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Getting Your Bounce Back Since your inner cry for more is expressed in momentum, what happens when you experience a setback? Momentum ceases or slows down. Sometimes it feels like the wind has been knocked out of you, and you slump over. So what can you do? You bounce back!

I read about this in Psalm 92:12 in the Bible. It says that when you trust God's plan for your life, you will not lose momentum completely. When the setback occurs and divine dissatisfaction rises up in you, you can continue to flourish like a palm tree and bear fruit even when you are old. The word "flourish" paints a picture of being in your prime, thriving, and having a bounce in your step.

A good ball has a lot of bounce. When I was growing up I used to play a lot of basketball, and one of the worst feelings was having a ball that was a little flat. It was harder to dribble, it was like passing dead weight, and it was horrible to shoot. A good ball with bounce makes the game of basketball easier and a lot more fun. The same is true in your life. When you have a lot of bounce and are flourishing, things go more smoothly and are a lot more fun. When you feel a little flat due to a setback, taking the next step feels like trying to shoot a dead basketball.

God compares us to palm trees because they bounce back. Palm trees are known for being strong and flexible. They are generally located on seacoasts, and they were designed to endure hurricanes. When 150-mile-an-hour winds blow, a palm bends. When the storm is over, it just bounces back up. God wrote that you are like a palm tree when He is your refuge. Trials or tribulations may bend you over for a while, but you always bounce back. Financial struggles may have come knocking on your door, but you bounce back. A life threatening illness may have hit your family, but you bounce back. A marriage on the verge of dissolving may be your reality, but you bounce back. Inside of you is a cry to bounce back every time the winds blow you down or you trip and fall. In His goodness and kindness, God designed you that way!

Large and in Charge

God created you to be large on the inside, and you are supposed to be in charge of the circumstances you encounter. In the very beginning, when He created the first man and woman, God gave them a mandate in Genesis 1:26,28: Human beings are to be productive, creative, and have dominion or rule over the Earth. That's why we have an inner cry for more inside of us. But how do we fulfill that inner cry? How do we become consistently productive and begin to rule over our circumstances?

When you buy a car, the dealer gives you an instruction manual; otherwise, you would not know all the features, capabilities, and limitations of the car. As our "manufacturer," and because He is good and kind, God has given us an instruction book for living on this planet. The Bible is His Word to us on how to live. He wrote it so we could know who He is, who we are, and what His plan for our lives and the world is. His Word is where we find the 4 P's: promises, principles, problems, and prosperity.

First of all, the Word gives us promises, and most are conditional. In general terms, if we give our lives to God, He is going to take good care of us. He promises us an abundant life of blessing and fulfillment, but we have to live by the Book! If we do things His way and honor Him in all we do, we will prosper in every area of our lives.

It's not enough to know the promises, however; we need to learn and apply His principles, overcome our problems, and thereby bring forth the prosperity He promises. We get from the promise to prosperity when we fight through the problems by using the principles in God's Word.

Psalm 1:1-3 elaborates on this very idea. God says He will bless a person who seeks the advice of those who know Him and serve Him. He will bless those who don't hang around with immoral people, and who don't sit and talk with critical, sarcastic gossips. Instead, their best friends are those who love Him and follow Him with pure hearts.

God is also going to bless those who read, study, and think about His Word day and night. As they live their lives according to His Word, these people are going to be like trees planted next to a river. They will always bear fruit in season and stay healthy year round. Everything they do will prosper. They will work with Him to have the abundant life Jesus died to give them. Do you see that all of this is driven by the simple inner cry for more He put in us?