We all know that God can bless us. He can show us favor, promote us,
heal us. But what we don’t always realize is that God can use our enemies
to bless us. What you think is a disappointment someone has caused—
that person who left you, that coworker who’s trying to make you look
bad, that friend who betrayed you—you may not like it, but you couldn’t
reach your destiny without it. It’s all a part of God’s plan to get you to
where you’re supposed to be.
If it weren’t for Goliath, David would be known only as a shepherd
boy. Goliath was strategically placed in David’s path—not to defeat him,
but to promote him. Without Goliath, David would have never taken the
throne. Don’t complain about your enemies. What may look like a
setback is really a setup to get you to your throne. God could have used
King Saul, who had the authority, to promote David. All God had to do
was move on Saul’s heart and tell him, “Promote that young man.” But
God chose to bless David through his enemies in this case, not through
his friends. That’s why we don’t have to play up to people and try to
convince them to like us, thinking, Maybe they’ll give me a good break.
God doesn’t have to use your friends or associates. He can use your
enemies, your critics, the people who are trying to push you down. He’ll
use them to push you up.
After David defeated Goliath, you never read anything more about
Goliath. He was created for David’s purpose. Part of his destiny was to
establish who David was. In the same way, God has lined up divine
connections, people who will be good to you, encourage you, and push
you forward. He’s also lined up people who will try to stop you, people
who will try to make you look bad and discourage you. There are
Goliaths ordained to come across your path. If you don’t understand this
principle, you’ll get discouraged and think, God, why is this happening to
me? That opposition is not there to stop you; it’s there to establish you.
When you overcome, not only will you step up to a new level of your
destiny, but everyone around you will see the favor of God on your life.
When Goliath Steps in Front of You
In 2002 we received word that the Houston Rockets were moving out of
the Compaq Center and the city leaders were thinking about selling it. We
needed and had been looking for a larger auditorium. When I heard this
news, something came alive inside me. I knew that building was
supposed to be ours. Word got out in the city that we were interested in it.
There was a lot of talk about what should happen to this building.
A friend of mine was at a luncheon with some local high-powered
business executives. One of the executives, a very influential man, found
out that my friend attends Lakewood. This executive began to talk about
the Compaq Center and how opposed he was to our buying it and what a
terrible thing that would be for the city. He said that it should remain a
sports arena, and that by no means should the city allow a church there,
and on and on. Some of the other people at the table joined in, laughing
about it, making fun, saying we didn’t have a chance in the world to get
it. Finally the executive looked at my friend and said sarcastically, “It
will be a cold day in hell before Lakewood gets that building.” My friend
called me afterward and told me about the discussion. I thought, Thanks a
lot for the good news! But the truth is, that discussion was ordained by
the Creator. That executive was one of those Goliaths whom God
strategically places in our path.
When I heard how much he was against us, something rose up inside
me. I had been determined before, but now there was a holy
determination. I had a new fire, a new passion, a new resolve. Every time
things got tough and I was tempted to get discouraged and to think it
wasn’t going to work out, I would recall his words, a cold day in hell, and
instantly get my passion back. Sometimes God will put an enemy in your
life to keep you stirred up. He’ll allow critics, naysayers, discouragers,
and even some haters, so that when you’re tired and feel like giving up,
just the thought of them will help you shake it off and keep moving
forward—not because you feel like it, but because you don’t want to give
your enemies the joy of seeing you defeated. Sometimes you’ll have a
smile on your face, just so that person who hurt you doesn’t see you
discouraged. This is not because of spite or pride, but a holy
determination. God uses the negative to keep us stirred up.
Although the business leader who was so against us doesn’t realize it,
God used him more than he used my friends. He was one of the most
instrumental people in our getting the Compaq Center. The funny thing is
that he wasn’t for us; he was dead set against us. God used our enemy to
bless us. If I ever see that man, I need to buy him dinner (McDonald’s,
I’m thinking). I need to write some of my enemies a check. If they hadn’t
been against me, I wouldn’t have prayed so hard. If they hadn’t made fun
of us, I might have given up when it seemed overwhelming. If they
hadn’t tried to push me down, to talk me out of it, and told me I didn’t
have what it takes, I might have settled where I was. It was their
opposition that pushed me forward. Many times your enemies will do
more to catapult you to success than your friends.
There’s a Table Prepared for You
David said to God, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies.” When God brings you through the dark valley of opposition,
He’s not going to do it in private. He’s going to do it in such a way that
all your enemies can see He has blessed you. Our building is on the
second-busiest freeway in the nation. You can’t drive in the city of
Houston for very long without seeing what God has done for Lakewood.
Every time that man who said we’d never get the Compaq Center drives
by, I can imagine something whispers in his ear, “It’s a cold day in hell,”
because we’re right there.
