Steven Furtick - Trust God to Restore It
This is an excerpt from: Timing Your Testimony
Let me give you another word: yet. «I don’t have it yet. I haven’t found a way to get set free from this yet. I don’t see how it’s going to work out yet». Timing your testimony. Don’t tell it too early, because you don’t know what God is going to do in chapter 8. The timing of God is so amazing. Every time you tell yourself a story about the things God did then and bring it into the presence of what you need him to do now… He said, «Give her back what belongs to her». Say it out loud. «Peace belongs to me. I am a child of God. Joy belongs to me. I am a child of God. Freedom is my inheritance. I am a child of God. I belong because I believe. I am a child of God».
Tell yourself that story. Preach the gospel to yourself. If Gehazi can rehearse the great things God has done, who was a leper and a scoundrel, can’t you? Can you trust God’s timing enough to give him the mic and believe what he speaks? Though the vision tarry, wait for it, for it has an appointed time. It’s taking me awhile to understand God’s timing is created to increase my trust in him, whether that’s the fourth watch of the night or whether that’s the fourth day after I have lost something I love. God gives you these little gifts. What are yours?
Have you told anybody that part of your story or are you so consumed with your present struggle you have stopped rehearsing your past victories? I know I’ve told you this before, but can I tell you one thing that happened to me? Do y’all remember me telling you in 2016 how I was on vacation with the family near Charleston and went over to the farmers' market? Yeah, you know this story. All right. Well, I’m going to tell it for somebody else. It’s too good not to tell you. I’m at the farmers' market with Holly because she dragged me there. I don’t go to farmers' markets of my own volition. But I went, not knowing why. The whole family was there. This girl comes walking over to us from… She had a bakery stand at the farmers' market. She was so nice. Her name was Addie Mae. She came up and said, «I want to give your family some sugar». To get the kids hyper. She said, «I love your podcast. Can I get a picture»?
I was more than happy to do that, but at the same time I looked like a bum, so I was kind of worried I wouldn’t look too good in the selfie. She said something I thought was kind of weird. She said, «My pastor is going to be so jealous». I said, «That we met»? She said, «Yeah. He loves you». I said, «Tell your pastor I said hi. What’s his name»? She said his name. I said, «That’s great. Tell him I said hi». She said, «I’m going to go tell him right now. I’m going to go call him». And she called him. She came back over with the cupcakes because we were about to leave. She said, «My pastor said we actually invited you to preach at our church this week about a year ago and your office declined because they said you were on family vacation».
I was like, «Well, they weren’t lying. I’m right here on family vacation». She said, «All the same, you should come over to our holy convocation this week». I said, «No, I said vacation, not convocation. This is a holy vacation. Let me tell you, it’s a whole different rhythm». But just to be polite, or whatever, I took the dates. She wrote it out on a card, the church name, all this stuff. I’m telling you this story for a reason. I promise I am. The Lord told me to tell you this story. Sometimes I have to do this just to remember, because I have moments where I wonder, «Is God really ordering my steps or is this random»?
I have to tell myself these stories of times where God made at the right moment… Can you remember one where God brought at the right moment…? Raise your hand if you can remember one. Just even one. That’s a testimony, and we overcome the Enemy by the blood of the Lamb (that’s what Jesus has done) and the word of our testimony. Remember what Graham said: «There is only so much God can do». Yes, he can do anything, but he will not tell your testimony for you. That is your story. That is your testimony. That is your choice to believe. So, she writes down the name of the church, and she says, «On this night so-and-so is speaking, on that night so-and-so is speaking, and this night so-and-so is speaking». The last one she put on my card, I think on the Friday night… She said, «This guy is speaking,» and I had always wanted to hear him preach.
All of a sudden, I’m like, «Well, maybe I will go over there,» and I’m kind of glad I met her. I had somebody in my office call over to the church and see if that pastor was coming on that night, and he was. The pastor said he wanted us to meet and hang out. Whatever. That’s not the point. Let me get to the point. The day I’m going to go over to the church comes, and I get a text from my assistant that says, «The pastor who was going to come can’t come. He had a back injury». I’m telling you, the voice of God is much louder than a shout. With a shout you can put some AirPods in and noise cancel, but when God speaks to you, you can’t do anything with it. Either obey it or be miserable. In that moment, I knew, «You need to call that pastor that Addie Mae gave you the card and offer to go over there and preach tonight».
So, I’m going through my mind… It has been two or three weeks since I’ve been in my own pulpit. I’m like, «I don’t know that I remember any Bible verses,» because I don’t always read the Bible every day on vacation. I’m like, «Well, I’ll call, and it’ll be like… I’ll just put out a fleece like Gideon, Lord». In fact, first I said, «I’ll get my assistant to call,» and the Lord was like, «No, you do it». So I’m like, «Oh, I don’t know the number of the church. I just know the name». The Lord said, «Google». I call the church. The pastor doesn’t answer. Nobody answers. I leave some message, and I’m like, «Okay, Lord. I offered Isaac on the altar and you didn’t want him. I’m going back to the beach».
