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"Victors still go after the goodies of this world, but they have a solid place to hang onto when the goodies don’t show up. That solidness is the prosperity of the soul that only comes from God."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 117.
I was talking with a friend of mine today about prayer. He was saying that he read a book that had a line in it about what we pray for. The author said that if our dreams don't scare us then we aren't praying big enough things for our life. I believe this is an important element of prayer that we need to have in order for prosperity in the soul to be a reality in our lives.
As we talked more about what "big dreams" might even mean, we saw how hard it is to define what big looks like to a BIG God. What we might think is big is nothing to this God that towers over all we know in this world.
Our bigness might be a healing in our lives or in the life of a loved one. Big to us might be getting that job that seems so far out of reach. The things in this world that come against us can look like giants when we view them from the perspective of what they might mean to how we live this life. I think we need our perspective to be changed so that bigness can return to our dreams.
Moses had to deal with this situation when he lead the Nation Israel out of captivity into the desert. They were on the verge of making happen the Big plan this big God had for their lives. As they prepared to enter into their new homeland, Moses sent in twelve spies to scope out what lay ahead. Check out what happened as those spies returned to report what they saw.
But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.” Numbers 3:31-33 (MSG)
Ten of the spies came back in fear. All they could see was the bigness of those that inhabited the land God promised was their own. Only Caleb and Joshua could see the bigness of their God trumped how big the inhabitants were. Sadly, Israel ended up wandering the desert for 40 years as they let their fear of God's dream for them stop them from moving forward.
How many of us are stuck in victim thinking because the dreams God is putting on our heart has our vision of Him so distorted? It is when we choose to let fear rule our decision making process that the bigness of God goes by the wayside.
Israel forgot that God said this land was their own. They assumed that fact meant that they would be the ones who had to do everything to make that dream a reality. All they could see was the size of their opponents. This kept them from seeing how much larger their God was than anyone who might stand in the way of what God said was going to happen.
I don't blame the people for their fear for one second. It is scary to do the things God has given us to do. This world is filled with frightening prospects, especially when God hands out tasks that are way bigger than our abilities might be able to pull off. That's the mistake Israel made then and we continue to make now. We think that making God sized dreams happen is all up to us. That kind of thinking makes it possible for us to wander in the desert as well.
I can't tell you how many times I have been stuck in places I'd rather not have been simply because of the fear of moving forward. It is in those times that I have found that the perspective from which I am viewing my situation needs to be changed. When I let my thoughts be focused on the problem I miss the reality of the one that can solve my problem in the first place.
It is when things don't turn out the way I intended that fear starts to take hold. When what I have gone after turns out to be a hardship that causes me pain, all my dreams start to be tainted with the debilitating effects of fear. I want that to change. I think it does as I let God be the size He is suppose to be in my life. The reality of God's bigness might be what makes my dreams take on a size that make fear something He and I deal with together.
That's what God is after any way. He doesn't need us to make His dreams happen. God is so big He can speak His dreams into existence. God wants us to be a part of making dreams happen. God's dreams should scare us because they are so big - they are impossible given our abilities and resources. God can make His dreams happen. He just wants us to go along with Him in the process of those dreams coming to fruition. When it comes to making dreams happen, God is all about relationship.
That's the perspective I want to have the next time a land full of giants has me doubting whether I can make it to the other side or not. If God wants me to take that land, it will happen. My fears come to life as I contemplate the cost of failure. With God it isn't about taking the land or not, it is about relating with each other as we work together to get done what He already knows is going to happen.
Victim thinkers are stuck trying to keep the score board tipped in the direction of God's team. What a total waste of time and effort. God doesn't need any help in winning. The Bible is clear on who will win and who will lose. What God is concerned about is that we look to Him when it comes to our next step in this plan He has for our lives. When fear is part of the equation, turn to God and see how He is leading. Go where He goes. Do what He does. Don't let the outcome be anything more than another opportunity to relate to this God that has it all under control.
