Dare to Believe for Greater Things

I was reading in "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Osteen, and on
page 76 under the heading "Dare to Believe for Greater Things",
the following spoke loud and clear to me:

"God said to Abraham, 'I'm going to bless you so that you can be
a blessing'  God is saying that same thing to you.  He wants to
bless you with abundance, so you can turn around and be a
blessing to other people."

"Maybe you have endured terrible disappointments.  Unspeakable
negative things may have happened to you, to the point that you
have ceased believing for anything good to occur in your life.
You've lost your dreams.  You are drifting through life, taking
whatever comes your way.  You may be tempted to tell yourself,
'I've been living this way too long.  I'm never going to get any
better.  I've prayed, I've believed, I've done everything I know
how to do.  Nothing's changed.  Nothing's worked.  I might as
well give up.'"

"I've had people tell me, 'Joel, I don't want to get my hopes
up.  I've been through so many hurts in the past.  If I don't
get my hopes up and nothing good happens to me, at least I won't
be disappointed.'"

"Friend, that attitude is contrary to God's desires for you.  No
matter how many setbacks you've suffered, God still has a great
plan for your life.  You must get your hopes up.  If you don't
have hope, you won't have faith.  And if you don't have faith,
you can't please God, and you won't see His power revealed in
your life.  Keep hope alive in your heart.  Don't ever give up
on your dreams.  Don't allow discouragement or other setbacks to
keep you from believing what God says about you."

If you are like me, then this part of the book speaks to you
loud and clear.

Friend, I am sure that God wants you to over-come.  You
need to surround yourself with those who agree and affirm that
in you daily so that you can daily affirm that in yourself.

Blessed to be a blessing,
Eric Standlee
"Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans WILL succeed."
-- Proverbs 16:3