You may be up against a similar enemy right now—an enemy to your
health, your finances, a relationship. It may look as though it’s never
going to work out. Have this new perspective: God is preparing the table
right now, the angels are taking the food out of the oven, they’re setting
the place mats, Gabriel is putting the finishing touches on the meal, and
any moment you’re going to hear the dinner bell. God is going to say,
“It’s time! Here’s the meal I’ve prepared for you.” It’s not going to be a
little fast-food meal tucked over in the corner where nobody notices. God
is going to prepare a table for you as He did for David, as He did for us,
where not just all your friends can see it, but even your enemies—the
doubters, the critics, the people who said it wouldn’t work out—are going
to see you blessed, healed, promoted, vindicated, in a position of honor
and influence.
In one sense God used Judas more than He used the other disciples.
Judas was ordained to betray Jesus—that was his purpose, to try to stop
Him. It wasn’t just his idea; it was part of the plan of God. At the time it
seemed like a bad break, but had he not betrayed Jesus, there wouldn’t
have been a crucifixion, and without the cross there wouldn’t have been a
resurrection, and without a resurrection we wouldn’t have redemption.
We celebrate Mary, the mother of Jesus, giving birth in the manger; we
celebrate John baptizing Jesus and the dove coming down from heaven,
and we celebrate Peter, James, and John walking with Jesus and being
His friends. But at the same time, the man who betrayed Jesus, the one
who sold Him out for thirty pieces of silver, was just as critical to His
destiny, if not more so than the others.
What am I saying? Don’t complain about that person who betrayed
you. If they walked away, they didn’t set you back; they set you up. If
that had not happened, you wouldn’t get to where you’re supposed to be.
If they overlooked you, tried to push you down, and lied about you, it
may not have been fair, but nothing happens by accident. If God allowed
it, He knows how to use it for your good.
What if Jesus had gotten upset and said, “God, I’m Your Son. How
could You allow this man to betray Me? He’s one of My main disciples.”
Jesus knew Judas was going to betray Him, but He didn’t try to stop him.
He didn’t try to talk him out of it. He said at their last supper together,
“The one to whom I give this bread is going to betray Me.” He handed it
to Judas and said, “Go, do what you’re going to do quickly.” Jesus
understood that betrayal was a part of His destiny. Too often we fight
what doesn’t go our way; we get upset and become bitter. But the longer I
live, the more I realize that nothing happens by accident. If you keep the
right attitude, God will even use the opposition to bless you.
The Enemy Will Be Used to Bless You
I talked to a well-known minister one time. For over fifty years he had
gone around the world doing so much good. Most people were very
appreciative and received him well. But in his hometown, the editors of
the local newspaper never liked him. They were constantly finding
something bad to write. He could do a hundred things right, but they
wouldn’t report on that. They would find the one thing they didn’t like
and make a big deal about it. This went on year after year. He had an
interesting perspective. He told me, “If it weren’t for that newspaper, I
wouldn’t have accomplished as much.” I asked, “What do you mean?”
He answered, “That newspaper not only kept me on my knees, but it gave
me the fuel to prove them wrong.” This minister went on to build a
beautiful university in that city, which tens of thousands of young people
have attended. Toward the end of his life, when he was retired, that
paper’s editors finally had a change of heart. They wrote a big front-page
article that celebrated everything he had done. It was as though God had
waited on purpose. God knew that enemy, even though my friend didn’t
like all the criticism, was making him better. It kept him stirred up. He
was more determined and more diligent, and couldn’t let his guard down.
There are some things we don’t like, some things we may even be
praying for God to take away from us, but if He removed them, we
wouldn’t reach our highest potential. That opposition is making you
stronger. Those people who try to push you down, the betrayal, the
disappointment—none of these can keep you from your destiny. God has
the final say. If He hasn’t removed it, that means it’s working for you. He
strategically places the Goliaths, the Judases, the critics, the opposition in
our lives. Without Goliath, you won’t take your throne; without Judas,
you won’t reach your destiny; without the naysayers, you won’t become
all you were created to be.
In the Scripture, four men carried a paralyzed man to see Jesus.
When they arrived at the house, it was so crowded inside they had to take
him up on the roof and let him down through the ceiling. At one point
Jesus said to the man, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Some of the
religious leaders were offended and began to murmur to themselves.
Under their breath, they said, “Who does He think He is? He can’t
forgive sins. Only God can do that.” The Scripture says, “Jesus knew
their thoughts.” They were trying to be discreet, trying to hide their
reaction, but He knew full well what they were thinking. Jesus said to
them, “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Rise, take up
your bed and walk’?” To prove to them that He was the Son of God, He
turned to the paralyzed man and told him to rise up. The man stood up,
perfectly well. When they saw him stand up, I’m sure the religious
leaders nearly passed out. They said to one another, “We’ve never seen
anything like this!”
