No More Missing Out on All God Has for You
Gary Keesee • March 5, 2020
“Why aren’t you up there?” I (Gary) heard the Lord ask me as I sat in the audience watching the top 10 business owners get recognized onstage.
“What, Lord?” I thought. “I didn’t think I’d need to explain it to You! You know how busy I am with the ministry and pastoring now. You’re the One that called us to this! The business had to take a back seat.”
But before I had a chance to argue with Him, He said, “I want you up there. I want My name known.”
What?! It was already late February! Getting on that stage next year would mean doing $10 million in business, more than DOUBLE what we had done the last few years.
I had sat in that audience FOR 18 YEARS, perfectly content with just being on the trip. After all, I was already at capacity.
I had no idea how in the world we would get on that stage the next year. It looked impossible.
But God knew.
You might already know that long before Drenda and I started ministering and pastoring a church, we had started a financial services company. We’ve had that company now for about 37 years.
Through that company, we have a lot of different vendors we work with, and many of those companies offer reward programs for doing business with them.
Before we pastored, our business was a top producer for a lot of those vendors. In fact, for years, we were ranked number one out of the 5,000+ offices that offered the same types of services worldwide.
But then we started the church, and the business went on the back burner. Of course, we were perfectly fine with that. We were being obedient to God, launching a church, and homeschooling our five kids. I loved the new call of God on my life, and I had accepted the fact that our business wasn’t ranked number one anymore.
Over the years, there has been one vendor in particular that we worked with that had these conventions in great locations every year, and they would offer an expenses paid trip to the convention as a reward each year.
During those conventions, the company would always recognize the top 10 producing business owners from the previous year on stage. Those business owners would get a chance to share their stories, and they would each receive a $100,000 bonus check.
FOR 18 YEARS, I sat in the audience at those conventions just thankful to make the trip, because we were busy pastoring our church.
And then God asked me why I wasn’t up there on the stage.
You can be sure that His question rattled me. Sure, God wanted me on that stage, but I had no clue how it would happen. I was already at max capacity! I didn’t have the time or the energy to work toward that goal.
But God had bigger plans.
Because Drenda and I know anything is possible with God, we sowed a seed and believed God would show us exactly what to do to make it happen.
And He did.
It all started with a UNIQUE STRATEGY.
God gave me a dream in the night that showed me one small tweak to make in how we had been running our company.
But that small tweak—that UNIQUE STRATEGY—made a tremendous difference that year, and our company made the $10 million we needed to be in the top 10.
We got up on that stage and gave God all the glory.
GOD HAS A UNIQUE STRATEGY FOR YOU, TOO, FRIEND.
He wants to help you.
In Matthew 13:11, Jesus said the knowledge of the secrets, or mysteries, of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to US but not to them.
You aren’t supposed to just stumble through life hoping things will work out or sit in the audience watching everyone else get recognized when you could be making His name known.
God wants to show YOU the secrets, or mysteries, of the Kingdom so you can advance and win in life!
One of those secrets—a KEY secret, or mystery—is the POWER OF STRATEGY.
See, too often, we forget we’re in a spiritual battle, and we don’t take the spiritual adversary we have seriously. We’ve seen too many TV shows and cartoons that downplay the enemy to just some creepy guy with horns and a red cape. In fact, you wouldn’t believe the number of Christians who don’t believe Satan is real.
But he is. And so are his demons, and they don’t want to see you prosper and live the incredible life God has for you. This is the reason the Bible says Jesus spoke in parables—it was God’s unique strategy to keep things from the enemy.
Think about it. You have an enemy that wants to stop you dead in your tracks; that would love to keep YOU sitting in the audience of life (like me for 18 YEARS!) instead of making God’s name known and telling the world that He is the reason for your incredible success.
That’s why God uses UNIQUE STRATEGIES.
UNIQUE STRATEGIES from God are YOUR SECRET WEAPONS.
