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By Joel Osteen
I read about a ten-year-old boy who grew up in a low income home in Cincinnati. No one in his family had ever made much of their lives. They were sort of mediocre. One cold, windy day this boy was downtown standing in front of a big office tower and through the window he could see a gentleman working away in a very busy office setting. This man was sitting at a typewriter typing very fast, and there were all these people coming up handing him papers. He was giving orders left and right and keeping everything moving. For over an hour that young man stood there fascinated by the man in the window. He was so impressed at how he could handle so many different things. A few minutes later a police officer came by. The boy asked, "Officer, who is that man sitting at the desk?" The officer said, "Son, that's the editor of the Cincinnati newspaper. He's one of the most influential and respected men in our city."
That day, the young man went home with something new birthed on the inside. He told his parents that one day he was going to become an editor and work at an important newspaper. His parents didn't know what to think of his new enthusiasm because nobody in their family had ever spoken words of victory or believed that they would do something significant with their lives. Over time, that young man told how he replayed that scene every day in his mind except he saw himself sitting in that chair in the window. He was the one calling the shots. Seeing that dream come to pass fueled his determination. Every night he would say, "Father, thank You that You're bringing my dreams to pass. God, thank You that I'll become everything You created me to be." Night after night, even year after year, he just kept seeing himself in that chair, seeing himself running that company. Well, thirty years later, that young man was not only the editor and the publisher, he was now the owner of that same Cincinnati newspaper. God had done more than he could even ask or think.
I believe it all started when he let the seed take root by seeing his future through the eyes of faith. He didn't think, "I can't do that. I'm not talented enough. I don't come from the right family." No, he saw himself becoming everything God created him to be. He reinforced that image with prayer and thanksgiving, and that's a winning combination that will cause us to succeed every time. The Scripture says in Mark 11:24, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Notice, we have to believe before we receive. One of the ways we believe is through our eyes of faith. When you use your God-given imagination and set your mind in the direction of the dreams God has placed in your heart, before long, you'll see those dreams come to pass.
I read about a ten-year-old boy who grew up in a low income home in Cincinnati. No one in his family had ever made much of their lives. They were sort of mediocre. One cold, windy day this boy was downtown standing in front of a big office tower and through the window he could see a gentleman working away in a very busy office setting. This man was sitting at a typewriter typing very fast, and there were all these people coming up handing him papers. He was giving orders left and right and keeping everything moving. For over an hour that young man stood there fascinated by the man in the window. He was so impressed at how he could handle so many different things. A few minutes later a police officer came by. The boy asked, "Officer, who is that man sitting at the desk?" The officer said, "Son, that's the editor of the Cincinnati newspaper. He's one of the most influential and respected men in our city."
That day, the young man went home with something new birthed on the inside. He told his parents that one day he was going to become an editor and work at an important newspaper. His parents didn't know what to think of his new enthusiasm because nobody in their family had ever spoken words of victory or believed that they would do something significant with their lives. Over time, that young man told how he replayed that scene every day in his mind except he saw himself sitting in that chair in the window. He was the one calling the shots. Seeing that dream come to pass fueled his determination. Every night he would say, "Father, thank You that You're bringing my dreams to pass. God, thank You that I'll become everything You created me to be." Night after night, even year after year, he just kept seeing himself in that chair, seeing himself running that company. Well, thirty years later, that young man was not only the editor and the publisher, he was now the owner of that same Cincinnati newspaper. God had done more than he could even ask or think.
I believe it all started when he let the seed take root by seeing his future through the eyes of faith. He didn't think, "I can't do that. I'm not talented enough. I don't come from the right family." No, he saw himself becoming everything God created him to be. He reinforced that image with prayer and thanksgiving, and that's a winning combination that will cause us to succeed every time. The Scripture says in Mark 11:24, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Notice, we have to believe before we receive. One of the ways we believe is through our eyes of faith. When you use your God-given imagination and set your mind in the direction of the dreams God has placed in your heart, before long, you'll see those dreams come to pass.
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