God continually invites us to a life we could never obtain on our own. His mercy is at work, releasing us from the bondage of failure and limitation. His grace is at work, empowering us to move into our prophetic destiny and purpose.
God delights in taking "nobodies" and making them "somebodies" so the world will have to acknowledge, "Only God could have done that." Abraham was such a man.
In Genesis 12 we find the Lord extending to Abram (later called Abraham) an invitation to covenant with Him. It was Abram's willingness to respond that produced the hero of faith we look to today. That same response is needed by each of us in leadership. When the Lord speaks to us, we have to mix the Word with faith and obedience (see Heb. 4:2).
Let's take a closer look at what happened with Abram in Gen. 12:1-9. We as leaders can learn a lot from how he responded to God's call.
1. He was willing to change. When God begins to stir our hearts with new possibilities, we must be willing to make the necessary adjustments to see them fulfilled. Too often we try to take a new experience and fit it into an old habit.
We have to be willing to "go forth from" our negativity, our pity parties, our traditions and our excuses in order to receive what is being offered to us. For Abram, and for many of us, it may even mean a willingness to change the company we keep.
2. He recognized the place of his blessing. Each blessing and promotion includes a place. Abram had to go "'to a land that I will show you'" (Gen. 12:1, NKJV). His ultimate fulfillment was not just anywhere, but somewhere.
3. He was secure in the favor on his life. Abram was told God would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him (see Gen. 12:3). Your assignment is accompanied with favor. The more God's blessings are on your life, the more favor you attract from those around you. Also, with that favor, you can rest securely in the fact that those who try to hinder you or halt your progress will be dealt with by God. You are protected.
4. He knew his journey would not be without adversaries. Genesis 12:6 says, "The Canaanites were then in the land." The Canaanites were committed to pagan worship and enemies of God. They were cruel, valiant and persistent. They were living where God told Abram to go.
I am sure that when Abram arrived in this new land, he found it was not what his dream had looked like when he had left home. It is not unusual for us to have in our minds what our promise will look like, only to arrive and find it is not at all what we expected. What begins as a vision of grandeur and success suddenly becomes a life filled with adversity, obstacles, hardship and criticism. Your faith is now on trial. Will you stand or run? Believe or throw in the towel?
Truth is, we often need adversaries in our lives. Adversaries cause us to become creative and active. Some things in our society would never have been invented had we not had a problem to overcome.
Our friends create comfort, but our adversaries create movement. Many times, adversity is the road to promotion and advancement. Remember David? Who knows if we would have heard of him had there not been a Goliath in his life.
5. He built altars. To see the fulfillment of our prophetic potential, we must humble ourselves in His presence and consecrate ourselves to His purposes, just as Abram did.
God has called you to a divine destiny. So, go for it! Move toward your dream with passion. You have His blessing to succeed. Don't hesitate because of adversaries and obstacles. Keep building altars. When you rise, destiny will await you.
Tony Miller is founder of Destiny World Outreach and author of Journey to Significance (Charisma House), releasing this fall. E-mail him at [email protected].
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