Chapter 1: Stretching to the Next Level

The famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed many beautiful buildings, homes, and other magnificent structures. Toward the end of his career, a reporter asked him, "Of your many beautiful designs, which one is your favorite?"

Without missing a beat, Frank Lloy Wright answered, "My next one."

Frank Lloyd Wright understood the principle of stretching, constantly pressing forward, never being satisfied simply with past successes. The entire world is waiting for your next adventure.

Too many people are living far below their potential. They have many gifts and talents, and so much more going for them. But they've gotten comfortable, settled where they are, and lately become too easily satisfied.

I often hear people making excuses for stagnating in their personal growth:
"I 've achieved as much as most."
"Compared to other people, I'm doing pretty well in my career."
"I've gone as fas as my prents did."

That's great, but God wants you to go further. He's a progressive God, and He wants every generatin to be increasing in happiness, success, and significance. No matter where we are in life, God has more in store. He never wants us to quit growing. We should always be reaching for new heights in our abilities, in our spiritual walk, in our finances, careers, and personal relationships. We all have areas where we can come up higher. We may have achieved a certain level of success, but there are always new challenges, other mountains to climb. There are new dreams and gols that we can pursue.

No doubt, God has already done a lot in your past. He's opened dorrs for you that nobody else could open. Maybe He's given you a wonderful family and home. Perhaps He's caused you to be promoted, given you favor with your employer or supervisors. That is marvelous, and you should thank God for all that He has done for you. But be careful: Sometimes when you are enjoying life, it is easy to become complacent, to get satisfied, and think, Yes, God's been good to me. I can't complain. I've achieved my goals; I've reached my limits. But God never performs His greatest feats in your yesterdays.

He may have done wonders in the past, but you haven't seen anything yet! The best is yet to come. Don't allow your life to become dull. Keep dreaming, hoping, and planning for new projects, experiences, and adventures with God.

The point is: Other people's opinions do not determine your potential. What they said or what they think about you does not change what God has placed on the inside. Don't allow negative words or attitudes to take root and keep you from pressing for ward. God may be asking you today, "Who told you that you were too small? Who told you that you aren't intelligent? Who told you that you don't have the necessary talent?"

God would not have put the dream in your heart if He had not already given you everything you need to fufill it. That means if I have a dream or desire, and I know it is from God. I don't have to worry whether I have what it takes to see that dream fulfilled. I know God doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't call us to do something without giving us the ability or the wherewithal to do it.

You have to realize that God has matched you with your world. In other words, even though at times you may not feel that you are able to accomplish your dreams, you have to get beyond those feelings and know deep inside, I have the seed of Almighty God in me. Understand, God will never put a dream in your heart without first equipping you with everything you need to accomplish it.

If you don't have the necessary wisdom, talent, ability, or resources, simply remind yourself, God has matched me with my world. He has already put in me what I need.

A minister once handed a man a twenty-dollar bill and asked him to hide it secretly in his wife's Bible. "Be sure she doesn't see you do it,"he emphasized.

Later, during the sermon, the minister asked the woman to stand up. "Do you trust me,ma'ma?" he asked.
"Yes, of course," she replied.
"Will you do what I ask you to do?"
"Yes, I will," she replied.
"Good, then open your Bible, and give me the twenty-dollar bill inside."
The woman cringed, as she said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have a twenty-dollar bill."
"I thought you said that you trusted me?" the minister asked with feigned incredulity.
"Yes, I do," the woman replied.
"Then please open your Bible and give me the twenty-dollar bill."

The woman opened her Bible with no small measure of reticense, and to her complete surprise, she discovered a twenty-dollar bill within the pages. Her eyes brightened as she looked at the minister and asked, "But how did it get there?"

"I gave it to you," the minister said with a smile, "and now I'm simly asking you to draw out the gift I have already given, and use that twenty dollars for something good."

In a similar way, God will never ask you for something without first depositing it within you. If you will dare to take a step of faith, you will discover gifts inside that you never before realized were there.

Some people almost miss the great things God wants to do in and through them because they talk themselves out of believing for better things. In the Old Testament, when God told Moses to confront Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, and command him to free God's people who had been living in slavery, Moses balked. "God, I can't do such a thing," Moses said. "I stutter and stammer. I'm not a good speaker."

I love how God answered Moses's protests and excuses. God asked, "Moses, who made your tongue? Who made your voice?"

