Think It Not Strange

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” --1^st Peter 4:12-13 (NIV)

As you follow the call of the Lord on your life, you will face opposition. The enemy of your soul hates nothing more than for you to burn so bright that others catch fire, too. He will try every trick he knows to discourage you, deceive you, and bump you off the path that is producing fruit for the Kingdom. You should expect this.

This opposition is not reason to run and hide. On the contrary, when you face opposition that flies in the face of what you know the Lord has told you, then it should be encouragement! You are doing something that is rocking the spiritual places enough that the enemy is taking note of you.

Don’t think it strange that attacks come harder and heavier as you push more into your calling. When you were sitting on the sidelines, content being saved and not really doing anything, you probably didn’t face as many spiritual battles because Satan wasn’t scared of you—you posed no real threat to him. Your complacency in Christ didn’t bother him…although he had lost the battle for your soul, he didn’t figure he’d lose many more people because of you. But as you become more consumed by the things God has called you to, then you should fully expect the devil to try to disrupt things.

The avenues in which he’ll come at you are endless. From external things (relationships deteriorating, having a perceived lack of resources, too many demands on your time) to internal things (exhaustion, loneliness, doubt), the enemy will attack you in your places of vulnerability. He is good at this. He’s been doing this to people for thousands of years. Expect it.

My word to you today is this: persevere. Keep pushing towards the Lord. It is well worth the fight to stay true to the call God has placed on your life. The very fact that the enemy is attacking you is an indication that you are doing the right thing. Take the attacks as signs that you are on the right path to destroying the kingdom of darkness!

There is nothing better you can do than walking out what the Lord has called you to; don't let the enemy scare you away from it or take it from you. Joy, peace, blessing, and abundance are yours through Jesus Christ Our Lord! Amen!!!

Embrace Your Greatness!

If you have the audacity to embrace the greatness put in you, people are going to mock you. They will scoff, they will laugh. They will tell you that you can’t do it, they will tell you that you are crazy. They will try anything to keep you from pushing past the norm into that magnificent place where your talents and giftings collide with the power of Throneroom blessing.

Your Creator, Our God in Heaven, has put things in you that you are passionate about. It doesn’t matter if that passion is in the vein of the usual “churchy” gifts; i.e. teaching, preaching, music, mission work, etc. It doesn’t matter if it’s something that people haven’t traditionally used to glorify God. Your love for fixing cars, designing clothes, flipping houses, politics, pet grooming, business, fitness, cooking, or whatever else has been put in you by God. If the Bible is not telling you it's sinful, then it's probably from Heaven :)

You know it’s your passion because the way it makes you feel alive, the way it moves your heart in a way hardly anything else can. That feeling is what makes your passion special. You already have an inherent drive and motivation to do these things, and do them well, because it’s what you naturally get pleasure from. It’s easy to do things you enjoy!

It’s also that zeal which will cause people to take notice. Bill Johnson, the lead pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, says, “When I live out of discipline, I am admired; when I live out of passion, I am contagious.” Everybody can tell when you are doing something you love. It’s obvious. When you talk about what you’re doing your eyes light up, there is excitement in your voice, and nobody can get you to shut up about it :) It’s infectious. Sometimes I’ll get excited with you just from listening—even when it’s an area I could care less about!

So what is your passion? And why aren’t you living it out? I don’t care how normal (or unorthodox) you think your passion is, if you purpose it in your heart to live it out and line it up with the Word of God to bring glory to the Father, you can be an earth shaker. A business mogul. A fashion icon. A TV fitness guru. A sold-out, Spirit-filled, President of the United States of America.

Don’t let those that laugh at you keep you from your pursuit. Let’s be real: most of them don’t want you to go after your dreams because they are sitting around not pursuing theirs. The prospect of you doing something you love and wildly succeeding at it makes them uncomfortable…and maybe even a little jealous. If they’ve given up on their dreams, or bought into the lie that says they are insignificant and can’t possibly make a difference in this world, then you going after your passions just might get them all kinds of messed up.

You have to be ok with the fact that a lot of people are going to hope you don’t succeed. You have to know from the start that when you embrace the greatness that lies within you that people who have settled for average will oftentimes try to convince you to settle for average as well. On the one hand, as referenced above, your passion is contagious; on the other hand, to some people, you are absolutely scary.

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I’ve made up my mind that I’m not going to maintain mediocrity so that I can keep other people feeling comfortable. Does that decision ruffle some feathers? Yes. Does it damage some relationships? Unfortunately, yes. But that decision also unleashes the potential for greatness to flow out of me. It’s a decision that’s well worth the cost. I hope you join me.