In the spring of 2005, A Year of Destiny, we spent forty days fasting and praying for Overflow. As is typically the case with those seasons, the seeds that are planted through fasting and prayer sprout up and bear fruit six months to a year later. The seeds that were planted in that season sprang up quickly with our Overflow of Blessing and came into full fruition in 2006: A Year of Bounty.

The foundational scripture for the Year of Bounty was Psalm 65. This psalm captured my heart, imagination, and spirit for months before I ever delivered the theme message on January 8, 2006. It begins in verse one with the simple and beautiful declaration, "Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled." The picture is that praise suddenly erupts out of a place of silence and stillness.

This silence is pregnant with deep submission and trust, with waiting for God to act, knowing that He will, and responding with praise and obedience when He does. And God does act by releasing His bounty to His people. This bounty is rooted in His grace; it is sustained by His power; and it thrives in His goodness.

Rooted in His Grace

O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

We were powerless and utterly dependent, overwhelmed by our sins until we came to God. But when we came to Him, He forgave us and brought us close to Himself. And now we are happy and blessed. As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:6-8:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This is the essence of His grace and the taproot of the Year of Bounty.

Sustained by His Power

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.

Our hope, trust, and confidence is in the One who formed, created, and established the mountains. It is in the One who stilled the roaring and raging waters and brings us to a place of awe and wonder at His amazing power. Recently in our study of the Gospel of Mark, we looked at the account of Jesus calming the storm, as recorded for us in Mark 4:35-41:

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Sometime storms suddenly burst into our lives. The wind blows, the waves crash at us from every direction, and we feel like we are drowning. At these times, we must remember that Jesus is with us, and He alone has the power to calm the storm within and without. His bounty is not dependent on our circumstances, but on His power and authority.

Thriving in His Goodness

You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.

What an incredible picture of God’s goodness! It’s almost more than we can get our mind and heart around. In fact, I believe we can only fully capture it in our spirit and then let it spill over into our souls. In America we are given the freedom to pursue happiness. However, happiness is dependent on our happenstance, our circumstances. In difficult times like we as a nation are now facing, our circumstances don’t always make us happy. However, in the kingdom of God, we are given the freedom to pursue joy—a joy that is not dependent on our circumstances, but on His goodness. And God is good ALL THE TIME! That is why the apostle Paul instructs us:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

As God fills us with His goodness, it spills out of our lives to others around us. That is the nature of bounty; it is more than we can contain! And that is God's heart for us, not just back in 2006, but as an ongoing reality for this House of Prayer for All Nations.

--Pastor Jim