Life-Giving Words of Hope & Encouragement

It’s easy to get stuck in life and think that we’ve gone as far as we can: we can’t break the addiction, we can’t get well, or we’ll never accomplish that dream. What’s holding us back many times is our thinking. Jesus said, “You can’t put new wine into old wineskins.” Wineskins in that day were made out of leather. When they got old, the leather would become stiff and rigid. If you put new wine in it, it would expand and cause the wineskin to burst. This illustrates, “You can’t have a new life with old thinking.” If you think you’ve reached your limits, then you have. If you think the problem is too big, then it is. If you think you’ll never meet the right person, you probably won’t. We need to start believing bigger, dreaming bigger, expecting bigger.

Our circumstances, what’s happening in the world, or how we were raised do not limit us. One touch of God’s favor will propel you forward. Paul said in Ephesians 2:7, “In the ages to come, we will see the surpassing greatness of God’s favor.” We are living in those days right now. Our limited thinking keeps God from pouring out the fullness of what He has in store for us. Why don’t you get a new mindset: “God, I don’t see a way, but I know you have a way. The medical report looks bad, but I know you’re my healer. I’m struggling with my finances, but I believe abundance is coming. My dream looks impossible, but God, You can open doors no person can shut.”

In Acts chapter 3, there was a man who had been crippled since birth. People would carry him to the temple gate every morning so he could beg. He had been doing this for years. All he had known was to get up, go to the temple, and ask people for money. He was stuck in a negative routine, just going through the motions of life, not expecting anything to change. In a sense, he had an excuse: “I’m crippled. I’m at a disadvantage. I didn’t get what other people got.” When someone passed by, he’d hold out his cup and ask, “Can you spare some change? Can you help me out?” Every once in a while, someone would throw in a few coins.

One day, Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray. They saw a man asking for money as they entered through the gate. While most people ignored him, Peter paused and looked at him. The man anticipated a donation, but Peter replied in verse 6, “Silver or gold, I have none but…” Peter conveyed, “You shouldn’t ask for money because what God is about to offer you surpasses material riches.” Initially, the man might have felt disappointed, wondering, “Why did you stop if you can’t help me?” However, Peter continued, “I don’t have money, but in the name of Jesus, get up and walk.”

Peter grasped the man by his right hand and pulled him up. The man was bewildered—this was a first for him. No one had ever spoken words of faith or suggested he could walk. His thought process was disrupted. “This man Peter is urging me to stand. Doesn’t he realize I’m crippled? Doesn’t he see I rely on my cup to beg? I feel broken and disadvantaged.” As he pondered this, Peter lifted him. The man’s legs were restored, and his bones were strengthened. He couldn’t fathom it! He began to walk, then ran, jumped, danced, and praised God.

I want you to notice that the man had to put down his cup to receive his miracle. He hoped for coins, but God had a more incredible blessing that made his cup unnecessary. While he sought change for new crutches, God planned to give him new legs. Many of us, like this man, cling to our cups. We may not physically beg but feel stuck in negative patterns with lowered expectations and dreams. Past disappointments become excuses for settling, but God says, “Get rid of your cup.” His blessings cannot be contained in it.

As long as you have a “cup mentality,” you’ll be sitting at the gate, believing that you’re stuck at the mercy of other people, hoping someone will give you a break. People are limited; God is unlimited. People can give you a short-term fix, but God can take you from being crippled to walking, from borrowing to lending, from addictions to freedom, from sickness to health, and from lack to abundance. What God will do in your life will not fit in a cup. You may be limited, but God is unlimited.

Malachi 3:10 says, “He will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that you cannot contain.” That cup cannot contain the blessings, favor, healing, and mercy that belong to you. Peter told the man to put down the cup to show us that a cup mentality will keep you from the fullness of what God has in store. Is your thinking limiting your life? Are you missing out on favor, healing, and new relationships because you’re holding a cup?

Sometimes, good people will try to persuade you to settle for less. They may have settled for less and want you to do the same. But in Psalm 81:10, God said, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” You can still become all you were created to be. It’s not too late. When you align with God, He will make things happen that you couldn’t make happen. He’ll open doors for you and bring the right people and opportunities.

In 2 Kings, there’s a story about a widow whose husband has died, leaving her with unpaid bills and creditors threatening to take her sons as payment. All she had of value was a small jar of oil. The prophet Elisha advised her to borrow as many empty containers as she could from her neighbors, telling her not to borrow just a few. She gathered about a dozen containers and poured the oil into them as Elisha instructed. Miraculously, the oil never ran out until she had filled all the containers. She could then sell the oil, pay her debts, and have enough money to live on.

God will fill all the containers you bring Him. The issue isn’t a lack of supply; it’s a lack of capacity. Too often, we allow disappointments, delays, and failures to lower our expectations. As a result, we stop stretching and believing in great things. Are you limiting what God can do in your life? Are you only focused on what you think you can achieve on your own? God has an unlimited supply for all your needs. Don’t base your expectations on what you can do; base them on what God can do.

It’s not a supply problem; it’s a capacity problem. Are you putting limits on what God wants to do in your life? Are you focused on what you think can happen only in your ability? You’re looking at the natural, but God is supernatural. He controls the universe, parts Red Seas, brings water out of rocks, and feeds thousands with two fish. Don’t base your containers on what you can do; base them on what God can do.

When you change your mind and align with God, angels start working; miracles are set in motion, and healing, breakthroughs, and favor come looking for you. My challenge for you today is this: don’t let a limited mentality prevent you from living an abundant life. What God has for you cannot be contained in a cup. Get rid of low expectations and stop making excuses to settle where you are. If you get rid of that limited mindset, like the crippled man, you’ll see God do something extraordinary. Not just a few coins to sustain you, but new strength so you can thrive. Like the widow, expect supernatural provision. What’s been holding you back is being broken, and you’re about to enter your Promised Land and fulfill your destiny. I hope this speaks to you, and I pray you have a blessed day!