Go Beyond The Barriers

We read in our history books about those who accomplished great exploits. Exploits that more than likely changed the course of history. We read in the Bible of those who stepped out for the sake of the Gospel, and changed the course of eternity for you and me. These were not great people. They were ordinary people who had faith in a great God! Somehow they realized (at some point) that mediocrity is the enemy of life-changing impact; and that the mindset of the status quo is the enemy of greatness. It's not so much that they broke beyond the limits of their own abilities. They simply broke through the barriers that kept them from greatness. God was already in them. The greatness was already there!

 

The greatness is already there! Did you get that? Gideon is a good example. (See Judges 6) Israel had turned away from God. God sent the Midianites to pretty much torment and hassle Israel for seven years. They wreaked havoc among the Israelites. When it was harvest time in the land, they would come out of nowhere and steal the harvest (among many other things)!

 

Israel prayed and God sent help. He chose Gideon, a great man of faith and power...right? Wrong! When He found Gideon, he was beating out wheat while hiding in a winepress for fear of the Midianites. The angel approaches him and says, "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior." "The Lord is with us?" says Gideon. "Why has He let all this happen to us?" "And besides all that, I am a simple man from the lowly tribe of Manasseh."

 

The angel didn't tell Gideon He would zap him with a Holy Spirit ray gun, and give him supernatural abilities to defeat the Midianites. He simply said, "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior." The greatness was already there! Gideon simply needed to break through (and away from) the mindset of mediocrity and the status quo. He eventually realized that with God...ALL things are possible. He got the clue that God had called Him to do things far beyond the ordinary. He delivered Israel with God's help. The greatness was already with him, because God was with him.

 

God didn't create and call you to be ordinary. He didn't call you to be mediocre, working hard just to maintain the status quo. No, he called you to great exploits for Him. Great exploits are not for a few select. They are for anyone who will trust God enough to take steps of faith. Steps that lead beyond the ordinary. Great exploits usually begin with small steps, usually one at a time. And remember, the greatness is already there because God is in you!

 

What has called you to do? Where has He called you to go? What dreams has He put into your spirit? Don't let the mindset of mediocrity hold you back. God is much bigger than that.

 

My suggestion to you is to write down your dreams. Pray over them. Dreams turn into great exploits for God. Dreams will take you through the barriers of the ordinary and status quo as you trust God. The greatness is already there because God is with you. Don't you agree it's time to break forth into what God has called you to do?

 

War Room, DVD Tony and Elizabeth have it all---good jobs, a beautiful daughter, and their dream home. But their marriage is crumbling, and Tony is flirting with temptation. When Elizabeth meets her new client, Miss Clara, she's challenged to establish a "war room" and a battle plan for prayer. What will happen if she steps out in faith? Rated PG. Dove faith-friendly. Approx. 120 minutes.