Friend, God has the answers you need. He wants to give you direction for your life. He wants to help you have the incredible life He’s designed for you. He wants to get you out of the audience!
YOU must step out in faith and trust Him to show you exactly what to do.
Let Him help you.
Ask Him to tell you what you need to do and where you need to go.
Ask Him what you need to tweak, or change, or adjust so YOU can go where He is calling YOU.
And just so you know in advance—a God-inspired strategy might seem foolish to your way of thinking. Just like I never would’ve thought that making one small tweak to a business process would help make a $6 million difference. Or how Peter probably never would’ve thought that he could get a coin out of the mouth of a fish…
“…go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
—Matthew 17:27b (NLT)
How’s that for a UNIQUE STRATEGY? Have you ever heard of anyone else anywhere in the world catching a fish with money in its mouth?
That story shows us more than just how amazing Jesus is; it teaches us a critical lesson:
We have to be willing to listen and obey
when we get unusual instructions from God.
Granted, Jesus still had Peter catch a fish, which he clearly knew how to do as a professional fisherman. The enemy knew that. It wasn’t a big deal for Peter to be fishing. As far as the enemy was concerned, Peter was just going about his normal day.
But God was using a UNIQUE STRATEGY to meet their need.
God will do the same things for you that He did for Peter and for me!
YOU can get the exact answer you need exactly when you need it.
God knows where your provision is, and He wants you to have the answers you need!
He has hidden the secrets of His Kingdom FOR you, not FROM you.
Psalm 23 says God delights in preparing a table for you in the presence of your enemy. God uses UNIQUE STRATEGIES to advance His cause right under the enemy's nose. He loves that. (We do too. It makes for the best stories!)
And that’s how God wants to use YOU.
That’s how He used Drenda and me.
The devil never had a clue that I would someday be out of debt, let alone declaring the good news of the Kingdom in the area of money, or standing on a stage giving God the glory for our incredible, impossible-without-God success! Neither did I. But as we followed God and asked God to show us how to do things, everything changed!
YOU need YOUR UNIQUE STRATEGY from God.
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THERE IS SO MUCH MORE YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE POWER OF STRATEGY!
Understanding how God works undercover using THE POWER OF STRATEGY is one of the single GREATEST keys to your success and victory in life.
It’s critical that you understand this if you want to capture the opportunities God has for you.
That’s why we’ve created not just one, but TWO incredible Power of Strategy package options for you this month!
No more missing out on the great things God has and wants for you!
God has your plan, friend! He wants you to have incredible stories of UNUSUAL STRATEGIES to share too!
Don’t wait another day. Get the Power of Strategy mentorship package that is right for YOU TODAY and see how the power of strategy can change your life!
Reading Time 4 mins 25 secs – Fear feels real. It talks loudly. It paints pictures. It rehearses worst-case scenarios. And if you do not know how to stop it, it will try to script your future before you ever get there. But fear is not truth. Fear is not fact. And through God’s Word, you can live free from it. Scripture says plainly, “ Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4a, NIV). Notice that carefully. It does not say fear is unavoidable. It does not say anxiety is your permanent condition. It does not say torment is part of your identity. It says, I will fear no evil. That means freedom from fear is possible. Fear Works Through Images Fear often begins with a thought, but it does not stop there. It immediately tries to form a picture. The doctor says something concerning, and fear paints the ending. The bank account drops, and fear paints the ending. A symptom shows up, and fear paints the ending. A problem hits your family, and fear paints the ending. That is how the enemy works. He presents an image and tries to convince you it is reality. But just because something enters your mind does not mean it is true. Fear is an imagination. It is an illusion. It may feel convincing, but that does not make it a fact. The enemy wants you to meditate on what could go wrong. God calls you to stand on what He said. The Real Battle Is at the Root Fear is often treated like the main problem. But fear is really a symptom. Like a fever in the body, it points to something deeper that needs attention. The deeper issue is what you believe. If fear keeps dominating your thoughts, then somewhere a lie has been accepted as truth. That is why the answer is not just trying harder to calm down. The answer is renewing your mind. You must identify the lie. Then you must replace it