A (10:01)

It's not to.

B (10:02)

It's not to try to get even. Just stay full of praise and God will fight your battles for you. And when you're in one of those deserts and it's slow and you don't see your dreams coming to pass, don't make the mistake of sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, thinking, why don't I get any good breaks? Why don't I ever get promoted? How come I don't have this favor that they're talking about. No, the only way out is to change your attitude. Quit looking at what's wrong, quit talking about what didn't work out and start praising your way out. It's not up to somebody else, it's up to you. You got to shake off the discouragement, shake off what didn't work out and start thanking God like you have already overcome. Start thanking him like he's already turned the situation around. That's what faith is all about. In other words, you may be in debt up to your ears, all kinds of things coming against you. Well, you just need to form some new clouds. Father, thank you that I am blessed, that whatever I touch prospers, that I will lend and not borrow. I may be in the desert right now. It may be difficult, but I know the harder it gets, the closer I am to my victory. So I'm not going to back down, give up, get discouraged. I. I'm pressing forward knowing that I am a victor and not a victim. Watch out, that cloud is beginning to form. And some of you, you haven't gotten a good break in a long, long time. And it's easy to get negative and lose our enthusiasm. But I love what the psalmist said. I will keep on hoping for you to help me. I will praise you more and more. Notice he's saying, the longer it takes, the more we're supposed to give God praise. It's usually just the opposite. Normally when something's taken a long time, we get less and less excited. Instead of giving more praise, we start complaining. Man, I'm never going to get well. I've had this for three years. I'm never going to get ahead. Joel, nobody in my family is successful. No, don't fall into that trap. Dig your heels in and say, this may be taking a long time. It may be difficult, but instead of getting discouraged, I'm going to kick my praise into a higher gear. Father, I want to thank you that you're in complete control. You're a faithful God, and I know you will bring every promise you put in me to pass. I believe God. Even right now, you're arranging things in my favor. The right people, the right breaks, the right opportunities. What's happening? Your cloud is filling up, and it won't be long till it rains down favor blessings right back onto you. One thing I've learned is God will never disappoint a praiser. Just ask Paul and Silas. At midnight, as they sang praises, God showed up and opened the prison doors. Just ask Daniel as he gave God thanks Those hungry lions weren't able to touch him. Just ask Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They went into the fiery furnace full of praise, and they came out without even having the smell of smoke. You may have been through more than your share of disappointments. You may have had some setbacks, but you need to have the attitude. I may have lost a lot in life, but one thing I'm not going to lose is my praise. I'm going to give God thanks at all times. Well, let me ask you, what are you sending up today? Complaints. Nothing good ever happens. It's not fair. Or are you sending up praise, bragging on God's goodness, expecting his favor? Here's the key. You need to keep your cloud full. Some of you get a little light mist every once in a while, and that's not bad. That's better than nothing. Others, you get a sprinkle here and there, and that's okay. But I want us to be so full of praise that even if we stump our toe, instead of complaining, we'll say, thank you, Jesus. Somebody cuts us off in traffic. Instead of shaking our fists, getting upset. Bless them, Lord. Give them a good day. While you're at it, help them to learn how to drive. We don't get that promotion we were hoping for, no big deal. I know God must have something better in store. You stay in praise like that, you won't be able to outrun the good things of God. Every time you turn around, you'll feel like it's raining. Driving to work, all of a sudden you get a good idea. That's God raining down creativity, raining down favor. At the mall, you find something you've really been hoping to buy, and what do you know? It's on sale. That's not a coincidence. What happened? You just got rained on. Even small things. In a crowded parking lot, a car backs up and you get a front row spot. Just shake your head. I should have known it. It's raining again. I better keep my umbrella with me today. There's no telling what God's going to do. Why is that? The cloud is following you around. When we get in a habit of bragging on God's goodness, that's what allows him to do the extraordinary in our lives. I think about Nehemiah. God put a dream in his heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This dream was so much bigger than he could accomplish on his own. He was 1,000 miles away. He didn't have the manpower nor the resources. All kinds of opposition was coming against Him. People telling him that he couldn't do it. One group was threatening him, saying even if he tried, they were going to attack. But I love Nehemiah's attitude. None of this bothered him when his friends questioned him and said, nehemiah, how are you going to be able to do this? Answered back, the gracious hand of God is upon me. I like that. He wasn't talking about his problems. He was talking about his God. He wasn't looking at what he couldn't do. He was focused on what God could do. It should have taken him over a year to finish that wall, but Nehemiah completed it in just 42 days. Why was that? He just kept bragging on God's goodness. His cloud filled up and rain down protection, wisdom, creativity. Like Nehemiah. You may think, how could I ever accomplish my dreams so much bigger than I could do on my own? Or, how could I get well? How could I get out of debt? Let me tell you how the gracious hand of God is upon you. You have his favor. You have his wisdom. You have his protection. You are talented. You are creative. All the forces of heaven are backing you up. Dare