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Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in today and thank you again for coming out. I like to start with something funny. And I heard about this little girl. She was sitting in her grandfather's lap. She noticed how wrinkled his face was. As she contemplated the difference between his and hers, she asked, granddaddy, did God make you? He kind of laughed and said, yes, honey, he made me a long time ago. She then asked, did God make me? He said, yes, he made you just a little while ago. Thought about it a moment, said granddaddy, God's getting better, isn't he? Hold up your Bibles. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about secret frustrations. We can be blessed in many areas with good health, good family, a good job. But then just have one thing that's not right. One temptation we can't seem to overcome. Or one thing in a relationship that's not fulfilling. Or maybe one nagging health issue. Nobody can see it. On the outside, we seem fine, but on the inside, we're frustrated. I talked to a lady last week. She volunteers as one of our prayer partners. She and her husband have been believing to have a baby for many years with no success. Every so often during the services, she'll pray for people in that same situation to have a child. And over time, again and again, they'll bring their babies back. So happy. She sees their prayers being answered, but her own prayers not being answered. She looks like she's on top of the world. She's beautiful, successful, great husband. But what you can't see is this secret frustration, that one thing she can't understand. Life is full of contradictions. You're helping other people get well, but you don't feel that well. Your co Workers are all being promoted. You're working just as hard, producing just as much, but. But nobody notices you. If we're honest, we all have these secret frustrations. Things that we know God could change. We know he could open the door, he could remove the temptation. He could give us the baby we've been dreaming about, but it's not happening. We have to realize God is a sovereign God. We're not going to understand why everything happens. There are some things that God doesn't remove. Some situations he waits a long time to change. You have to trust that he knows what's best for you. Everything that's not changing, what he's not removing. If you'll keep the right attitude, it won't work against you, it will work for you. Don't let the contradictions of life cause you to be sour. Give up on your dreams. The Apostle Paul wrote over half of the New Testament. He came from an influential family, was highly educated. God used him in incredible ways. But as effective as Paul was, he had this secret frustration. He called it a thorn in his flesh. Scholars have debated for years whether that was a physical condition, some kind of illness, or whether it was emotional, the people coming against him, the persecution. But whatever this thorn was, whatever was bothering Paul, he asked God three times to remove it. One version says he implored God to take it away. That means he gave it his best argument. God, you know I'm being my best, serving you, writing all these books. The least you could do is heal me. If anybody had pull with God, it would have been Paul. But what's interesting is God didn't remove the thorn. He said, paul, my grace is sufficient for you. My power shows up best in weakness. Is there something you've been imploring God to change? Situation in your health, your finances, a relationship. You've asked again and again. Nothing's improving. I'm not saying to give up and settle there. What I'm saying is, until God removes it, don't let it steal your joy. Don't let it sour your life. You have the grace to be there. The right attitude is, I'm not going to let this secret frustration, this thorn in my flesh, so to speak, falling, frustrate me anymore. God, I believe your grace is sufficient now. I know at the right time you'll change it. But even if you don't change it, I'm still going to be my best and honor you. You have to make up your mind that if your spouse never changes, if your health never improves, if you have to put up with that grouchy boss the rest of your life. You are not going to complain. You're not going to use it as an excuse to slack off. You're going to tap into this grace. It is sufficient for you. Now, here's the key. Don't stay focused on the frustration. If Paul would have gone around thinking, God, why won't you remove this thorn? Why won't you change my child? Why won't you help my business grow? If he would have stayed focused on the whys of life, he would have never fulfilled his destiny. Faith is trusting God when life doesn't make sense. A man named Smith Wigglesworth was one of the great ministers of the early 1900s. He would have large meetings where he would see hundreds of people healed, all kinds of miracles. But most of Wigglesworth's life, he suffered from kidney stones. Many times he would leave the services in pain that he couldn't walk, had to go home, lay on the floor hour after hour, try to get some kind of relief. Here. He had just seen all these great miracles, but he didn't receive his own miracle. He could have gotten bitter. God, this is not fair. You healed them. Why don't you heal me? No. He had this attitude, your grace is sufficient for every situation. Even when I don't understand it, even when it doesn't make sense. God, I trust you. I'm not going to let this secret frustration keep me from my destiny. If you're going to reach your highest potential, you can't be a weakling. You have to be a warrior. There will be