with truth. Second Corinthians 10:5 reminds us that we are to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. That means you do not let fearful thoughts sit in your mind and build a home there. You reject them. You replace them. You do not fight fear by admiring it, analyzing it, or entertaining it. You fight fear by confronting it with truth. What You Are Anchored to Matters Life will always present moments that seem dangerous, uncertain, or impossible. The question is not whether you will face pressure. The question is what you are anchored to when pressure comes. If your confidence is anchored to circumstances, you will always feel unstable. Circumstances change. Reports change. Emotions change. But God’s Word does not change. Truth can hold you. Just as a climber trusts the anchor that keeps him from falling, you must learn to trust the promises of God more than the pictures fear is trying to show you. When your life is anchored to truth, fear loses its power to dominate your thinking. Renewing Your Mind Changes What Feels Possible There was a time when many things people now accept with confidence would have seemed impossible. Flight looked impossible. Certain athletic feats looked impossible. What changed? Knowledge. Training. Repetition. Confidence in a higher law. In the same way, many believers still live under the assumption that fear is normal, fear is wise, fear is protective, or fear is just part of life. But God’s Kingdom operates differently. In Romans 12:2a (NIV), it says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Transformation does not happen by accident. It happens when you retrain your thinking with truth. The world trains people to expect loss, danger, failure, sickness, and defeat. God trains His people to expect His faithfulness, His promises, His strength, and His victory. If you keep feeding on fear, fear will feel natural. If you feed on truth, freedom will become normal. You Must Replace the Picture You cannot simply tell yourself not to think about something. You must replace the wrong picture with the right one. If fear says, “This will destroy you,” answer with what God says. If fear says, “You are going under,” answer with what God says. If fear says, “You will never recover,” answer with what God says. Truth is the antidote. When God promises healing, provision, peace, protection, and victory, those promises carry pictures. They are meant to shape your imagination. Too many people meditate on everything that can go wrong. But faith grows when you meditate on what God has already said in His Word. The enemy wants your imagination captured by fear. God wants your imagination renewed by truth. Your Future Does Not Belong to Fear Many people have lived so long under fear that they assume it will always define them. It will not. You can be free. Your life does not have to be governed by fear of sickness. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of lack. Fear of loss. Fear of the future. God did not create you to live tormented. He created you to live in His Kingdom, under His rule, with His peace, and in the confidence of His promises. The future belongs to those who believe what God says more than what fear suggests. So, start again. Open your Bible. Find out who you really are. Train your mind in truth. Reject the lie. Hold onto His promises. And refuse to let fear write a story God never wrote for you. A Simple Prayer Father, Thank You for not giving me a spirit of fear. Thank You for giving me power, love, and a sound mind. Help me recognize every lie the enemy tries to plant in my thoughts. Teach me to renew my mind with Your Word and to reject every imagination that rises against the truth of who You are and who I am in Christ. Strengthen me to stand on Your promises, speak with authority, and live in the freedom You have given me. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
Reading Time 4 mins 40 secs – If you want to see your future, take a look at your friends. Scripture says plainly, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33, NIV). That’s not a suggestion. That’s a warning. And the deception is thinking your good character will automatically change the people around you. Sometimes it can. But often, it’s the other way around. Who speaks into your life matters. Who challenges you matters. Who flatters you matters. Who you follow matters. All of it shapes where you end up. The Deception About Influence Many people fall into what’s called false responsibility. They want someone else’s success more than that person wants it for themselves. They believe they can fix, carry, or rescue someone who isn’t willing to change. You must understand something clearly: God sends people, and the enemy sends people. Not every opportunity is from God. Not every relationship is divinely aligned. One of the clearest warning signs is constant flattery. When someone continually builds you up without ever challenging you, pay attention. Flattery often hides motive. That’s why you