I leave this weird message on the phone. I say, «Hey, this is Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church. I’m out here on vacation. I met a girl named Addie Mae, and I heard your speaker canceled tonight. I was just calling to see if you needed a preacher, or whatever, but I’m sure you don’t, so, uh, have a nice day, and God bless. Ephesians 3:20». So I hang up. About the time I can get my beach attire back on… I’m headed out to the beach. The phone rings, and it’s the pastor. He said, «This is Steven Furtick»? I said, «Yes, sir». He said his name, and he said, «You really will come preach for us tonight»? I said, «Yeah, I guess, but I have to tell you, I have no convocation clothes. I’m out here on vacation with my family. I look like Tom Hanks on day 81 with Wilson out here, so it’s just going to have to be». I said, «The dressiest thing I have is Yeezys». He said, «I’ll wear my Yeezys too if you’ll come». I said, «I’ll come. I don’t know what I’ll preach, but I’ll come».
When I got there that night and showed up to preach, I got to see Addie Mae, and then I got to see the pastor. When I saw him, he had tears in his eyes. He said, «After so many years in the ministry, several decades, I never had the Lord answer a prayer as directly as he did today». He said, «You were our first choice to come preach tonight, and I’ve done three funerals this week. When you called, the reason nobody answered the phone was because we were in a prayer meeting asking for God to send us a preacher».
And I preached. I don’t know if it was any good. It didn’t matter. The point was obedience. Oh, not my obedience…Addie Mae’s. Think about God. At just the time the Furticks are getting to the farmers' market… In 30 more minutes, she would have packed up those cupcakes. At just that moment… The pastor said, «You were my ram in the bush,» talking about Genesis with Abraham and Isaac. I like to tell that story to remind myself that God is going to bring things together in the right time, and I can trust him in that. I want to tell you something I never told my church before.
About two years ago, I sent Chris Brown out to do some music with this amazing worship team called Maverick City Music. I said, «You’ve got to go out there». When he came back, I wanted to know everything, because there’s such a great anointing on this ministry. I said, «What is God doing? It feels punk rock to me. Is it punk rock»? He said, «It’s so punk rock for the Lord». He said, «But do you know about Chandler»? I said, «Yeah. That’s the guy. He’s amazing. What about him»? He said, «That was his dad’s church. His dad was the pastor you went and preached for in 2016 when Addie Mae invited you».
God gives you these moments, something that seems so small to you in one season. Then I find myself last year sitting in a room with Chandler, Naomi, and Chris writing a song called «Jireh,» a song we weren’t even trying to write. He was sitting at the piano, and he just sang, «Jireh»… I said, «Did you just say 'Jireh'»? I said, «Have you ever said that in a song before»? He said, «No». I said, «We’re going to say it in this one». Jireh means «will see to it». Jehovah-Jireh. That’s what Abraham called the place where the Lord gave him a ram so he wouldn’t have to sacrifice his son. Sometimes I need to remember and tell these stories to myself for when I’m wondering if God is going to come through for me. If you’ve been feeling that lately, just lift your hands.
Sometimes I need to remember that the same God who brought me to the farmers' market to meet Addie Mae so I could preach in my Yeezys at a holy convocation for a pastor I didn’t know whose son was a songwriter who I would later collaborate with to release a song that God would send into the hearts of millions of people… That God can be trusted, and at the right time, if you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, in due time he will lift you up. Addie Mae is not here anymore on the earth. She was Chandler’s nanny, and he lost her, but she brought us together, so she’s right here. Some of the things you’ve lost in your life… I feel God’s presence. Give me one moment. Some of the things you’ve lost in your life, God is not going to bring them back in the exact same way. He is going to restore them to you in a greater way than you have ever seen them before. Your only job in this is to look for the ram in the bush.
Father, we’ve come into your presence today not entitled…no, not at all…not thinking we’ve been so good or so worthy or so perfect we just deserve the blessings you’ve given us, but we come to you on the merit of your grace toward us and our position in your heart as your children. I thank you, Lord, that our times are in your hands. Now it’s time for thee to work. It is time for thee to work. We were in the land of the Philistines for seven years, but we are coming back into your presence, the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, to receive back that which you have spoken over our lives with interest.
Lord, I thank you that even in this moment you are restoring the hopes and the dreams and the sanity and the peace and the right mind of your children, restoring the years the locusts have eaten, restoring the years we wasted. We thank you, Lord, that you are bringing it all back and that little by little, day by day, we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land… It’s time for thee to work, O Lord! We’ve done all we can. We’ve done all we know. It is time for thee… We want it back! We want your glory back. We want your joy back. We want our purpose back. We want our focus back, our passion back. We want it back in the presence of a God who will freely give us all things. In the name of Jesus, we receive it!
Lord, I thank you that even in this moment you are restoring the hopes and the dreams and the sanity and the peace and the right mind of your children, restoring the years the locusts have eaten, restoring the years we wasted. We thank you, Lord, that you are bringing it all back and that little by little, day by day, we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land… It’s time for thee to work, O Lord! We’ve done all we can. We’ve done all we know. It is time for thee… We want it back! We want your glory back. We want your joy back. We want our purpose back. We want our focus back, our passion back. We want it back in the presence of a God who will freely give us all things. In the name of Jesus, we receive it!