to believe that you can become everything God's created you to be. Sometimes you've seen little children bragging on their dads, saying things like, my dad's stronger than your dad. My dad can run faster than your dad. A couple of years ago, my little nephew Christopher was over at our house. He was about 5 years old at that time. I was in my garage lifting weights. And Christopher is as tough as can be. He is as solid as a rock. And I was just playing, having some fun with him. And I pointed at my muscle. I said, christopher, do you realize that I can whoop your dad? He looked so stern at me, folded his arms. He said, uncle Jojo, my dad could squash you. He said it so dramatic, I. I thought he was going to come over there right then and there and whoop up on me. That's the way we need to be concerning our Heavenly Father. That obstacle may look difficult, but you need to announce to it. My father can whoop your father. Tell that problem, my dad can squash your dad. What are we doing? Bragging on the goodness of God, sending up the right vapors. Says there in Psalm 81:10, open your mouth wide and I will fill it. One reason people never see God's best is because they barely have their mouth open. This is one time it's good to have a big mouth all through the day, go around talking about what God's done bragging on what he's going to do. Speaking favor and victory over your life, over your future. Every morning I've learned to open my mouth wide. I don't want to be greedy. I just want everything that belongs to me. I've learned to start the day off by saying, father, thank you that my best days are still out in front of me. Thank you that you've got favor in my future like I've never seen before. Thank you that you're going to take our ministry where no ministry's ever gone. That we're going to be able to touch people in a greater way all over the world. Well, Joel, how are you going to do that? I'll tell you how. The gracious hand of God is upon me. I know as long as we stay under that cloud, God's blessings, his favor, his opportunities will continue to rain down. Well, how are you going to accomplish your dreams? How are you going to see God's best? By opening your mouth wide, by staying under the cloud and by the gracious hand of God. It's on every one of you. God would not have put the dream in your heart if he had not already equipped you with what you need. Start declaring this every day. Father, I want to thank you that, just like Nehemiah, your gracious hand is upon me. What's happening? Your cloud is filling up. And when you need it, it's going to rain down creativity, rain down good breaks, rain down supernatural opportunities. As you turn the praise up, God's going to turn the rain up. As you open your mouth wider, God's going to fill it with good things. He's going to enlarge your territories. He's going to expand your boundaries. He's going to give you new ideas, bring you new opportunities. You're going to accomplish goals and overcome obstacles that you once thought were impossible. How could this be? The gracious hand of God is upon you. Somebody asks you, how's it going? Just tell a man it has been raining and raining and raining, they say, what are you talking about? Hasn't been rainy, it's sunny outside. Oh, you talking about the weather? I'm talking about God's favor. It's been raining down blessing, raining down promotion, raining down supernatural opportunity. Some of you, if you just open your mouth wider, you'd be amazed at what God would do. Well, I've gone as far in my career as I can go. No, your mouth is stuck halfway open. You can go so much further. God has new horizons for you to explore. There are gifts and talents in you that you've not yet tapped into. You would see a new level of God's goodness if you would just open your mouth a little wider. Well, I don't think I'll ever get married. I hadn't had a date in 12 years. I don't think I'll ever get out of debt. I'll never overcome this problem. No change what you're saying. Father, I want to thank you that you're directing my steps. You said you'd give me the desires of my heart that you hold victory in store for the upright. I just want to thank you that every promise you put in me will come to pass. We have to understand, when we're negative and we talk about the problems and we go around complaining we're sending up the wrong vapors. Our cloud is filling up with defeat, lack, mediocrity, bad breaks. What we send up is going to come right back down. I've had people tell me, joel, I feel like I'm living under a dark cloud. I never get any good breaks. I don't have any energy anymore. People aren't treating me right, and I'm not making light of that. It all may be true, but as long as you keep sending that up, it's going to keep coming back down. If you could just switch out of that defeat mode and over into a praise mode and start thanking God that He's in control and that he's changing things in your favor and that your best days are still ahead, then that dark cloud that was meant to discourage you will turn into a blessing cloud that will rain down favor, the same cloud that's trying to keep you down. With a small adjustment in your attitude, it'll be the very cloud God uses to shower his blessings and favor. When we feel this heaviness, especially when that discouragement is trying to follow us around, first thing we need to do is check on what we're sending out. Like this lady I heard about. She went to the mall with her daughter. They bought a few things. On the way out, she said to her daughter, did you see the dirty look that saleslady gave me? The daughter said, mom, she didn't give it to you. You had it when you came in. What we send out is always going to come back. The scripture says in Psalms that God inhabits the praises of his people. This means when God hears somebody giving him praise, when he hears somebody bragging on his greatness, he says to Gabriel, did you hear what I hear? There's somebody down There in Houston. Somebody there at Lakewood talking about my goodness. I hear somebody thanking me that I'm bigger than their problems. I hear somebody singing, I am a friend of God. Gabriel, you're going to have to keep my place. I'll be right back. But I promise, when