things you don't understand, things that don't make sense. But God knows what he's doing. His ways are better than our ways. He is the potter. We are the clay. When it's time to be removed, he will remove it. Until then, dig your heels in and fight the good fight of faith. You have the grace you need for every situation. When Jesus healed the man that had been crippled for 38 years there by the pool of Bethesda, he told him to get up, take up his bed and walk. I believe it was significant that he asked him to take his bed with him. He didn't need it anymore, after all. But God was saying, this thing that's held you back, this thing that's kept you from being your best for so many years, I want you to take it with you as a reminder of what I've done in your life. Even though he couldn't walk, even though he didn't need the bed, He. It remained A part of his life. It was a contradiction. I'm healed, I'm healthy, I can walk, but I've still got my bed. Can imagine him going to help someone else that was struggling. They look at him and say, how can you help me? You've still got the bed. You're still carrying around that thing that held you back. He said, no, it's not what you think. It's not a limitation to slow me down. It's a testimony of what God has done in my life. This bed may look like a liability, but really it's an asset. Every time I see it, it reminds me to give God praise. It reminds me where he brought me from. It reminds me that if he did it for me once, he can do it for me again. What am I saying? Even though God frees you from certain things, you may still have your bed. You may still be tempted in that same area. The weakness, the limitation, may not totally go away. One reason God doesn't remove the bed totally. Not to slow you down, give you an excuse to go back, but rather to remind you of where you came from. That bed is not there to discourage you, but to inspire you. I've been ministering now for close to 15 years. And when I started, I was so nervous and intimidated. I was insecure and I didn't really feel qualified. And over the last few years, of course, I've grown, become more confident. But the truth is, God didn't make me into a different person. When I get up here, you may not see it, but I still have my bed. Those weaknesses, those. Those limitations come back from time to time. But I don't see them the same way. They don't intimidate me. They remind me of my dependency on God. Another reason God doesn't totally remove the bed. Because if you think you can do it all on your own, you got it all figured out. You don't need his help. Before long, you'll be right back to where you were. But if you'll see the weakness, the temptation, as a reminder to ask God for His help, to show your dependency on him, then you will continue to rise higher in spite of what comes against you. Now I can say I've got my bed, but I'm the pastor of the church. Got my bed, but I'm living healthy, happy, victoriously. The Old Testament. God told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let the people go. And Moses said, God, how will he know that you sent me? I don't come from an influential family. What makes you think Pharaoh is Going to listen to me. God told Moses to throw his staff on the ground. When he did, it turned into a snake. He picked it back up and it turned back into a staff. He told him to put his arm in his coat. And when he pulled it out, it was filled with leprosy. Put it in, pulled it back out, it was clean as can be. God was showing him these signs so he would go in with confidence, knowing that Pharaoh would listen to him. But Moses had another concern. He said, God, I can't stand before Pharaoh. I stutter. I've got a problem with my speech. You would think since God just showed him these great miraculous signs, God would simply touch his tongue, make him normal, take away the stuttering. But God didn't do that. He didn't remove the problem. He was saying to Moses what he said to Paul. My power shows up best in weaknesses. And Moses, if I needed to remove that stuttering so that you could fulfill your destiny, I would have removed it. Are you waiting for God to remove something before you can be happy? Before you can pursue a dream? Before you can finish school? If God hasn't removed it, it's not an accident. You don't have to put your life on hold because you have a secret frustration. You have everything you need to fulfill your destiny. The scripture talks about how we have treasure in these earthen vessels. All of us have imperfections in our clay vessels. In other words, there's probably at least one thing that God is not removing that we could easily be irritated by. Live frustrated. Joel. If I didn't have this back pain or have to struggle with this weight issue, didn't I have this co worker that gets on my nerves, this legal problem? Or how about if I hadn't have gone through a bad childhood? The divorce, the hurt, the pain. Whatever your thorn is, God is saying to us. What he said to Paul. My grace is sufficient. Quit fighting it. Quit letting it steal your joy. When it's time to be removed, God will remove it. Until then, tap into this grace. God, my life is in your hands. You know what I want. You know my dreams. You know what's bothering me. I may not understand it, it may not make sense, but God, I trust you. Here's the key. If God is not removing it, it's not an accident. There is a reason Paul thought the thorn in his flesh was to keep him from being puffed up and too proud. Maybe that was true. Only God knows. But that secret frustration may just be a time of testing where you have to prove to God that you're going to be content and do your best even though