Don't allow where you are to dictate where you could be...

       "Never look at where you are now and allow it to dictate where you could be; but look at the big God you serve who is well able to help you do big, impossible things in Him!!!"
       These words came to me recently and I immediately wrote them down lest I forgot them. Interestingly, I can't even remember what prompted them, but I felt that they would be the inspiration for my next post.
       So many times, it is easy to not just focus on where you are but to allow what you see in the  present to cloud your vision for the future. "God isn't finished with me yet!" We know this yet our present limitations and shortcomings make it difficult for us to see beyond where we are. Especially when you love God and you want to please Him, you can feel discouraged enough to feel like you're never going to get there. You look at others around you sometimes who seem to have it all together and you wonder when you're going to get it together. You may even have an idea of what God wants to do in your life but 'how' you're going to get there is the problem.
       I'm reminded even now of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was called a friend of God because of his faith in Him to do the impossible. Yet Abraham and his wife were not in a position to fulfill God's plan for them. God told him he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4), but here was the problem...his wife was barren! How in the world was God going to fulfill such a big promise in light of their present circumstances. In themselves, it was impossible to realize God's word. They even tried to do it themselves. After all, that's what we as humans do. "God helps those who help themselves," we love to say. But their efforts did not help make God's word a reality and in fact created problems later on. God Himself had the power to bring His own word to pass. And here's the interesting and the nice thing about it - He didn't expect them to do what only He could do.
       I think sometimes we have to remember that it's not about us and our ability (and for those who have read some of my other posts I've said this more than once) but it's about God and His ability. What is impossible with us is certainly possible with our very big and able God. So instead of being discouraged by what I am seeing now in the present, I am choosing to trust my Friend, Confidante and Enabler who will help me get to where He wants me to be. Because you see, whenever I fail, it's not to remind me of what I am not .... rather it's a reminder of Who my God is and the fact that He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5b), no matter how much I mess up. He has also promised that He is well able to complete the work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6). HE will do it, because He knows I can't on my own!

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