they give me praise, I will show up and do great things. You want to get God's attention. You want to see him take you places you've never dreamed of. This is the key. God is touched by our tears, but he's not moved by our tears. God is concerned when we're in tough times, but he's not moved when we go around all discouraged. What causes God to get up off the throne, so to speak, and come to where we are is when we start giving him praise. When we go around in faith, expecting his favor. And know this. You don't have to be in church in order to give God praise. Your car can be a house of praise. Your shower can be a house of praise. That hospital room, that prison cell, those can be places of praise. Everywhere we go, we need to make sure we're sending up the right vapors. Thanking God that He has us in the palm of his hand. It may be difficult, but thank him that he's armed you with strength for every battle. When things get kind of slow, don't have a poor mouth. I don't know how I'm going to make it. My business is just so down. Gas is so high. No, just turn it around. Father, I want to thank you that you're supplying all of my needs. I know you're Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, my provider. You said you would prosper me even in the desert. When you do that, you better get your umbrella out. I can hear the sound of an abundance of rain. Not a trickle, not a little mist, not a sprinkle here and there. Let's send up the kind of praise that causes a downpour. You know what a downpour is? You've been out on the freeway before. It rains so hard you practically have to pull over, you can't see anything. That's what God wants to do in every one of your lives. Pour out blessings that you cannot contain. He wants to rain down so much favor, so much opportunity, so many good breaks that you don't have just enough for yourself. But you're into overflow. You're running over with the goodness of God. That's what Victoria and I have seen. People told us we'd never get this facility. We'd never get the compact Center. Too many obstacles. We just kept thanking God for His goodness, thanking him that his gracious hand of favor was upon us. And sure enough, it rained down favor right back. And here we are today, seeing God's goodness. And I say this humbly, but Victoria and I, we've been running over with God's blessings. Running over with good family, running over with good friends, a good church, running over with joy. We've learned if we can just stay under that cloud then that increase would just continue to rain back down. It all starts by living a life of excellence that honors Almighty God. But then you have to have a big vision. You've got to do like little Christopher and know that God is bigger than any of your obstacles. If God was big enough to put the dream in your heart, he is big enough to bring it to pass. You need to start thanking God every day. Father, I believe I'm going to see your favor in ways that I've never imagined. I know you can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all I've dreamed of. So, Father, I'm thanking you for your unprecedented favor. When you do that, your cloud is filling up. Not with ordinary blessings, not with get by provision. That cloud is filling up with running over favor. Running over increase, running over blessings. And I know sometimes our mind will tell us, how's it ever going to happen? How are you ever going to accomplish your dreams? Let's learn to answer back. Just like Nehemiah. The gracious hand of God is upon me. How are you going to get out of debt? The gracious hand of God. How are you going to get well? I saw the medical report. No, I've got another report. It says God's gracious hand is upon me. What I'm saying is it doesn't have to happen in our own strength, our own intellect, our own ability. It's going to happen because God's breathing in our direction. When God breathes your way, supernatural doors are going to open up. When God breathes his favor, you'll get promoted. Even though others had more seniority. You'll qualify for that new home even though you really shouldn't have been approved. What is that? That's the favor of Almighty God raining down in your life. I don't know about you, but I'm expecting some downpours in the coming days. I'm expecting the heavens to open up for us to see favor like we've never seen it before. Let's do our part and keep our cloud filled up. Develop this lifestyle of thanksgiving. Go around all day Meditating on God's goodness. When you're in a dry time, in a famine, kick your praise into a new gear, form some new clouds. Learn to open your mouth wide and God will fill it. Remember, what you send up is going to come back down. When that cloud gets so full, it's going to release back on you. And some of you, you are so close you don't realize it. But just a few more times of giving God praise, a few more times of thanking him, expecting his favor, that's going to be the one that causes the cloud to burst open for God to pour out blessings that you cannot contain. Stay in faith. God is breathing in your direction right now. He's releasing faith, favor, good ideas, creativity, making crooked places straight, fighting your battles for you. If you'll stay in this attitude of praise, then you'll live in the rain. God says you will always be in blossom. That means you'll overcome every obstacle, you'll defeat every enemy and you'll see every dream, every desire, every promise God's put in you. It will come to pass. Amen. Do you receive it today? Many people believe that God can heal. But when nothing is improving, our prayers are not being answered. It's easy to think, will God heal me? The truth is, God still loves to heal. I've witnessed God's healing power firsthand in my own family. When situations seemed impossible and medically speaking, there were no options, God stepped in and made a way. Now I'd love to send you our new devotional God Still Loves to Heal. Filled with scripture and encouragement designed to strengthen your faith and help you believe for healing even when you can't see it, God is still working. As you stand firm and declare his promises, Healing is on the way. The same God who healed in the Bible is still healing today.