it's not going your way. You're going to keep giving even though you're not receiving. You're going to keep honoring him even though you're not seeing things change. God could be using that to grow you up and develop your character. Some things we can only learn through experience. Can't learn through reading a book, listening to a message. The scripture says our faith is tried in the fire of affliction. That's where our spiritual muscles are developed. You can't get stronger if you're not put under any pressure. You have to work out, exercise your faith. It may not be comfortable, you may not like it, but if you'll stick with it, it's not working against you, it's working for you. You're growing, you're coming up higher, you're getting prepared for new levels. See, you can't be promoted without preparation. God won't give you a 100 pound blessing if he knows you can only lift 50 pounds. If he gave you the 100 pounds, it wouldn't be a blessing, it would be a burden. Wouldn't help you, it would hurt you. He's got to get you prepared. Your gifts can take you to a certain level, but if you don't have the character to match, you won't stay there very long. And character is developed in the tough times when we're not getting our way but we keep doing the right thing. Like Paul, we've asked God a lot more than three times to remove it. God, get this person out of my life. That gets on my nerves. God, give me that child. God, change my spouse while God is changing it, until he removes it. If you will stay in faith, not get bitter, not give up on your dreams, here's the beauty. Even if the situation doesn't change, you will change. God is growing you up, getting you prepared for new levels of your destiny. Now I've learned your character is more important than your talent. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have strong character, you're not going to go very far. We can all trust God in the good times. That's easy. I'm asking you, can you trust him with the secret frustrations, the things that are not changing? You prayed and believed, but he's not removing it. The question is not only can you trust God, but more importantly, can God trust you? Will you pass the test? Stay in faith even when you don't understand it. My parents started Lakewood Church with 90 people in 1959. A few years later, my father put somebody else in charge so he could leave the church and travel the world. He would go hold these large crusades, 50,000 people in other countries. He was living his dream. Life was good. But around 1966, he knew he was supposed to come back and pastor Lakewood once again. My mom said, john, when Houston hears your back, they're going to come out by the thousands. Well, Houston heard, but Houston didn't care. They stayed away by the thousands. Now, instead of speaking to big crowds like my dad was used to, he was speaking to these 90 people three times a week, year after year. He thought, God, I know I have more in me. Being my best, I'm honoring you. But nothing's changing. I'm not seeing any growth. A secret frustration. But what my father didn't realize is something was changing. Not the size of the congregation. He was changing. He was developing character. He was proving to God that he would be faithful in the tough times. If you're not faithful in the wilderness, how can God trust you to be faithful in the promised land? My father on the outside was happy, gave his best to those 90 people. But deep down, he had to deal with this secret frustration. 1972, it was like God opened up a faucet. People started coming to Lakewood from all over the city. Grew and grew to a church of thousands, still growing today. But maybe, like my father, you're doing the right thing, but not seeing any growth, not being promoted, it's frustrating. It may not look like anything's happening on the outside, but if you'll keep being your best, something is happening on the inside. God is changing you. He's growing you up. He's getting you prepared. Now keep doing the right thing. Keep being good to other people. Keep having that spirit of excellence. Too many people let these see secret frustrations cause them to get bitter, give up on their dreams, lose their passion. Recognize it's a test. If you will stay in faith, God will get you to where you're supposed to be. Genesis, chapter 29. There's the story of two sisters, Rachel and Leah. When a young man named Jacob saw Rachel, he fell head over heels for her. It was love at first sight. You see, Rachel was extremely attractive. The scripture says she was beautiful in every way, with a lovely face and a shapely figure. Let me tell you, when God says, you're fine, you are bad to the bone. Rachel had it going on. Jacob, he didn't even think twice. He went straight to her. Dad Laban and said, can I marry your daughter? Laban said, yes, you can. But you have to first work for me. For seven years. He worked those seven years, was so excited. But Laban tricked Jacob at the wedding. In those days, they wore very thick veils. You couldn't tell who was in there. And of course he thought it was Rachel, but in fact it was Leah. The scripture says Leah had weak eyes and was dull looking. I'm not sure what weak eyes means, but I know what dull looking is. I've got a brother named Paul. I couldn't resist. No offense to Leah, but Rachel got the looks in the family. At the wedding, Jacob had a little too much to drink. He woke up the next morning, looked over in bed and. And there was weak eyes staring back at him. He nearly passed out. He ran to Laban's house. What do you mean? This is not the deal we cut. I wanted Rachel, not Leah. He said, I understand, Jacob, but it's our custom