Contending for a Breakthrough (Guest Post)

Today my bloggy friend Barbie has written a beautiful and heartfelt post for you guys. When she emailed it to me, I knew that I had to share it because I can completely identify [and know that many of you will as well] with the words she has written. You find her personal blog, My Freshly Brewed Life, right here. Go check her out and tell her how awesome she is!

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I have been praying for breakthrough in a few areas of my life. I have to say, I haven’t been diligent to pray and contend on a daily basis and have had to ask myself, “How bad do I want the breakthrough?” Sometimes it’s hard to continue to fight for something when there appears to be an invisible wall towering in front of me that appears immoveable. Climbing is exhausting. You need a lot of strength! But then again, I have to remind myself that I serve a God who promised me that He would move those things in front of me if I asked Him to. Over the years as I have contended for breakthrough in various areas of my life, I would always picture myself trying to scale a very large wall. It took a lot of work and perseverance to finally reach the other side of the wall, but I did it.

However, at this time in my life, I am not content to take the journey of climbing the wall. If God asked me to climb, I would climb, knowing that there would be a greater lesson learned from my perseverance. However, these days, I want to “go through the wall”, to press through with such faith and force that the very wall in front of me crumbles before my eyes. I believe God has given me the ability to immediately “breakthrough” whatever barrier is standing in front of me. That takes a lot of faith! How do I continue to contend when my faith is tested? Here are a few of the steps I am taking to receive my breakthrough:

1.  ACKNOWLEDGE – What am I contending for? This has to be clear. What is the name of this great wall that stands before me? I must know what I am up against. And at the same time, I must know that my God is greater.

2.  BELIEVE that I have already received the breakthrough in Jesus. Christ has already paid the ultimate price for my breakthrough on the cross. I simply must begin to pull on heaven to bring that into reality in my life here on earth. I must be diligent in calling forth those things that aren’t, as though they are.

3.  ASK for the wall to be removed. This is not always an easy one. You would think that when faced with a wall in front of me that I would immediately ask God to allow me to breakthrough. But sometimes, I have held onto the wall as a means of protection from something which might be lurking on the other side — fear of the unknown, something from my past, a new challenge, etc. I have even been known to camp at the base of the wall, all the while desiring for it to be moved. However, until I am able to ask, and truly have a desire for the wall to come down, there it will stay. Asking is the first step. God has promised to come and give me the strength, courage and ability to face what is on the other side.

4.  PERSEVERE – don’t give up! I think of breakthrough as immediate, and although in and of itself it is an immediate action, the steps to breakthrough are not always so immediate. Joyce Meyer once said, “God is the God of sudden lies,” but sometimes waiting for the suddenly can take a while. So in the process of the waiting, I cannot give up. I refuse to give up and stop short when my sudden breakthrough could just be seconds away. What would happen if I gave up one second short of my miracle?

So there you have it — Acknowledge, Believe, Ask and Persevere! My breakthrough moment is on the horizon. Until them, I choose to believe and have faith. God’s timing is perfect and I will trust Him!