CHAPTER 1

Get Ready for a Shift

I was in a long line for a popular ride at an amusement park with our twochildren, Jonathan and Alexandra, years ago. At first everyone was in a singlefile, but as we moved closer to the ride we entered this small room about twentyfeet by twenty feet. We were the first inside and we walked to the front doors.As we stood there so excited, knowing that we would get the best choice ofseats, other people began crowding in behind us. I tried to politely hold ourposition at the front, but a few teenagers cleverly maneuvered ahead of us.Then, a few more, and more, and more.

We ended up being pushed all the way to the very back of the room right wherewe'd entered originally. I tried not to let it bother me. After all, we werethere to have fun. A young woman worker came out and stood before the frontdoors. She greeted everyone and said we were just about ready to board the ride.She gave us instructions for getting on.

Then she said, "Okay, we're ready to go. Now, turn around and go back out thesame doors you came in." That was right where we were standing. Suddenly, thelast were made first!

In the same way, all God has to do is shift the direction, and you'll go fromthe back to the front. One touch of His favor can put you fifty years ahead ofwhere you thought you'd be. You can be at a lower position at the office, you'regoing along, being your best, honoring God, and suddenly things can change. Onegood break, one idea, one person who likes you, and you look up and findyourself in a top job. You didn't see it coming. Things just fell into place.

What happened? You came into a shift. God can cause opportunity to find you. Hehas unexpected blessings where you suddenly meet the right person, or suddenlyyour health improves, or suddenly you're able to pay off your house. That's Godshifting things in your favor. What used to be a struggle is not a struggleanymore. What should have taken years happened in a fraction of the time. Youmay feel like you're stuck right now. You could never accomplish a dream, neverovercome a problem. It's just been too long. You've missed too manyopportunities. But God is saying, "Get ready. I'm about to shift things." Doorswill open for you that have not opened in the past. Those who were against youwill suddenly change their minds and be for you. Problems that have dogged youfor years will suddenly turn around. You are coming into a shift. Because youhave honored God, He will put you in a position you never could have attained onyour own. It's not just your education, not just your talent, or the family youcome from. It's the hand of God shifting you to a new level of your destiny.

Sometimes you need faith and victory spoken over your life. Words have createdpower. When you receive them into your spirit, they can ignite seeds of increaseon the inside. That's the reason I've written this book. You were not created tojust get by with an average, unrewarding, or unfulfilling life. God created youto leave your mark on this generation. You have gifts and talents that you havenot tapped into. There are new levels of your destiny still in front of you. Butbreak out starts in your thinking. As you put these keys into action, makingroom for increase, expecting shifts of God's favor, praying bold prayers, andkeeping the right perspective, then God will release floods of His goodness thatwill thrust you beyond barriers of the past into the extraordinary life you weredesigned to live.

I'm not just trying to make you feel good. I'm declaring, "A shift is coming." Ashift in your health. A shift in your finances. A shift in a relationship. Itmay not look like it in the natural, but we serve a supernatural God. He's aboutto breathe in your direction in a new way.

The enemies you've seen in the past you will see no more. The addictions and badhabits holding you back are being broken. God's favor is being released in a newway. It will propel you forward. What should have taken you forty years toaccomplish, God will do in a split second.

The shift is acceleration. The shift will take you where you could not have goneon your own. The shift is overcoming what a medical report said was impossible.The shift is seeing that wayward child change his mind and get back on the rightcourse. The shift is having your best year when the circumstances say you shouldhave a down year. The shift is seeing God not only provide but also doexceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond.

Your new attitude should be: "God, I'm ready. I'm taking the limits off of You.I'm enlarging my vision. I may not see a way but I know You have a way. Ideclare I'm coming into a shift."

You need to check doors that have been closed to you in the past. Things haveshifted. The dream you had to start a new business, to go back to college, totake a mission trip—it may not have happened the first time, but that'sokay. It's prepared you for this time. Don't give up. This is a new day. Thingshave shifted. Pursue your dream again.

When God breathes in your direction, people change their mind. Closed doorssuddenly open. The nos turn into yeses. Not now turnsinto It's your time.

A construction manager I know had been out of a job for three years aftertwenty-five years of steady work. He'd had a very good position at a successfulcompany, but when the recession hit and building tapered off, his company had tolet him go. He went to one job interview after another, month after month, withno success. He finally took a much lower-level position in a small city, towhich he had to travel a couple of hours every day. It was taking a toll on hishealth, his marriage, and his savings. It looked like his job situation wouldnever change. But about six months later, his former boss called and said, "Hey,are you ready to go back to work?"

