Creflo A. Dollar: The Dangers of Striving – Sunday Service

Letting God Carry You: The Hidden Cost of a Striving Life

Amen. As we enter this moment of worship and giving, remember that generosity is not just something God asks from us—it is something He pours through us. Scripture tells us in Psalm 96 that we honor God not only with lifted hands or beautiful songs, but through a heart that freely gives. When you offer what God has already placed in your hands, you are stepping into His flow of blessing—receiving from His heart, and allowing that same love to reach others.

God’s generosity is in your DNA. The only people who struggle to give are those who fear that God won’t take care of them. But He already has a storehouse prepared for you. He already promised to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. He does not forget His children. He never stops thinking about you.

This ministry has seen lives rescued, healed, and restored because of your faithfulness. And today, as you give, do it with joy—not pressure. Plant your seed in faith and trust God for the harvest.

Today we step into a teaching that, if you truly hear it, can free you from years of pressure, burnout, and spiritual exhaustion. Many believers live their entire Christian life striving—trying to please God, trying to earn blessings, trying to finish something Jesus already completed.

But God is calling you into something far greater:
a life of resting in what Christ has already finished.

The Holy Spirit put something strong in my heart this morning:
“Make it practical. Break it down so people can actually live this.”

Because the truth is, many Christians know the verses but don’t know how to walk them out. You’re going to hear things today that may shake you at first, but if you receive them, they will liberate your mind and lighten your load.

In John 15, Jesus makes it undeniable:
A branch cannot bear fruit by itself. It must stay connected to the vine.

You are the branch.
He is the vine.
Your fruit—your growth, your peace, your victory—comes from your connection with Him, not your effort.

When you live in union with God, things begin to change inside you without you even trying. Old desires fall away. Temptations you used to fight lose their power. Wisdom begins to show up. Favor finds you. Doors open. Not because you worked harder—but because you stayed connected.

Any time we boast about how hard we worked, it’s usually proof that the fruit came from our own effort, not from our union with God.

John 19:30 records three of the most powerful words Christ ever spoke:
“It is finished.”

Redemption? Finished.
Justification? Finished.
The blessing? Already provided.
Your spiritual inheritance? Complete.

Yet many believers still live as though Jesus left the job half done, and they must strive to complete it.

But Hebrews 10 says Jesus sat down because the work was done.
Sitting is a picture of rest—not inactivity, but confidence in a finished work.