Living in the Abundance of God by John Osteen

can be held in your spirit until the right time to give it. I have held a prophecy in my spirit for a day or two. You may think,
God gave it to me, and I cannot control it
. If you cannot control it, it is not of God.
    The Bible says that when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, God heard it. We never have a right to criticize anyone. Every child of God has an important function in the body of Christ. God sees His children differently than we see them. Notice what He said about Moses: “Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the L ORD . Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” (Numbers 12:7–8).
    God had spoken to Moses face to face, and yet they were critical of him. Miriam and Aaron had also been chosen for great tasks. Why should they be jealous of Moses? They should have been glad for the ministry that God had given them.
    Miriam and Aaron’s critical and proud attitude provoked the anger of God, and Miriam was struck with leprosy. Moses interceded on her behalf, and God healed her, but the Israelites’ journey was delayed for seven days. The whole move of God was stopped because two people had exaggerated opinions of their importance.
    Miriam and Aaron’s attitude cut them off from the abundance of God as well as their usefulness, until they repented. When God begins to use you in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, when He begins to bless you and give you revelations, let it humble you more and more. It is not you; it is God.

B E L ITTLE IN Y OUR O WN E YES
    Consider the life of King Saul in the Old Testament. Saul was a fine-looking man. The Bible says that he was head and shoulders above all the rest of the men (1 Samuel 9:2). He was the first king over Israel, and God used him mightily. However, Saul disobeyed God and fell from favor with Him. The prophet Samuel interceded on Saul’s behalf, but God rejected Saul as king. God spoke through Samuel and made a statement about Saul’s attitude that we should always remember: “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the L ORD anoint you king over Israel?” (1 Samuel 15:17).
    When you were little in your own eyes
is the secret. When we are little in our own eyes, God is pleased with us because we know that we can do nothing without Him. If we will have a low estimation of our own importance, God will use us. After all, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18), and “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility” (Proverbs 18:12).
    Let your confession be what you have in Christ and not what you can do in your own power and ability.
H UMBLE Y OURSELF U NDER G OD ’ S M IGHTY H AND
    Search the Scriptures and read biographies, and you discover that many great men and women of God have spent years doing insignificant tasks that God asked them to do. The Bible encourages us to not despise the day of small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). When you prove yourself faithful to God in the little things, He will trust you with much. “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).
    In the book of Acts, the number of disciples increased, and there arose a problem with serving tables and the distribution of clothing and food. The apostles felt that they should give themselves continually to prayer and the preaching of the Word of God; therefore, they appointed seven men to handle the food and clothing. “Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, ‘It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business’ ” (Acts