Here’s my point: if the religious leaders had not been murmuring,
complaining, criticizing, maybe this man wouldn’t have been healed.
Jesus could have just forgiven his sins and moved on. But right in the
midst of their murmuring, Jesus healed him. When people are talking
about you, trying to make you look bad, trying to push you down and
keep you in a dark place, don’t worry—God sees and hears them. They’re
putting you in position to be blessed in a greater way. You don’t have to
straighten them out. Don’t get involved in battles that don’t matter. Let
them talk. Just as with this man, God will use your enemies to bless you.
Some of the favor you’ve seen, some of the good breaks, happened not
because of you but because of the people who tried to stop you. They put
you in position for promotion.
I always thank God for my friends, but I’ve learned to thank God for
my enemies, too. Without the murmuring, the paralyzed man might not
have been healed; without Goliath, David might not have taken the
throne; the betrayal of Judas eventually led to the resurrection of Jesus
from the grave; without that executive who was against us, we might not
have our building. You need to see every enemy, every adversity, every
disappointment in a new light: the opposition is not there to defeat you,
it’s there to increase you, to make you better.
A man told me his business had dwindled down to nothing. It looked
as though it wasn’t going to make it. To make matters even worse, one of
its main competitors had gone on a radio show and talked about it in a
very unfavorable light. This competitor had been extremely critical and
talked about how this man’s business just wasn’t up to par. It looked as
though that would be the final blow that put this business under. But it
was just the opposite. When the competitor talked about it, he drew
attention to the business, and things started turning around. New clients
started calling, and today it’s going stronger than ever. It has even
surpassed the competitor’s company. What happened? God used the
businessman’s enemy to bless him. God has all kinds of ways to meet
your needs. He can use your critics to promote you. He can cause your
obstacles to become stepping-stones. He knows how to take what was
meant for your harm and use it to your advantage.
Don’t Be Intimidated
In the early nineteen hundreds, cotton farmers in Alabama were facing a
major challenge. A tiny insect called the boll weevil had migrated from
Mexico to the Cotton Belt, and it was quickly destroying their crops.
They tried everything they could to get rid of it. They tried to exterminate
it with all kinds of chemicals, and they even came up with a new class of
insecticides, but to no long-term avail. Eventually all they could do was
sit back and watch their livelihood be eaten away—a very dark place to
be in. But one day a farmer had an idea. He said, “Instead of planting our
normal cotton crops that we know can’t survive, let’s plant peanuts.” The
others looked at him as though he had lost his mind. They said, “Peanuts
—we can’t make a living off peanuts!” Eventually he convinced them to
try it, and they went to work. They discovered that the boll weevils didn’t
like the taste of peanuts. Their crops took off in a way they had never
seen. They made more money off peanuts in a few months than they
would normally make all year long. In fact, when the boll weevils were
diminished, many of the farmers didn’t go back to their normal cotton
crops. They stuck with the peanuts. God used the boll weevil to bless
them with prosperity. God works in mysterious ways.
You may be dealing with some boll weevils in your life right now.
My encouragement is that you stay in faith—peanuts are coming. What
you think is a setback is really God setting you up to do something new.
Don’t sit around complaining about what didn’t work out and who did
you wrong—that’s just a boll weevil. It’s something that looks as though
it’s there to destroy or hurt you, but in fact God sent it to launch you to a
new level. The next time you see that person at the office who’s always
talking about you, trying to make you look bad, just think to yourself,
They’re just a boll weevil. They think they’re bringing me down, but I
know the truth. God is using them to push me up. God said that He would
make your enemies your footstools. That means that when something
comes against you—persecution, betrayal, disappointment—instead of
letting it be a stumbling block that makes you go down, if you’ll stay in
faith, God will turn stumbling blocks into stepping-stones that cause you
to go up.
When I was ten years old, I played Little League baseball. I was very
small for my age. In fact, I was always the smallest player on the team,
and people called me Peanut. We were in the middle of an important
game, and the stands were full. Everybody was closely watching as I
stepped up to bat. When the opposing coach saw how small I was, he
stepped out of the dugout and began to holler to his players in the
outfield, “Come in closer! Come in closer!” He was waving both arms in
the air, making a big scene. He might as well have yelled, “This kid is a
loser! He’s too small. He’s not up to par. He can’t hit.” Everybody in the
stands was watching him. I was standing at home plate, so embarrassed
that for a moment I felt like hiding. The outfielders came in right behind
the infield. Nobody was in the outfield. All I could think of was that he
must have seen my brother, Paul, play!
When I saw the outfield shift the opposing team had put on,
something came over me. I thought, That coach doesn’t know who I am.