With these poignant questions, God was reminding His man, "Moses, I have already put in you exactly what you need. Now draw out what I've given you, and use it for my honor, for the good of your family and friends, and your own good."

God said something similar to Gideon, another Old Testment hero. God told Gideon that he would deliver the Hebrew people from oppression. God even called Gideon a mighty man of valor.

Nevertheless, Gideon cowered in fear and insecurity. "No, not me, God," he fretted."I'm the least in my family. Everybosy around me is more talented than I am."

Yet God gave Gideon exactly what he needed ti do what God had asked him to do.

Don't let the size of your dreams or the vastness of God's calling on your life intimidate you. Moreover, don't allow naysayers in your path to keep you from pressing forward. When people attempted to discourage the Apostle Paul, trying to talk him out of his dreams, telling hime what he couldn't do, Paul resaponded, "What if they don't believe? Will their unbelief make the promise of God of no effect in my life?"

Paul was saying, "If other people don't want to believe God for better things in their lives, fine; but that won't keep me from believing. I know the promises of god are in me."

That's the attitude we need to have as well. So what if other people say I can't succeed? So what if someone tries to pull me down; so what if a person doesn't believe? I am not going to allow their actions, attitudes, or comments to cause me to give up on my God-given dreams. I'll not allow their unbelief to influence my faith.

Too often, when we suffer some kind of rejection or disappointment, we get so discouraged that we settle right where we are. " I guess it wasn't meant to be," we rationalize. Or "I thought I could go out with that attractive person, but maybe I am not good-looking enough." Or" I though I could get the promotion, but I tried and failed. Maybe I don't have the talent. It didn't work out."

When disappointment or rejection knocks you down, get back up and go again. We give up too easily on our dreams. We need to understand that just as God supernaturally opens doors, sometimes God supernaturally closes doors. And when God closes a door, it's always because He has something better in store. So just because you've come to a dead end, that's not the time to give up. Find a different route and keep pressing forward.

Often, out of our greatest rejection comes our greatest direction. When you come to a closed door, or something doesn't work out in your life, instead of seeing that as the end, regard that as God nudging you into a better direction. Yes, sometimes it's uncomfortable; soemtimes we may not like it. But we cannot make mistake of just sitting back and settling where we are.

Back in 1959, my father was the pastor of a successful church with a thriving congregation. They had jus a beautiful new sanctuary and my father had a bright future. About that time, my sister Lisa was born with something like cerebral palsy. Hungry for a fresh touch from God, my Dad went away for a while and got alone with God. He searched the Scriptures in a new way, and he began to see how God was a good God., a healing God, and that God could still perform miracles today. My dad went back to his church and he preached with a new fire, a new enthusiasm. He though everybody would be thrilled, but the congregation's reaction was just the opposite. They didn't like his new messege. It didn't fit in which their tradition. After suffering much persecution, heartache, and pain, my father knew the best thing for him to do was to leave that church.

Naturally, my dad wa disappointed. He didn't understand why such a thing should happen. But remember, out of rejection comes direction. When one door closes, God is about to open up a bigger and a better door.

My father went down the street to an abandoned feed store.There, he and ninety other people formed Lakewood Church on Mother's Day, 1959. The critics said it would never last, but today, nearly fifty years later, Lakewood Church has grown to become one of the largest churches in America and is still going strong.

I don't believe that my father would have enjoyed the ministry he had, and I don't believe he would have become all God created him to be, if he would havve stayed in that limited environment. Here's a key: The dream in your heart may be bigger than environment in which you find yourself. sometimes you have to get out of that environment in order to see that dream fulfilled.

The dream in your heart may be bigger than the environment in which you find yourself in
Consider an oak tree. If you plant it in a pot, its growth will be limited. Once its root fill that pot, it can grow no further. The problem is not with the tree; it is with the environment. It is stifling growth. Perhaps you have bigger things in your heart than your present environment can facilitate. That's why, at times, God will stir you out of a comfortable situation. When you go through persecution and rejection, it'snot always because somebody has it in for you. Sometimes, that's God's way of directing you into His perfect will. He's trying to get you to stretch to the next level. He knows you're not going to go without a push, so He'll make it uncomfortable for you to stay where you are currently. The mistake we make at times is getting negative and sour; we focus on what didn't work out. Whe we do that, we inhibit the opening of new doors.

