Today we continue our series entitled, “Faith and Patience Volume IV — The Wonder Twins.” I am using Joseph as an excellent example of our need for patience. We are seeking to learn from the different phases of Joseph’s life. Let’s get into it.
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. It takes time to reprogram your mind.
Your mind can be transformed through the Word of God, and that should be your goal. Just know that this does not happen overnight. I will explain.
Once we are Born Again, our spirit is “saved,” but our soul and body have not been changed. Our spirit was changed instantly, our soul must be changed progressively, and our body will be changed eventually (1Cor 15:52).
Since our spirit has already been changed and our body will eventually be changed, the focus of our daily lives should be the saving (or transformation ) of our souls. Our soul is comprised of our mind (the way we think), emotions (the way we feel), and will (the way we choose). When we come to God, our soul is already conditioned to think, feel, and choose a certain way. Most of us came to God with a soul that was not conditioned to think, feel, or choose in ways pleasing to Him.
So while it is true that the moment you are Born-Again, you are a new man, this new man is still living in an old body he needs a new mind! The more of God’s Word you get down in your heart, the more you position yourself to think and act like Him. If you keep doing this, over and over again, eventually your mind is deprogrammed from thinking like the world and programmed to think like God. This is the goal. This is why I teach Today’s Word every weekday. This is why I have taken 14 weeks on this topic (faith and patience).
Changing the way you think does not happen overnight, but if you remain consistent, it will happen. When I came to God as a 23 years old “Dominican kid from Brooklyn,” I had a certain mindset and attitude. I was never going to maximize my purpose or potential with that mentality. I had to be open to changing the way I thought. I was. I changed. I pray you are open to change, as well. We must all continually meditate and medicate on God’s Word, so we can learn to think like HIm in this world!
2. It takes time to EXPAND your capacity to believe God.
One of the reasons why I take my time to teach you Bible stories and lessons in detail is because I want you to EXPAND your capacity to believe God. If you can believe something, then your belief opens the door to the possibility of it happening in your life. Jesus said all things are possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23). Conversely, if you cannot believe it, then whatever the “it” is, your heart has closed the door to the possibility of it.
As we have studied the life of Joseph for the past few months, I pray you learned from every phase/stage of his life (Pit, Potiphar, Prison, Palace). As we studied event after event in the life of Joseph, my goal was to make his life relatable to yours. I call this the power of a point of reference. As a preacher, I will never reach someone I cannot relate to. But if I can make God and His Word relatable, people can make a connection with the Word of God can be changed. Once they see themselves doing what the Word teaches, it is only a matter of time before they experience like results.
I will use running as an example. By the 1950s, track and field running times had been documented for hundreds of years, dating back to the Greek games. There was no record of anyone ever running a mile in under 4 minutes. So dating back to the beginning of all recorded athletic history, not one human had accomplished this feat. It was considered humanly impossible. Why? Because no one believed they could do it.
On May 6th, 1954, the Englishman Roger Bannister did the seemingly impossible and ran the first sub-four-minute mile in recorded history (3 min. 59.4 sec.). Wow! He did what no had ever done. In hundreds of years of runners, not one person had done it. Then Roger did it. As soon as he did, other runners saw that it was possible. Once they saw it was possible, they opened their hearts to it. So how long do you think Roger’s record stood? He did something no human had ever done. But once people BELIEVED it was possible, six weeks later, John Landy, an Australian, ran a mile in 3 minutes and 58 seconds and broke Bannister’s record. Since 1954, over a thousand runners have done it. Once they expanded their capacity to believe, they could do something that was once seemingly impossible.
This is why I love preaching. When I remind people that Naaman was healed of an incurable disease (leprosy), or of how Gideon led 300 men to defeat over 100,000, or how God blessed Abraham with a baby after both he and his wife were past the child bearing age (100 and 90 respectively), or how Joseph overcame amazing odds, I believe the Holy Spirit breathes on his Word and causes us to DREAM on God’s level!
Like John Landy, once I realize what is possible, I am able to expand my capacity to believe and reach out to achieve bigger, better, and greater things. This series has rekindled my passion and desire for great things, and it has also inspired me to KEEP ON BELIEVING, no matter how long it takes.
3. If you can believe, you can receive.
There are no impossibilities in God. We often limit God by our limited capacity to believe. God is limitless. There is nothing God cannot do. However, most Christians put artificial limits on a limitless God and then attribute their inability to receive to God by making statements like, “Well, maybe it was not God’s will.” No, God’s Word is God’s will. Stop putting limits on a limitless God, search God’s Word, expand your capacity to believe, and you will see God God’s best manifested in your life.
Think about the amazing life of Joseph. Think about all he went through. Now think about your life. What is it that God cannot do? There is NOTHING too hard for God. Open your heart to believe!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I expand my capacity to believe You. There is nothing You cannot do. You live in me. Therefore, there is nothing I cannot do. I can do ALL THINGS through Christ, who empowers me to do what I could not do without Him. Your grace is on me to perform Your will. And perform Your will I must! Living with this mindset, I know that GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