His old company had landed the largest contract in its history. He not only gothis job back but also all of his benefits. He used to have to travel around thecountry. Now he gets to work in town. Plus, they increased his salarysignificantly. He said, "This is exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond."

What happened? He came into a shift. Suddenly, things changed in his favor. Onephone call. One contract. One good break. He went from barely getting by tohaving more than enough.

Now you need to get ready. These shifts are in your future.

The Israelites were enslaved for many years and mistreated by their captors.They were forced to work long hours and not given the proper rest or food. Whenthey didn't meet their quotas they were beaten with rods. It was very unfair.But one day, through a series of events, God supernaturally brought them out.The Scripture says that as they were leaving, "God caused them to have favorwith their enemies."

Notice, God caused them to have favor. The same people who had oppressedthem for years, the same foes who had pushed them down and mistreated them,suddenly changed their minds. They said in effect, "We've decided that we likeyou now. We want to be good to you."

Before they left, the captors gave the Israelites their gold, silver, andjewels. What happened? The Israelites came into a shift. God changed the mind oftheir enemy. Proverbs says God can turn the heart of a king. We may not be ableto change people's minds, but God can. He controls the whole universe.

You may have people in your life like this, some who don't like you, a boss whois hard to get along with, or a family member who is disrespectful. It's easy tobecome discouraged and to think, "This will always be this way. They will alwaysbe against me."

No, stay in faith. God has a shift coming. God knows how to cause them to likeyou. God can cause them to see you in a new light. They may have been againstyou year after year, but when God shifts things they'll go out of their way tobe good to you. Instead of hindering you, they'll help you.

Bottom line: God will not allow any person to keep you from your destiny. Theymay be bigger, stronger, or more powerful, but God knows how to shift thingsaround and get you to where you're supposed to be.

I have a friend who worked for someone he never liked. Nobody at the companyliked this young supervisor, who was condescending and a source of frustrationyear after year. At first, it looked like this young man could be supervising atthis company for another twenty or thirty years. My friend has a good attitude,but deep down he thought, "Putting up with this guy for a long time will be areal pain. I don't know if I can take it."

Then, one morning he arrived at work, and management called a staff meeting.They explained that the young supervisor's wife had been transferred to anotherstate for her job. The unpopular supervisor had resigned that morning.

Half the staff fell on their knees and offered a prayer of thanks to God! Whathappened? A divine shift. Suddenly, God changed things.

Quit worrying about those trying to hold you back. God knows how to move thewrong people out of your life and bring the right people in. And even if Goddoesn't move them, it says in Psalms, "You can run through a troop and leap overa wall."

God can cause you to go over them, or around them, or even through them, but Godwill get you to where you're supposed to be. The truth is, you are one shiftfrom seeing a dream come to pass. One shift from paying your house off. Oneshift from seeing your health improve. One shift from meeting the right person.

It says in Isaiah: "This is God's year to act." Not next year. Not five years.Not in the Sweet By and By. This is the year God will shift things in yourfavor. He is lining it all up. What you could not make happen on your own, Godwill cause you to accomplish. It will be bigger than you thought. It will happenquicker than you imagined, and it will be more rewarding than you ever dreamedpossible.

In Genesis 48, there is a story of Jacob when he was an old man very close todeath. His son Joseph came to visit him and say his good-byes. He and his fatherwere very close. Joseph was Jacob's favorite child. He was the youngest son. Youmay remember him as the child to whom Jacob gave the coat of many colors.

At one point Jacob thought Joseph was dead. The father was very sad until hefound out Joseph was alive and living in Egypt. They reunited just as Jacob wasabout to pass. Joseph was standing before him with his two sons, Manasseh andEphraim, Jacob's grandsons.

Jacob said, "Joseph, I will bless your sons as if they were my own children."

The right hand in those days always gave the greatest blessing. It belonged tothe firstborn son. That was the tradition. So Joseph put his oldest son,Manasseh, in front of Jacob's right hand and his younger son, Ephraim, on hisleft.

Jacob was nearly blind. When he went to give the blessing Jacob crossed hishands and put his right on the younger son, Ephraim, and his left on Manasseh,the older son.

Joseph said, "No, Dad. You can't see. I had them lined up. I put Manasseh infront of your right hand. He deserves it. Give him the greater blessing."