A few days ago, Lakewood Church was trying to buy some property on which we could build a new sanctuary. We had looked for months, and finally had found a wonderful one-hundred-acre tract of land. We were so excited. However, the day we were to close the deal, the people sold the land right out from under us.
I was terribly disappointed, and I had to tell myself, "Joel, God has closed this door for a reason. He has something better in store." Sure, I was down, and I admit that I was discouraged, but I had to shake that off and say, " No, I'm not settling here. I'm going to keep pressing forward."

A few months later, we found another nice piece of property. It would have worked as well, but a similar series of events transpired and the owner refused to sell it to us. Another disappointment. I didn't understand it, but I said, "This doesn't seem fair. But I'm going to stay in an attitude of faith and keep expecting good things."

Not long after that, the door to the Compaq Center, a sixteen-thousand-seat sports arena, opened up in downtown Houston, right in the middle of one of the busiest sections of the city. Then it became clear why God had closed the other doors. Had we purchased either of those properties, those choices might have kept us from God's best.

Thoughout life, we're not always going to understand everthing that happens along the way. But we've got to learn to trust God. We've got to believe that He has us in the palm of His hand, that He is leading and guiding us, that He always has our best interstes at heart.

I know people who have experienced rejection in their personal relationships. Maybe their marriage didn't work out. They put all those years into it andnow they're hurt, dejected, going around defeated and not expecting anything good.

I don't believe that divorce is God's best. Unfortunitely, sometimes it is unavoidable. If you have been through a divorce, understand that God still has another plan for your life. Just because somebody rejected you or walked out of your life and left you hurt, that doesn't mean you should retreat and settle where you are.
The rejection did not change what God put on the inside of you. It doesn't mean that you cannot yet be happy. When one door closes, if you will keep the right attitude, God will open another door. But you have to do your part and keep pressing forward.
Too many people get bitter,they get angry, and they start to blame God.
Instead, let that hurt go. You may not understand it, but trust God and move on with your life. Don't look at it as the end. Look at it as a new beginning. Somebody may have rejected you, but you can hold your head up high knowing this: God accepts you. God approves you. And He has something better in store.

Don't die with the treasure still inside you. Keep pressing forward. Keep reaching for new heights. Give birth to what God has placed in your heart. Don't let other people talk you out of your dreams. Listen to what God says about you, not all the negative voices. When you face rejection and disappointment, don't stay there. Know that God has another plan. that closed door simpl means God has something better in store. You may not have experienced God's favor in the past, but this is a new day. You have not seen, heard, or imagined the wonderful things God has in store for you. Don't be weighed down by the distractions and disappointments in life; instead, keep stretching to the next level, reaching for your highest potential.

If you do that, I can tell you with confidence your best days are in front of you. God is going to show you more of His blessings and favor, and you will become a better you, better than you ever dreamed possible.

Years ago, I went into a government building that has two sets of double doors spaced about fifteen feet apart. The doors opened automatically as I approached, but for security reasons, when I went through the first set of doors, I had to let them close tightly before the next set of doors would open in front of me. As long as I stayed at first set of doors, the second set would not open.

In many ways, life operates in a manner similar to those automatic doors. You have to let go of your disappointments, let go of your failures, and let those doors totally close behind you. Step forward, into the future that God has for you, knowing there's nothing you can do about past disappointments. You cannot change the past, but you can do something about the future. What's in front of you is far more important than what is behind you. Where you are going is more significant than where you came from or where you have been.

If you will have the right attitude, you will give birth to more in the future than you've lost in the past. Quit looking back. This is a new day. It may seem like your dreams have died, but God can resurrect your dead dreams or give you brand-new ones. he is a supernatural God and when we believe, all things are possible.

God has not given up on you. He knows that He put seeds of greatness in you. You have something to offer that nobody else has. He's given you noble dreams and desires. Too often, however, we allow advertisities, disappointments, and setbacks to deter us, and before long, we find that we're not pressing forward anymore. We're not stretching; we're not believing we will rise any higher in life.

Ironically, some of the most gifted, talented people go through some of the most unfair, unfortunate experiences: divorce, abuse, neglect. And it's easy for such a person to think, Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve any of this?

Unfortunately, the enemy knows something about what's on the inside of you, as well. He knows the potential you're carrying, so he does everything he can to keep that seed from taking root. He doesn't want your gifts and talents to flourish. He doesn't want you to accomplish your dreams. He wants you to live an avergae, mediocre life.

But understand this: God did not creat any person without putting something extremely valuable on the inside. Life may have tried to pushyou down through disappintments or setbacks. In the natural, you don't know how you could rise any higher, You don't see how you're ever going to be happy. You need to dig your heels in and say, "I know what I have on the inside. I'm a child of the Most High God. I'm full of His "can-do" power, and I'm going to rise up to become everything God has created me to be."