must judge your friendships carefully. Fear Is Contagious, and So Is Courage Before Israel went into battle, Moses gave a striking instruction: if someone was afraid or faint-hearted, send them home. Why? Because fear spreads. Fear talks. Doubt talks. Unbelief talks. But courage talks too. Faith talks too. Vision talks too. The people around you will either magnify the obstacle or magnify the promise. They will either rehearse what could go wrong or remind you what God said. Choose wisely. Proof That Who You Follow Changes You After David defeated Goliath, King Saul pursued him. David escaped to a cave. Not a palace, not a resort—a cave. And 400 men followed him. The Bible describes them as distressed, in debt, and discontented. That doesn’t sound like leadership material. But something changed. Those same men became David’s mighty men of valor. They performed exploits. They accumulated wealth. They became strong, disciplined warriors. What happened? They followed someone who carried covenant confidence. They followed faith instead of fear. And they were transformed. Who you follow will change you, either for good or for worse. The Cost of the Wrong Circle You don’t have to make the wrong decision yourself to feel the consequences of being in the wrong environment. Association carries weight. When you attach yourself to people who are reckless, careless, or spiritually drifting, their choices begin to affect your direction. Influence is subtle at first. It doesn’t feel dangerous. It feels normal. Comfortable. Accepted. But over time, conversations shape thinking. Thinking shapes decisions. Decisions shape outcomes. That’s why Scripture says not to be deceived. The drift rarely feels dramatic in the beginning. It feels gradual. You may never intend to compromise your standards. You may never plan to move away from your convictions. But proximity has power. What you tolerate eventually influences what you participate in. This is not about isolation. It’s about discernment. You can love everyone. You can minister to anyone. But you must be wise about who has consistent access to your life. Because you don’t have to commit the act to feel the consequence of the association. Choose your circle carefully. Not Everyone Qualifies for Close Access There are people you minister to. There are people you love. There are people you encourage. But not everyone qualifies to be your close companion. Ezra warned Israel not to make treaties of friendship with those whose practices would corrupt them. The principle still applies: don’t make agreements with influences that pull you away from God. There are relationships you need to: Increase Maintain Or discontinue And you must discern which is which. The righteous choose their friends carefully. What Healthy Friendship Looks Like The right people in your life will: Encourage your walk with God Strengthen your faith Uphold your marriage and family Believe in you Challenge you past your comfort zone Correct you when you’re wrong A true friend will tell you the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. An enemy flatters. A friend sharpens. If no one in your life can correct you, you’re vulnerable. Hold Unswervingly Hebrews instructs us to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess and to encourage one another toward love and good deeds. “Unswervingly” means steady. Unwavering. Not drifting. The right friendships help you stay steady. The wrong ones slowly pull you off course, usually so gradually you don’t notice until you’re far from where you intended to be. Make a decision: as for you and your house, you will serve the Lord. And build your circle around that decision. A Simple Prayer Father, Thank You for guiding my steps and ordering my relationships. Give me wisdom to choose my circle carefully. Help me discern the voices that strengthen my faith and the ones that pull me away. Surround me with people who challenge me, correct me, and encourage me to follow You fully. Give me courage to walk away from anything that hinders my walk with You. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
Reading Time 5 mins 59 secs – Most of us have asked it, sometimes out loud, sometimes in frustration: Are we there yet? Not just about a trip but about life. Calling. Direction. The future. The problem isn’t that you want clarity. The problem is thinking God will hand you the whole map up front. Proverbs instructs us to give careful thought to the paths our feet are on and to be steadfast in all our ways. This isn’t passive language. It assumes intentional movement, focused direction, and refusal to drift. Staying on the right path requires attention and discipline, not just belief. That means the focus isn’t anxiety about the destination; it’s attention to the path under your feet today. Look Straight Ahead Proverbs gives a simple instruction that’s easy to skip over: “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Do not turn to the right or the left” (Proverbs 4:25, 27a, NIV). So, what