Stop Wrestling With God. Your Arms Are Too Short to Box With Him. When He’s Trying to Take You to the Next Level, Stop Resisting. Be Intentional. Let Him!

God will break us to bless us before he makes us great. Don’t resent preparation before elevation. It’s required. Trust God. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

Have you ever noticed what happens when God is about to elevate you and take you places you’ve never been before? How things change in your life unexpectedly when He has you in transition while in a place of waiting and you feel uncomfortable?

You begin to lose friends, valued possessions, haters and the opinion of others are at an all-time high, and relationships become a lost memory as a result of the change. Yet it doesn’t have a thing to do with you, even though your mind will try and convince you that it does. You begin to think you’ve done something wrong and think it’s all your fault when you begin to lose things and people who leave without warning. Trust God. It’s all for a good reason.

Everybody can’t go with you where God is taking you nor can they see what God is about to show you. While there will be some people who can’t stand to see you blessed, some will not be able to handle the blessing God is about to provide you when you pass the test. Some people will have to fall off. Don’t regret the process. Count it all joy.

And if that doesn’t help, remember Moses, Jacob, and Job who all found themselves alone wrestling with God in unfamiliar territory as God led them to the “other side.” He had to take them to a place where the crowd could not follow. He was positioning them for what he was about to do in their lives. He was preparing them for the next level. Revelation before elevation is a not a myth, it is a fact. Pay attention.

Moses tried everything he could and made all kind of excuses to get out of going to Egypt to deliver God’s people from bondage. Jacob was full of fear, anxieties when faced with meeting his brother Esau who vowed to kill him and found himself alone in the desert where he wrestled with God, and won. Job wrestled with God as he sought answers to why all the afflictions had come upon him. But they never lost their faith in God. Nor did they give up. They stood on God’s Word and fulfilled His promises.

Here’s a thought, God has set you apart for his purpose. It will be uncomfortable. You may even be confused when others are not happy for you, especially those you thought were close to you. It’s just a test. This means war! And the devil knows this. The devil knows what God is about to do and will do everything in his power to distract, destroy, and discourage you from reaching your destiny that you may never get to experience the manifestation of God’s glory. Do not be dismayed. Don’t give up. Be encouraged. God’s up to something.

When you begin to notice the very things you become complacent with that will change for reasons you may never understand and can be frustrating when faced with a fear of the unknown, know that God is changing things in your life for a greater purpose. You may not know what to expect without knowing what’s ahead. Have faith it will work out for the greater good.

You may find yourself having trouble with adapting to change, wanting to stay with what’s familiar, and keep things as they are because it’s easier to accept or settle where you are because you’re so used to things working out as they have been. Change your mindset. God desires you grow and with that will come tests, trials, and struggles. God wants to bless you and bless you more abundantly, if you allow him. Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will elevate you. Be ready.

Some of the best of the best men like Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and Job wrestled with God and His will for their lives and they made it through. Many couldn’t and didn’t go with them to their next level of destiny because they weren’t meant to. You are no different. You are on assignment for God. Be bold. Embrace preparation before elevation. Be fearless. Be intentional. Walk into your next level of destiny!

Be blessed! – JD

Isaiah 40:28-29 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (NIV)

No Matter The Situation, Praise God. He Will Do It, Won’t He!

If you were to look back over your life and reflect on everything you’ve been through that God has brought you through, and count your blessings one by one, your arms wouldn’t be long enough to carry them.

For every tear you’ve cried, every obstacle you’ve faced, God wiped the tears from your eyes and made a way out of no way.

For every person that has hurt you and talked about you behind your back, God took care of it. He made the crooked places straight. He placed the enemy under your feet. He turned it around in your favor and blessed you more abundantly.

For all the fiery trials you’ve met with, God took care of that too. His grace and mercy saved you. So when you find yourself complaining about anything, change your mindset. Give thanks to God. Count your blessings. Look at God! He did that!

When we pray and ask God for what we want, unanswered prayers is God saving us from what he knows we don’t need. Thank God for answered prayers for what we need and not for what we want. Thank him for unanswered prayers of what we wanted because he knew what was best for us.

Because we know what it is to be in need and not want, we know what it is to have plenty, even when it looks like we don’t have enough. We may have more month than money, but God! He will supply all our needs. His grace is sufficient. He already worked that thing out. Praise God. He provided. He will do it won’t he!

Philippians 4:12-13 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (NIV)

Don’t Rush God. Be Patient. Wait on Him. He Knows Exactly What He’s Doing!

The vision is yet for the appointed time. Don’t rush God. Be patient. Though it may tarry, it will surely come. Everything you’re believing God for will happen in his timing. Be careful what you ask God for. Because you just might get what you are not ready for.

When you ask God to stretch you beyond what you can imagine that you may grow in him, He will pull some things out of you that you didn’t know you had in you to fulfill his purpose. He will stretch you beyond the unthinkable. To do what he put inside you and knows you are capable of. And not what you think you know you are not made of. When he stretches you, it ain’t gone be pretty. Be ready.

Sometimes God has to set us up to bring out some things in us before he elevates us. It may seem like it’s taking too long but don’t get discouraged. Believe it or not, negativity can be a blessing in disguise. It’s calling your attention to something. Transform your mind. Pay attention.

Trials tests our character. Circumstances tempt us. We believe the opposite of what God promises us. We struggle with our identity and are tempted to find our purpose. When in fact, oftentimes it will expose flaws in our character and reveal our true identity.

Struggles do not define us. It’s all in our perception. We’re victors and not victims. God builds character through our trials to mold and mature us. He has to break us before he make us while we are in transition. Some things will need to change in your life for the better that you may grow, become more like Christ, and become a better person.

When our identity is tested we find out what we’re made of and who we truly are when faced with obstacles and situations that make us uncomfortable. Especially when we reach a point in life where we are uncertain what we should be doing to reach our destiny or fulfill our purpose.

We arrive at a place where our job no longer fulfill us, but we know deep inside there’s something greater inside us. With determination, we keep pressing on to do what we are created to do and change the world.

Remember, it takes time to build character. It doesn’t happen overnight. The wait is for a greater purpose. To ensure you are not only prepared when God elevates you but ready to do the work you are called to do. Don’t regret change. It’s required.

What seems difficult will not defeat you. It will make you stronger. Don’t regret the process. When the storm is over you’ll be wiser, better. You will come out stronger. Thank God for every trial, every setback, and every difficulty. He was preparing you for your destiny. Be encouraged. Don’t give up. You made it. Look at God. He did that!

 

Be Blessed! – JD

Habukkak 2:2-3 Then the LORD answered me and said, “Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. 3″For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. (NASB)