Article by: Paula White
What an awesome feeling it is to complete a task ... to see a goal through to the end … to give birth to a dream … to finish a race. Philippians 1:6 says that the same God who started a good work in you will also complete that work until the day of Christ. God is a God of completion. So how is it that we — children of God with the mind of Christ — so often fail to complete the tasks laid out before us?
Obstacles are part of the course that leads to divine destiny. These stumbling blocks can be manifested any number of ways, but their purpose is always the same — they are Satan’s devices to hinder us (Thessalonians 2:18). Obstacles are intended to compromise your course and to hinder you from achieving all that God has planned for you.
Your God-given potential is so big, so awesome, that the enemy would rather destroy you than to allow you to succeed. In Genesis 37, Joseph’s brothers were so intimidated by his dream that they plotted to murder him. These are the lengths that Satan will go to cut you off at the pass, to trip you up just as you begin to approach the finish line.
Several years ago, I was diagnosed with a serious lung disease that could have silenced my voice forever. The doctors told my husband that if I continued preaching, I would be “buried six feet under within six months.” That statement could have held me back had I not recognized it as another of the enemy’s clearly disguised vices to get me off track — to abort my divine destiny. It may have been fact, but only God held the truth about my complete healing and deliverance from infirmity. I heard what the physicians said, but I chose to believe the report of the Lord.
The TRUTH of my life is that God has called me to preach and teach His Word. I have entered into a covenant relationship with Him and He has given me a covenant anointing to fulfill His purpose for my life. (See Deut. 28.) That covenant anointing includes the fullness of His healing power. Therefore, I remain in position to receive a powerful healing anointing from Him in order to fulfill His covenant purpose!
My lungs function at 90 percent today because I chose to believe the TRUTH. I stand strong and breathe easy because I commanded the blessings of God over the situation and refused to allow illness to distract or hinder me from achieving God’s divine promises over my life. The Bible says that we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices. We know that he came to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). But, it also says that if we resist the devil, he will flee (James 4:7). Our responsibility is to purpose in our hearts to stay the course, knowing that He who started a good work in us will complete it.
On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!
Any avid runner will tell you that the secret to winning a race is more about your mental ability than your physical ability. While it’s true that a runner must be in excellent physical shape, mental stamina is paramount. In my early years, I was a competitive gymnast. One of the first rules you learn in gymnastics is that winning a match is more of a mental feat than a physical one. Your mind actually tells your body what to do. If you are determined to win, you can win. So it is in life. Your race toward any goal requires maintaining a winning mindset. Your ability to focus on the task at hand will determine your end results.
Since you know that the enemy’s goal is to distract you, prepare your mind and heart to win the race, regardless of what comes your way. Focus determines mastery. Whatever can keep your attention has mastered you. If you allow doubt and fear to enter your heart, you will not be able to see yourself win the race. If you cannot see it, you cannot achieve it. Before you start the race, picture yourself dashing across the finish line. The race is not given to the swift, but to those who endure to the end.
Once you have prepared your mind and heart to win, you must develop a routine of discipline to build your stamina and endurance. In the spirit realm, this endurance is built through prayer and practicing the Word of God — especially through trials. When things get tough, it is always easier to give in and quit. But remember, for every blessing there is testing and for every opportunity there is adversity. Hold on — your blessing is on the other side of your obedience! Following the guidance and instruction of God will train you to be disciplined and build your spiritual muscles to endure the long run ahead.
Hurdling
An Olympic hurdler learns to anticipate hurdles, even before they come into view. Like the hurdler, a mature Christian, keenly aware of the enemy’s vices, girds up his loins daily with an expectation of hurdles, but also with a determination to overcome them.
Two common hurdles that cause us to stumble are carnal mindedness and low self-esteem. Carnal mindedness is walking in the flesh, which means succumbing to the desires of the flesh — instead of listening and obeying God’s direction for your life. Are you guided by feelings or by what you know to be God’s Word for you? I challenge you to stop living by what you feel and live by what God says. The day you receive Christ, He imparts His Spirit into you. The Holy Spirit residing inside of you will give you the spiritual fortitude that your flesh needs to change and grow into the person that God has called you to be.
Don’t let your history hinder you from your destiny. The past is the past. What was, was. You may have been sinking in the miry clay but Jesus has set your feet on solid rock. He has washed you, sanctified you, and justified you. The Spirit of the living God has pulled you out of darkness and because of what He has done in you, your life now is as if the past never happened.
God’s Word tells us, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ. [2 Cor. 5:17–20]
Once you make a conscious decision to allow God to lead you, you will notice that His path will become clear to you. If you try to create your own path, you will never reach the finish line. We all stray sometimes. Even if you have become distracted along the way, the good news is that God does not release you from your purpose when you make a decision in the flesh. Acting in the flesh is a temporary setback, but you should not allow it to distract you from staying your course. Repent, forgive yourself and keep running.
The greatest enemy you will ever have is your “inner-me.” The perception you have of yourself is sometimes more powerful than the reality of who you are.