are you supposed to look at? You’re not meant to stare at fear, compare lanes, or obsess over what might happen way in the future. You’re meant to keep your gaze fixed where God is leading you now and to keep your foot from evil by refusing distractions that pull you off course. God’s Word is described as a lamp: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105, NIV). A lamp doesn’t show you everything. It shows you just enough, a few steps ahead. That’s exactly how God often leads, especially when you’re going somewhere you’ve never been before. That’s why Abraham’s story in Hebrews 11 is so relatable. Abraham obeyed and proceeded, even though he did not know where he was going. And if we’re honest, neither do we. When the Water Doesn’t Part Until Your Feet Touch It Joshua 3 shows what trusting God often looks like. The Jordan was at flood stage. It wasn’t a convenient crossing. But the instruction was still to move forward. And the river didn’t part while they stood on the bank thinking about it. It parted when the priests’ feet touched the water. God’s path often requires motion before you see the breakthrough. The same principle shows up with Peter. He didn’t walk on water; he walked on the word. When Jesus said “come,” that word carried him. You may feel like you’re facing impossible valleys, things that seem like they have no way around them, but if God said “go,” then the obstacle is not proof you missed Him. Sometimes, it’s part of the plan. Don’t Misread the Process Many believers get discouraged because they mistake the beginning for the end. They assume that if God spoke, it should happen immediately. But Scripture shows something else: God often leads with glimpses and dreams, not full explanations. He gives you enough to move and enough to hold on to. That’s why many people quit too early—not because they don’t love God, but because they don’t understand the process. Joseph: Dreams, Training, and the “Pharaoh Moment” Joseph had two dreams at 17. Then life took a hard turn: betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and prison. And yet later, Joseph said something shocking to his brothers: “It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5b, NIV). That means the path, including the painful parts, was not random. It was preparation. Joseph couldn’t have gone straight to the palace. He needed training, exposure, language, protocol, and wisdom. God positioned him in the house of a high-ranking official so he could learn what he’d need later. Then came the moment everything was aimed toward: standing before Pharaoh. When that moment arrived, Joseph didn’t just interpret a dream; he had a plan. And the plan seemed good to Pharaoh. There’s a practical takeaway here: sometimes God develops you in places you don’t enjoy so you’ll have something to offer when the door opens. Your faithfulness now can become your credibility later. When You Don’t Like Your Job, You Might Be in Training It’s easy to say, “I hate my job.” But a hard season doesn’t automatically mean you’re off track. Sometimes the question is: Can God trust you where you are? Can He trust your integrity when nobody’s impressed? Can He trust your obedience when you don’t feel like it? Can He trust you to stay out of sin when it would be easier to compromise? This is the kind of training that happens before anyone knows your name. And when you consistently show up with excellence and bring solutions, your gift becomes visible. The value is sometimes found in the training season. You’re being prepared for a season to come, and everything you learned in that training season will not be wasted. Sometimes the First Step Is to Sit After a message about vision and purpose, people can get anxious: “I need to do something right now.” But sometimes wisdom says: be still and sit for a minute. Many people come to Christ carrying an “earth curse system” mindset of work, labor, perform, and strive because that’s all they’ve known. But learning the Kingdom takes time. Identity comes before assignment. Simple Ways to Stay on the Path This Week Fix your gaze. Stop demanding the full map. Stay faithful to today. Keep moving. Don’t get stuck replaying the lies of the enemy. Step in before you see it. Some waters part after your feet touch them. Honor the process. Training seasons are not wasted seasons. Write it down. Keep a record of dreams, words, and reminders from God. A Simple Prayer Father, Thank You for leading me on the right path. Help me fix my gaze straight ahead and follow You one step at a time. Give me the courage to move forward even when I can only see a few feet in front of me. Strengthen me in the process, teach me what I need to learn, guard my integrity, and keep me steady when I feel delayed or discouraged. Remind me of what You’ve spoken to me through Your Word, through dreams, and through moments you’ve marked in my life. I choose to stay on the path and trust You with the destination. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.