releasing a tidal wave of His favor. Like a flood, God’s goodness came over her. Now everywhere she goes, she can’t keep quiet. She tells everyone what God has done for her family. God gave her something to talk about. He wants to do the same thing for you.

What are you expecting? What are you believing for? Would you ever release your faith for something that big? Or would you think, “Joel, that would never happen for me. Four hundred thousand dollars? I never get any good breaks. Besides, my boss doesn’t even like me.”

It doesn’t matter who likes you or who doesn’t like you. All that matters is God likes you. He accepts you. He approves of you. His favor surrounds you like a shield. Promotion doesn’t come from people. It comes from God. If you’ll be bold enough to believe big, then the God of the breakthrough can release a tidal wave of his goodness, a tsunami of His favor in your life.

In Psalm 112, David said: “When darkness overtakes the righteous, light will come bursting in.” At times in life it may seem dark. You may not see how it could ever work out. Maybe you don’t have the funds to pay your bills. Maybe other problems seem insurmountable. But if you will stay, breakthrough-minded God promises the light will come bursting in.

Notice, it won’t just trickle in. It won’t barely get there. No, like a flood, like the breaking forth of waters, it will come bursting in. That means, suddenly, it will change in your favor. Suddenly, you will catch the break you need. Suddenly, your health turns around. Suddenly, your problems are resolved. Suddenly, a new door opens.

God likes to do things suddenly. When it’s dark, don’t start complaining. Don’t turn negative. Keep reminding yourself that the light is about to come bursting in. It may be today, may be tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. But know this: suddenly, things will change in your favor.

My friends Craig and Samantha have a son named Connor. He’s a very handsome, fun little boy. Connor has autism. At five years old, he didn’t speak in complete sentences. He would speak phrases here and there, maybe three or four words together, but nothing much more than that.

Day after day, Craig and Samantha just kept speaking faith into Connor, telling him that he was more than a conqueror, that he could do all things through Christ. Every night at bedtime either Craig or Samantha would sit down and read two or three books with little Connor. Then they’d pray together before they went to bed.

Then one night, just as Samantha was about to turn off the light in Connor’s room she heard him speaking. He went on and on, so clearly, and so fluently. She ran and found the video camera and captured the first real complete sentences her son ever put together. Here’s what he was saying:

“This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do.…”

What happened? Like a flood, God’s favor came on little Connor—a flood of healing, a flood of restoration, a flood of wisdom. Now, Craig and Samantha have another Baal-Perazim. That’s a night that they will never forget. Even though little Connor still doesn’t speak perfectly clearly, they know he is well on his way. What God started He will finish.

This happened because Craig and Samantha take the DVDs from my messages home and little Connor watches them. They said that normally when he’s looking at cartoons, he’ll only watch for five or ten minutes. But he’ll sit there all through the day and watch my whole thirty-minute messages one after the other.