Your victor status isn't determined by how many success you have in your life. It isn't about making all the right decisions all the time. God sees you as a victor because you are His Child. Live in that place of relationship knowing that what He has destined for you is assured. Step fully into your destiny as you walk out this journey called life. Let God lead the way and push the fear this world uses to slow you down out of the way of all your God directs you to do today.
As we talked more about what "big dreams" might even mean, we saw how hard it is to define what big looks like to a BIG God. What we might think is big is nothing to this God that towers over all we know in this world.
Our bigness might be a healing in our lives or in the life of a loved one. Big to us might be getting that job that seems so far out of reach. The things in this world that come against us can look like giants when we view them from the perspective of what they might mean to how we live this life. I think we need our perspective to be changed so that bigness can return to our dreams.
Moses had to deal with this situation when he lead the Nation Israel out of captivity into the desert. They were on the verge of making happen the Big plan this big God had for their lives. As they prepared to enter into their new homeland, Moses sent in twelve spies to scope out what lay ahead. Check out what happened as those spies returned to report what they saw.
But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.” Numbers 3:31-33 (MSG)
Ten of the spies came back in fear. All they could see was the bigness of those that inhabited the land God promised was their own. Only Caleb and Joshua could see the bigness of their God trumped how big the inhabitants were. Sadly, Israel ended up wandering the desert for 40 years as they let their fear of God's dream for them stop them from moving forward.
How many of us are stuck in victim thinking because the dreams God is putting on our heart has our vision of Him so distorted? It is when we choose to let fear rule our decision making process that the bigness of God goes by the wayside.
Israel forgot that God said this land was their own. They assumed that fact meant that they would be the ones who had to do everything to make that dream a reality. All they could see was the size of their opponents. This kept them from seeing how much larger their God was than anyone who might stand in the way of what God said was going to happen.
I don't blame the people for their fear for one second. It is scary to do the things God has given us to do. This world is filled with frightening prospects, especially when God hands out tasks that are way bigger than our abilities might be able to pull off. That's the mistake Israel made then and we continue to make now. We think that making God sized dreams happen is all up to us. That kind of thinking makes it possible for us to wander in the desert as well.
I can't tell you how many times I have been stuck in places I'd rather not have been simply because of the fear of moving forward. It is in those times that I have found that the perspective from which I am viewing my situation needs to be changed. When I let my thoughts be focused on the problem I miss the reality of the one that can solve my problem in the first place.
It is when things don't turn out the way I intended that fear starts to take hold. When what I have gone after turns out to be a hardship that causes me pain, all my dreams start to be tainted with the debilitating effects of fear. I want that to change. I think it does as I let God be the size He is suppose to be in my life. The reality of God's bigness might be what makes my dreams take on a size that make fear something He and I deal with together.
That's what God is after any way. He doesn't need us to make His dreams happen. God is so big He can speak His dreams into existence. God wants us to be a part of making dreams happen. God's dreams should scare us because they are so big - they are impossible given our abilities and resources. God can make His dreams happen. He just wants us to go along with Him in the process of those dreams coming to fruition. When it comes to making dreams happen, God is all about relationship.
That's the perspective I want to have the next time a land full of giants has me doubting whether I can make it to the other side or not. If God wants me to take that land, it will happen. My fears come to life as I contemplate the cost of failure. With God it isn't about taking the land or not, it is about relating with each other as we work together to get done what He already knows is going to happen.
Victim thinkers are stuck trying to keep the score board tipped in the direction of God's team. What a total waste of time and effort. God doesn't need any help in winning. The Bible is clear on who will win and who will lose. What God is concerned about is that we look to Him when it comes to our next step in this plan He has for our lives. When fear is part of the equation, turn to God and see how He is leading. Go where He goes. Do what He does. Don't let the outcome be anything more than another opportunity to relate to this God that has it all under control.
Your victor status isn't determined by how many success you have in your life. It isn't about making all the right decisions all the time. God sees you as a victor because you are His Child. Live in that place of relationship knowing that what He has destined for you is assured. Step fully into your destiny as you walk out this journey called life. Let God lead the way and push the fear this world uses to slow you down out of the way of all your God directs you to do today.
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