The Apostle Paul urged his yound understudy, Timothy, "Stir up the gift within you." Similarly, you need to stir up your gifts, talents, dreams, and desired--in short, the potential within you. Maybe these qualities and traits are buried beneath depression and discoragement, negative voices of peoplem telling you that you can't; beneath weaknesses; beneath failures or fears.

But the good things of God are still there. Now you've got to do your part and start digging them out.

You've got to get your dreams back. Get your fire back. Don't just survive your marriage; get a new vision for it today. Don't just drag into worki doing the same thing: start taking some steps of faith. You've got more in you. Push yourself a bit.
What you are hoping for may not have happened in the past, but this is a new day. If you'll keep pressing, hoping, believing, not only will you rise higher, but also you'll see things begin to change in your favor.

"Joel, I tired and failed. My dream was dashed."
Well, dream another dream.
" But I've suffered a big loss, a major setback."
Get back up and go again. That's what we all have to do.

In your difficult times, when you feel like conditions couldn't get any worse, God still says, "Take heart. I'm going to appoint another seed. I'm going to do a new thing."

You may have received a bad report from the doctor; or perhaps a relationship didn't work out. For everything that you've lost, everything that's been stolen, everything that's been taken away, know this: God has another plan. He has another seed.

God uses the word "seed" because that hints at what is coming. Remeber, if you will do your part to let go of the old, and start pressing forward, you will give birth to more in the future than you've lost in the past.

Many people have a tough time letting go of what lies behind. They're always foucused on who hurt them or how unfairly they have been treated. "Why did this happen to me?" Meanwhile, their gifts, talents, and dreams are pressed down. All the potential is lying dormant.

That almost happened to my father. My Dad was married at an early age, but, unfortunitely, the relationship didn't work out. My father was devastated. He felt certain that the days of ministry were over and that he'd never have a family again. He thought sure that he had life and destroyed and future impact for good that he might hope to have. He spent long hours just sitting around depressed, defeated, and rejected.

Then one day, he did what I'm asking you to do. Instead of settling for good enough, instead of focusing on all his mistakes and dwelling on his failures, he decided to let it go. Years later, he told me the hardest thing fo rhim to do was to receive God's mercy. But the Bible says that when we confess our sins, God not only forgives us, He chooses not to remember them anymore. If somebody keeps bringing up your past, you need to know it is not God. If God has let go of it, why don't you let go of it, too?

That's what my father did. One day, he got up, dusted himself off, and said, "Yes, I've made mistakes. I've made some poor choices. But I know God has another seed. I know He has another plan." Shorly after that, he met my mother. Eventually, they got married and over the years, God blessed them with five children!

Many people who, like my father, have experienced hurt and pain are sitting around wallowing in their mistakes, feeling guilty, condemned, and frustrated. Felling like they're washed up in life, they allow their gifts and talents to waste away; they place their dreams on hold.

Please, don't let that be you. If you've made mistakes, know this: God is the God of a second chance, a fourth, and more. I'm not saying to take the easy path and bail out of a marriage. No, if at all possible, stick with that marriage and make it work. However, if you're already past that point, don't sit around thinking that life is over and that you're never going to be happy. No, God has another seed. He wants to give you a new beginning.

Let the door close completely and step forward into the future God has for you. Quit looking back. Instead, receive God's mercy and start pressing forward in life.

The car you drive has a large windshield, but only a relatively small rearview mirror. The implication is obvious: What happened in your past is not nearly as important as what is in your future. Where you are going is much more important than where you've been. If you stay focused on the past, you're liable to miss numerous excellent opportunities ahead.

Another important key to reaching your full potential is putting yourself in an environment where the seed can grow. I know people who are extremely talentd. They have incredible potential. But they insiste on haging around the wrong sort of people.
If you are close friends with people who are lazy and undisciplined, people who don't have great dreams, people who are negative and critical, they will rub off on you. Moreover, that environment in which you place yourself will prevent you from rising any higher. If all your friends are depressed and defeated and have given up on their dreams, make some changes.
Let's be honest: You're probably not going to pull them up; more likely, if you continue to spend too much time in their presence, they will pull you down.

You can't hang out with negative people and expect to live a positive life.
Your dstiny is not tied to the people who walk away from you.
Some people you have to love from a distance.