In this message, Victoria will teach us why we should not complain. God says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NIV). Let’s keep our mouths closed, stay the course and be grateful to God. Let’s not be faultfinders. Let’s be those who pray and petition God for change with thanksgiving in our heart.
This is message #734, "Don't Be a Complainer", by Victoria Osteen. For more inspirational messages, visit https://www.JoelOsteen.com/Messages
Abundant Rain for Your Dry Places
Post by Joel Osteen
It's easy to lose our passion for life. At one time we loved to laugh, looked forward to the day, and were believing for our dreams, but when things didn't worked out like we thought, over time we came into a dry place and life lost its flavor. You smile, but there's no joy behind it. You act normal in front of others, but by yourself you're discouraged and wonder what's wrong. Sometimes we're dry because we're tired, the challenges have taken longer than we thought. We can be dry because somebody did us wrong, and instead of letting it go, we've become bitter. Some people are dry because they think they'll never overcome their challenges.
But being dry doesn't just sour our attitude, steal our joy and affect relationships; it's deeper than that. The Scripture says that when you're in "dry places" (Matthew 12:43), you've stepped into the enemy's territory. That's where he lives. When you feel the blahs, have no passion and thoughts tell you, "Nothing good is in your future. There's no reason to get your hopes up," recognize that's the enemy trying to get you into his territory. When you're positive, hopeful and full of praise, you're in God's territory. The enemy can't touch you. That's why he works overtime in our thought life. His goal is to get us down and discouraged. He knows that when we're dry, we're giving him access to control and manipulate.
This is when you have to take control of your thought life. That's where the battle is taking place. You may feel dry. You've done what you can, but it seems like the discouragement won't go away. You've fought hard, but you're weary. God sees what you're going through, and He's about to make things happen that you couldn't make happen. David says, "You sent an abundant rain, O God, to refresh the weary land" (Psalm 68:9). You're going to see an abundance of strength, of joy, of health, of resources. You're coming out of that dry place.
Get your hopes up. Start expecting the abundant rain. That's the way our God is. He could have just said, "I'm going to send a shower to refresh the weary land." That would be good, but look at the heart of God. He said in effect, "I'm going to make the enemy pay for making you dry. I'm going to send an abundant rain to make up for the trouble—more than enough, overflow, exceedingly above and beyond." Get ready for abundance; get ready for overflow. God is about to exceed your expectations. You're coming out of the dry place into more than enough.
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