God Moves Fast | Joel Osteen

[0:00]The same God that will take you little by little, at times will accelerate things. You can't explain it, doesn't make sense, but suddenly he thrusts you ahead. All the circumstances may say, it's going to take a long time to get out of that legal problem. For your child to get back on course, to meet the right person. What you can't see is God has already lined up these moments where he's going to do a quick work. Where suddenly you meet the right person, suddenly the problem resolves, suddenly your child comes back home. And when you're in a waiting season and you don't see anything improving, it's easy to get discouraged, feel like God has forgotten about you, no stay in faith, your time is coming. God sees you doing the right thing when it's hard. He sees you being your best even though you've been overlooked. He hears you thanking Him even though you feel stuck, you are showing God that you trust Him. We all go through these waiting seasons, but here's the good news, those seasons are not permanent. There is a harvest season coming. A time where God will make things happen fast. A sudden shift. You couldn't make it happen, it's the hand of God speeding things up, moving you into your purpose. The right attitude is, God, I'm going to trust you in the waiting season, when you're taking me little by little. But, Lord, I believe you have these acceleration moments, these times where you'll do a quick work. A sudden breakthrough that thrusts me into my destiny. This is what happened with Elijah. The Israelites got off course and started worshipping other gods. The King of Israel, Ahab, married a woman from Phoenicia. They worshipped the god Baal. They believe Baal controlled the weather, rain, clouds and sun. God sent Elisha to King Ahab, chapter 17, he said, As the Lord God of Israel lives, there will be no rain and no dew on the ground for years. Since they had forsaken Jehovah, there was going to be a drought. Of course, water was a necessity in that area, for their crops, for their animals, that's how they survived. God told Elijah to not go back home but to go to the Brook Cherith and live there. It's significant that Elijah was in a drought caused by other people's poor choices. He had to leave his home and hide by the brook because someone else did wrong. And sometimes other people's actions have caused us trouble. We're in a drought because they wouldn't do right. But look at how good God is. God told Elijah to go to the Brook and he would command the ravens to feed him there. Even though there was no food, no provision, every morning these ravens brought food in their beaks and dropped it off to him. This was delivery before door dash. This was God taking care of his people. I always thought the ravens were the food, that the birds came like quail in the desert, where the Israelites ate the quail, well Elijah would eat the ravens, but this was different. The ravens weren't the meal, they brought food to him. When you honor God, he will take care of you. Other people may have put you at a disadvantage. They made choices that caused you trouble and heartache. Now you're in a drought, don't worry, God will have the ravens find you. He'll provide in a supernatural way. You keep doing the right thing. Keep honoring him when others are compromising, taking the easy way out, worshipping other gods. They're not going to stop your destiny. People are not your source, God is your source. He controls the universe. If he has to have birds bring you food, so to speak, unusual provision, uncommon opportunity, he knows how to take care of you. When Elijah declared this drought, he didn't have time to prepare for it. He couldn't run down to Costco, stock up his shelves. This was a surprise to him. An unexpected storm. When you face things that you didn't see coming, stay in peace, God has you covered. He's going to send ravens your way. He's going to have the provision come to you. David said, I was young and now I'm old, and I've never once seen the righteous forsaken. When you honor God, you are connected to a supply line that will never run dry. The economy is not your source. Your company, your boss, sure we're grateful for employment, but they're not your source. Your 401K, your stocks, no God is your source. He makes streams in the desert. He brought a coin out of a fish for Peter. He brought water out of a rock, manna in the desert, he knows how to take care of you. This drought went on, not for a month, not for a year, but for three and a half years. You never read where Elijah complained, God, why did this happen? He wanted to be out ministering, performing miracles, but he's hiding by the Brook. Eventually he moved to a widow's house where she took care of him. He's in a waiting season, a holding pattern. He's not seeing the promise, he's just being sustained. What you do in the waiting seasons will determine whether you get stuck there or you see God step in and accelerate things. Sitting in that drought, no sign of things changing. Elijah said in verse 41, I hear the sound of an abundance of rain. He heard something in his spirit that contradicted what he saw with his eyes. All the circumstances is, there's no rain. You're in a drought, everything is dead. But faith is believing what you're hearing and not what you're seeing. God will speak things to your heart, but there's no sign of it. All the circumstances say you're not going to get well, but inside you hear, I am restoring health back to you. Your business may be slow. You don't see how you can get ahead, but inside you hear, you will lend and not borrow. It looks like your child's never going to get back on course, but that still small voice says, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Now the key is don't let what you see talk you out of what you've heard. You have to believe what God promised you and not what the circumstances are telling you. Elijah went on top of Mount Carmel and began to thank God for rain that was coming. Thanking him for something that he couldn't see. He asked his assistant to go to the other side of the mountain to look and see if there were any signs of rain. He came back, No Elijah, not a cloud in the sky. It's perfectly clear. Elijah didn't say, man, I must have heard God wrong. I don't think this drought will ever end. But he kept believing. He kept praying. He told the assistant to go check again. He went out and came back with the same negative report six times. Nothing has changed. Elijah could have let the facts talk him out of it, no sign of rain. Been this way a long time, but he had the assistant go check again. On the seventh time, he said, this time Elijah, I saw a little cloud in the sky just about the size of a man's hand. That's all Elijah needed, a little sign, a little breakthrough. He told King Ahab, you better get in your chariot and get down this mountain as fast as you can. There's about to be an abundance of rain. Verse 45, the message translation says, things happened fast. The sky grew black with clouds, there was a mighty rainstorm. Wasn't like these clouds rolled in over a few days. The weather got a little overcast, more cloudy, over time this big storm. No, things happened fast. These clouds didn't drift in, they formed overhead. One moment it was sunny and blue, the next moment there was an abundance of rain. You may have situations where like Elijah, all the circumstances says, you're not going to get well. You're just like you were a year ago. You're not going to get out of debt or break the addiction, nothing has changed. You're still single, still have that child breaking your heart, still no closer to your dream. Can I encourage you, things are going to happen fast. You can't see it coming. There's no sign of it happening. That doesn't mean God is not going to do it. He's going to accelerate the process. He doesn't have to have clouds blow in, the sky get dark, a traditional way. It's going to be supernatural. Something you can't explain, a sudden breakthrough, a quick work.