A (29:54)

Your generous support is so important to help us share the message of hope and as our way of saying thank you for your gift of healing. Any amount. Pastor Joel would like to send you a copy of God still loves to heal. 70 days to receive, reflect and rest in the finished work of God. This new seasonal devotional will guide you through a weekly rhythm where you'll be encouraged by life changing insight that will strengthen and encourage you in your faith. Jesus cares about you physically, mentally and emotionally. He forgives us, delivers us and he heals us and makes us whole. With this inspiring devotional resource, you'll go on a healing journey. You'll enter into God's rest and restoration knowing his promises are true yesterday, today and forever. Receive your copy of this powerful new book and experience God's goodness and healing power. Be sure to request your copy of God Still Loves to Heal available this month by simply visiting us@joellostein.com or call 888-567 Joel.

B (31:03)

My mother was miraculously healed from terminal cancer. My sister Lisa was healed from a birth injury similar to cerebral palsy. What God did for us, he can do for you. Victoria and I are going to be praying for you this month, especially for healing for you and your family, not just physically but but mentally and emotionally that you will be completely whole. We appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity is impacting people around the world and special thank you to our Champion of Hope partners for all you do to make the ministry possible. Until we meet again. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

A (31:41)

Be sure to request your copy of God Still Loves to Heal available this month by simply visiting us@joellostein.com or call 888-567 Joel and you can fill your year with strength, peace and encouragement with the Healing and Wholeness Collection. It features God's Word for every season, a guided four part journal series to help anchor your heart to his promises. Plus God Still Loves to Heal and the blessing of taking communion together. They'll strengthen your faith, renewal your hope and remind you that Jesus still heals and restores today. You can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567 Joel or logging on to jolostein.com today. Call or click anytime 24 hours a day. Request your copies today. Few things are as uplifting as the greatest moments in sports, and nothing brings us together quite like Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games. From NBCUniversal's iconic storytelling to the innovative technology across Xfinity and Peacock, Comcast brings the Olympic Games home to America, sharing every moment with millions. When Team USA steps onto the world stage, we're not just watching, we're cheering together. This winter, we're all on the same Team Comcast, proud partner of Team usa. Hi, I'm Gabby Wendy with Long Winded. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm desperate. I'm desperate for your attention in any way possible. So listen to my podcast, won't ya? It has great insights, exceptional humor and plenty of pop culture to fill your dark souls. And some even say it's a great way to fall asleep due to my soothing voice. And I don't take that personally. Fall asleep. A listen is a listen even when you're sleeping. And a view is a view even with your eyes closed if you dare, and it doesn't take much gumption. Enjoy. Listen to Long Winded wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can set up chores, automate allowance and keep an eye on your kids spending with real time notifications. Kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely. And parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place. Sign up for Greenlight today@Greenlight.com podcast.