that the oldest daughter has to get married off first. Work for me another seven years and I'll let you marry Rachel. He did it. Finally got to marry her. Love makes you do dumb things. But I'm sure when people saw Rachel around town, so beautiful, so friendly, they thought, that's one blessed woman. She's so stunning. She has a husband that adores her. She comes from a good family. But what they couldn't see was Rachel had a secret frustration. Her dream was to have a baby. But she was barren. She couldn't conceive. Year after year, no baby. I can hear her every night. God, please give me a child. Please remove this barrenness. God, I want a baby. On the other hand, her sister Leah gave Jacob one son after another. Four boys. Strong, handsome, good looking. Life was good for Leah. She was seeing a dream come to pass. A healthy family. But Leah too had a secret frustration. The scripture says that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. I can hear Leah every night. God, why won't my husband love me more? The point is, everyone is dealing with something. Whether you're a Rachel blessed in this area or Aaliyah blessed in this area. There will be things that can frustrate you. Things that you don't understand, things that God is not removing. You have to make up your mind. You are not going to let it sour your life. Do what you can. Trust God to do what you can't. The right attitude. If this never changes, if I never have a child, I'm still going to be happy. If my marriage never improves, I'm still not going to be sour if I see somebody that's more talented, more beautiful, has more. Not going to be envious, jealous. I'm at peace with who I am. When you stay in peace. Not trying to figure out why they could have the baby, why she's more beautiful, why her husband loves her more. No, let that go. You're never going to understand it. If you'll live in peace, God will remove what needs to be removed. He will change what needs to be changed. This is what happened with Rachel. Years later, God removed the barrenness. She had a son named Joseph. That secret frustration was taken away. For most of my father's life he struggled with high blood pressure. He was constantly trying to find new medicine to control it. Many times the side effects would make him feel bad. Nobody knew the scripture more than my dad. Nobody had any more faith. But for some reason God didn't take it away. But I never heard my father complain. His attitude was, God, I'm going to be my best whether you heal me from this high blood pressure or whether you don't. He had a made up mind. Toward the end of his life, the medicine would make him dizzy. He couldn't sleep a lot of nights. But he would come in on Sundays, preach his heart out. Nobody even knew it. He could have thought, God, I've served you for over 50 years. Let least you can do is answer my prayer. No, he didn't let the secret frustration keep him from his destiny. He trusted God when it didn't make sense. When he was 77 years old, he had to go on dialysis and he couldn't sleep. One night he called my brother in law Gary and asked if he'd come over and visit with him. Around one in the morning they were talking and Gary asked my father what he thought difficulties he was going through. My dad said, gary, I don't understand it all, but I know this. His mercy endures forever. Those were the last words my father ever spoke. A few seconds later he had a heart attack. Went to be with the Lord. But I love the fact that even though God didn't remove it, Daddy didn't get bitter. He died in faith. Whatever secret frustration you're facing, you have to make this decision like my father, that even if it never changes, you're going to keep believing. We too are going to die in faith. This is what three teenagers did in the scripture. They wouldn't bow down to the king's golden idol. He was so furious he was going to have them thrown into a fiery furnace. They said, king, we're not worried. We know our God will deliver us. But even if he doesn't, we're still not going to bow down. That's the key. Believe for your dreams. Believe for God to turn the situation around. Then take it one step further. Even if it doesn't happen my way, even if I don't get delivered God, I'm still going to be happy. God, if you turn it around, I'm going to give you praise. And if you don't turn it around, I'm still going to give you praise. You live like that and all the forces of darkness cannot stop you. Friends, don't let these secret frustrations keep you from your destiny. Have a new perspective. You have the grace you need for every situation. If God is not removing it, there's a reason. Don't try to figure it out. Trust him. If you do this, I believe and declare God is going to change what needs to be changed. He's going to remove what needs to be removed. You're going to rise higher, overcome obstacles and become everything God's created you to be. In Jesus name, if you receive it, can you say Amen today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take you places that you've never dreamed. When we face challenges, it's easy to feel like God has forgotten about us. We don't see anything happening and thoughts tell us it's not going to work out. But God is not called the Great I was or the great I will be. He's called the Great I Am. In my new book, He Is, I Am. You'll discover that God is with you in every area of your life. I am is always in the present, not at a later time. God is working in your life right now. I am Means. I am your healer. I am your provider. I am your waymaker. Whether you're facing a challenge or pursuing your dreams, stay in faith. The great I Am is right there with you.