He doesn’t know what I can do. He didn’t breathe life into me. He
doesn’t determine my destiny. I am a child of the Most High God. I can
do all things through Christ. I might have been small, but when the
pitcher threw the ball, I swung as though I were ten feet tall and gave it
everything I had. I connected perfectly and that ball took off, went way
over their heads, took two bounces, and hit the fence. Because nobody
was in the outfield, I made an inside-the-park home run!
Here’s what I want you to see. The next time I got up to bat, that
coach stepped out of the dugout with just as much enthusiasm, just as
much fanfare, but this time he started hollering to his players, “Back up!
Back up! Back up!” I smiled and thought, Now, I like how that sounds! In
the same way, the enemy will come against you in your thoughts, saying,
“You’ll never be successful. You’ll never break that addiction. You’ll
never get out of that problem.” You can either believe those lies and let
him talk you into mediocrity, or you can do as I did as a ten-year-old and
say, “No, you don’t determine my destiny. You don’t set the limits for
my life. You didn’t give me breath. You don’t know what I’m capable of.
I may look small, but I’m full of resurrection power.” When you rise up
in faith like that, you won’t be defeated by your enemies—you’ll be
promoted by your enemies. You do that a few times, and he’ll start telling
his forces, “Back up! Back up! Back up! He’s more powerful than he
looks. Don’t mess with him. He’s highly favored. He’s more than a
conqueror.”
The Scripture says, “Do not be intimidated by your opponents.”
Don’t be intimidated by what somebody says, don’t be intimidated by
that sickness or by how big the obstacle is. You are not weak, you are not
lacking, you are full of can-do power. The greatest force in the universe is
on your side.
It May Be Friday, but Sunday Is Coming
After the death of Joseph, the people of Israel living in Egypt were
blessed and increased greatly in numbers, to the point that many years
later, Pharaoh feared them and put them under slave masters to oppress
them with forced labor. But something interesting happened. The
Scripture says, “The more Pharaoh afflicted them, the more the Israelites
multiplied.” Pharaoh thought he was stopping them, but in fact he was
increasing them. Sometimes when God wants to promote you, He doesn’t
send you a good break; He sends you an enemy. He’ll cause a Pharaoh, a
supervisor perhaps, to turn up the heat. He’ll put you in an unfair
situation. Don’t get discouraged—the more opposition, the more you’re
going to increase. We may not like it, but we grow under pressure, our
character is developed, and we discover talent that we didn’t know we
had. Pharaoh, by oppressing them with slave labor, was trying to restrict
the Israelites, to squeeze them, to put them under pressure.
When you wash your car at home, you know that the water that
comes out of your hose is going to shoot only about three or four feet.
But when you want to really spray the car off, you need the water to go
farther. So you put your thumb over the end of the hose and restrict the
flow of the water. You might think that when you restrict it, less water
would come out, but that’s not the case. When you restrict the water, the
same amount shoots out, but because it’s under so much more pressure, it
shoots out fifteen or twenty feet. It goes many times farther than it did
with no pressure. In the same way, when the enemy puts you under
pressure, he thinks it’s going to stop you. What he doesn’t realize is that
all that pressure is going to cause you to shoot out further. When you feel
restricted, when you face opposition, don’t be discouraged. Get ready to
shoot out. Get ready for new levels. Get ready for promotion. That
pressure is not going to stop you; it’s going to increase you.
When Jesus was about to be crucified, He went to the Garden of
Gethsemane, which literally means “the place of pressing.” It was an
olive grove. The only way to get the valuable oil out of the olives is to
press them. If you’re never put under pressure, if you never have to
stretch your faith, endure, overcome, and persevere, you won’t tap into
the treasures God put on the inside. On a Friday, Jesus was nailed to the
cross—incredible pressure. On Saturday, He was in the grave, fighting
the forces of darkness—restricted. But on Sunday morning, He came
shooting up out of that grave. Death couldn’t hold Him down. One
message of the resurrection is that God uses our enemies to bless us.
Maybe you feel restricted today, pressured, as though you’re being
squeezed. It’s Friday. Don’t worry. Sunday is coming. The pressure is
going to cause you to shoot out. When you see where God takes you—the
favor, the blessing, the promotion—you’re going to look back and say, as
the psalmist said, “It was good that I was afflicted.” David would tell you
that it was good that Goliath showed up. Jesus would say that it was good
that Judas betrayed Him. I can tell you that it was good that executive
was against us, and it was good that coach said I was too small. The
Israelites would tell you that it was good that Pharaoh restricted them. It
may not have been comfortable at the time, but one day you will say,
“That enemy didn’t defeat me; that enemy blessed me.” Now stay in
faith, for God has your back. He wouldn’t allow the pressure if it weren’t
going to work for your good. It may be Friday in your life, but Sunday is
coming. You’re about to shoot out, stronger, healthier, promoted,
vindicated, and better off than you were before.
BLESSED IN THE DARKNESS 