Then Jacob said something very interesting. It gives us insight into our God. Hesaid, "No, Joseph. I've crossed my hands on purpose. Ephraim may have comesecond, he may have been in the back, he may not deserve it. He didn't qualifyfor it. He is not next in line, but I'm shifting him to a new position. I'mtaking him from the back up to the front. I will give him what he doesn'tdeserve."

That's the way our God is. He has shifts in your future that will put you inpositions you didn't earn, you didn't qualify for, or weren't next in line toreceive. Maybe you didn't have seniority, but God, just like He did withEphraim, will cross His hands and say, "I will move them up from the back to thefront, from not being qualified to suddenly being qualified, from being lookeddown on or disrespected to being honored and seen with influence andcredibility."

When you move up some people will be bothered by it. They'll think: "That's notfair. I worked harder. I have more seniority." But the fact is, it's just thegoodness of God. He said because you honor Him, He would give you houses thatyou didn't have to build. You would reap from vineyards you did not plant.

That's God crossing His hands, giving you what should have taken years to earn.God is saying to you what Jacob said to Ephraim, "I will bless you on purpose. Iwill move you up. I will accelerate your dreams. I will give you what you didn'tdeserve. I'll shift you into a position you could never have reached on yourown."

We can all make excuses: "Joel, this is not for me today. I'm not qualified.I've made too many mistakes. I don't have the talent, the size, the personality,the confidence."

God says: "I know all that. I created you, but I'm about to cross My hands andbless you in such a way that everyone will know it's Me and not you." Now don'ttalk yourself out of it.

Moses said, "God, not me. I stutter. I can't go speak to Pharaoh."

God said, "Moses, don't worry about it. I'm crossing My hands. I'm giving youwhat you need."

Gideon said, "God, I come from the poorest family. I'm the least one aroundhere. I can't lead this army."

God said, "Gideon, don't worry. I'm crossing My hands. You're coming into ashift. I will move you from the back to the front."

David could have said, "God, I'm too small, too young, too inexperienced.There's a whole army of talented, successful, confident warriors who can faceGoliath."

And God would have said, "David, I know that. I could have chosen them, but I'mcrossing My hands. I'm moving you up from the background to the foreground, fromthe shepherd field to the battlefield, all the way to the throne."

Esther could have said, "God, I can't go in there and speak to the king. He willnot listen to me. I'm an orphan. I don't have any influence."

And God would have said, "Esther, don't worry. I've got you covered. I'mcrossing My hands. I will give you respect, credibility, honor that you didn'tdeserve, you didn't work for."

A shift is coming! Whatever level you are at now, God is about to cross Hishands and put you in a position you never could have reached on your own. Hewill give you what you weren't in line to receive.

Why don't you start expecting unprecedented favor, believing for God to dosomething new in your life? I know you can say like me that God has been good toyou. You're blessed and healthy and you have a good family and a great job, andthat's all perfect. But I can tell you that you haven't seen anything yet!

God has shifts in your future that if He showed you now you wouldn't believe.It's exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond. You think you're hitting on allcylinders, but if you only knew what God has in store. It's like you're insecond gear. You're making progress. You're healthy. You're moving forward. ButGod is about to shift you out of second, past third, past fourth, intooverdrive. You will see the surpassing greatness of God's favor.

Because you've honored God and lived with excellence and integrity, God willtake you beyond your training, beyond your education, beyond your income, beyondwhere anyone in your family has gone before you. This shift will put you at aplace where you look back and say, "Wow, God. You have amazed me with Yourgoodness."

When the Israelites were in the desert headed toward the Promised Land they hadmanna to eat each day. It was similar to bread. After a while they grew tired ofit. They complained to Moses that they didn't have any meat to eat. Moses toldGod about their concerns. God said, "Moses, I will give you meat not for one dayor five days or twenty days, but for a whole month."

Moses said, "God, that's impossible. There are two million people out here. Evenif we butchered all of our flocks, all of our herds, we wouldn't have that muchmeat."

God replied, "Moses, is there any limit to My power?"

He was saying, "Just because you don't see a way, Moses, doesn't mean Idon't have a way. All I have to do is shift a few things around and I can bringit to pass."

That's what God did. Numbers 11:31 says, "God shifted the wind and brought quailin from the sea and caused it to fall into their camp."

Notice how good God is to His children. They didn't even have to go out and huntor fish. The quail came to them. They just went out of their tent and picked upas many as they wanted.

What am I saying? God knows how to shift things so that blessings come to you.The right people search you out. Good breaks find you.