There’s always something in life that needs shaking out. Might be a big thing. Might be a little thing. Maybe you need to get out of a sinful relationship. Maybe you want to spend less time in front of the TV and more time reading. Maybe you want to move to a new city and start all over. Or maybe you want to start a new business that has been on the backburner for years. Whatever it is – do it now. I generally don’t imagine Christians as risk takers. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a Baptist church where rocking the boat in any capacity always drew a stern look. Maybe it’s because I know too many people who are stuck somewhere in life – trapped by fear – and unable to advance themselves into a God given destiny. Whatever the case might be, know that I have every intention of stirring your spirit today and helping you move to a desired state. Where do dreams, ambitions, and discontent come from? Before you move from point A to point B, you have to understand where point B comes from and why it exists at all. I believe dreams and discontent are God given gifts – signals that you know things can be better. What you complain about is what you’re gifted at. You complain because you are gifted to identify a problem and believe there is a solution. God gives us these gifts to help us move from present state to an ideal state. Where in your life has God stirred discontent of any capacity? Why do you think that is happening? God called the Israelites from point A to point B – out of slavery and to the Promised Land. God stirred something in Moses that led him to stand up to Pharaoh (Exodus 5) because he believed there was something better for the Israelites. The same goes for the Israelites themselves. In time this same conviction burned on their heart. God used discontent to move a whole people out of slavery. What discontent has God put in your life that may lead you out of slavery? Whether you want to start a new church, move to a new city, quit smoking, launch a new business, ask somebody out on a date, or simply tell a friend about Jesus – do it now. Recognize that this desire is a gift from God in which he seeks to move you from point A to point B. Prepare yourself to move out of slavery to a land of freedom, full of blessing and provision from God. What’s the worst that could happen? Seriously think about it. Run through every possible scenario you can imagine, the worst of the worst, and then ask yourself what’s the most horrific thing that can happen as a result of those situations. In every scenario you’re still alive, you’re still you, and you can always go back. In life we don’t regret the things we did do, we regret the things we didn’t do. Don’t regret not trying. The Israelites thought they were going to die in the desert. More than once. They thought they were going to starve, die of thirst, be crushed by their enemies, and be forever lost wandering the desert. Because they spent so much time imagining the worst, many of them didn’t reach their desired destination. Although their fears felt very real, the actual probability of those things happening was small and not nearly as catastrophic as they imagined. Recognize that the worst that could happen as a result of the risk you’re about to take is not nearly as bad as you think it is. Necessity Takes Over Creation and evolution are like black and white. They’re supposed to be mutually exclusive, living on opposite ends of the spectrum. I absolutely believe that God created the heavens and earth. But I also believe that knowing mankind would rape and pillage the earth, God built in evolutionary mechanisms to protect his creation. Embrace post-creation evolution and understand that no matter what happens: you will survive. You can adapt. •If you quit your job, you’ll figure out how to make money again. Survival depends on it, so you will again find out how to make money out of necessity. •If you quit that project today, you’ll start another one. Your ego demands it, so you will again find a new project out of necessity. •If you walk out of that relationship that is going nowhere, you’ll walk into a better one. Your soul demands it, so out of necessity it will happen. Discontent doesn’t come alone. It is a gift accompanied by another gift: adaptation. Necessity is a God given gift that enables us to survive. Unfortunately as South Africans we don’t really know what survival feels like because we have constructed a culture that is completely safe. This in turn leads us to believe that we can’t survive when the truth is just the opposite.Do you really think God would have called the Israelites out of Egypt just to set them up for failure? Absolutely not. The Promised Land was exactly what He said it was. God will never set you up for failure. He promises. •1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. •Luke 11:13 – If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! •1 John 4:16 – So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. •Matthew 6:26 – Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? •The list goes on and on… Hear this today: God put discontent in your heart for a reason. He wants to deliver you from something to something greater. That is part of living your destiny in Christ as a believer. Embrace that destiny. Embrace your discontent. And do whatever it is you want to do today. What’s the worst that could happen?
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 09:06:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015