The Mystery of Romance

February 6, 2012 by Olga 7 Comments

The Mystery of Romance

by Olga Hermans

Next week it’s Valentine’s Day; do you love the day that promotes love and romance? Do you? I love it! For some people it means cards and chocolate, a dinner and candlelight or a movie and all those wonderful things! I hope that today’s post will boost your romance for Valentine’s day.

There is one thing that many of us don’t know about God and that is that He is romantic. Did that shock you? He is not only spiritual and not only practical; He also is romantic. Where do you think romance came from? God is the author of it. God is the Original Romancer.

God is love! How do you get more love? You spend more time with God and He gives you more love for those around you. Simple isn’t it?

So what is love and romance? Is it a magic formula of bath bubbles and candlelight? Or is it a price threshold that we have to exceed? We all know it’s neither.

Romance is in the mind; it is a mindset. It actually is an atmosphere that we develop and grow in our relationships. Sometimes we confuse romance with the things we have seen in movies or read in books or what people say about it. It is important that we make a distinction between the instructions of romance and the descriptions of romance.

There are many many books with detailed instructions from experts on how relationships work. Instructions work great in assembling your Ikea table, but when it comes to romantic ideas, they tend to be generic, and they may not always “fit” your relationship.

You might prefer totally different things from what your partner likes to do. Maybe you prefer going to the movie and eat a burger or you prefer flannel pyjamas over Victoria Secret pyjamas. Your way of doing things doesn’t make you more or less romantic. No, it just means the classic romantic prescriptions aren’t your “cup of tea.”

If there is one thing, just one thing I could say to couples; newlyweds or marrieds for 40+ years, it doesn’t matter…I would say these four words: “Husbands, love your wives.” Eph. 5:25 There are also numerous verses for wives – for sure. They talk about how we should behave, respect, honor and submit and all the rest of it and we need to take heed to those passages, don’t get me wrong.

BUT…this is the mystery… don’t you love mysteries? It is a huge mystery to me but I know that it’is something divine and godly when a husband loves his wife – and gives himself to her. Nobody really understands it, that’s why it is a mystery, right? But it is very fundamental.

Jesus is like that; He loves us this way. I remember the time when the Holy Spirit wooed me to come to the Lord; it was a wonderful moment that I will NEVER forget. We love Jesus because He first loved us; and it’s the same way in marriage. We didn’t initiate our love affair with the Lord…He did!

It’s the same in a marriage, when a husband loves his wife first or “initiates” love towards her—consistently—she begins to believe she is loved and she “responds” by returning love! Jesus was the love initiator and we are love responders. Husbands are to be love initiators and wives will be love responders.

Does your marriage need a romance boost? This is it: “husbands…love your wives! Wives…respond to his love”.

I want to give you some romantic ideas to boost your romance that you can apply to your unique marriage relationship.

Romance should be fun, it shouldn’t be stiff and feel uncomfortable. Laugh a little bit and act squirrelly if you like. What’s your cup of tea? My husband and I like to go for some good food; what do you like? Maybe it’s nature, a romantic movie or music or do you like to go shopping together? I like to go to bookstores, my husband likes to go to these fancy kitchen gadgets stores; he likes any gadget, if you ask me…:)
Romance should come from the heart. “Long walks on the beach” is a common romantic thought but if that bores you, go roller-skating or go for a swim in the lake; do whatever you enjoy and makes you happy.
Romance should not be an obligation; it needs to be a choice. The moment that you think, “I have to do this because it is Valentine’s day”, you’ve lost the romance. Deciding to please your husband or wife in whatever way is romantic.
Don’t underestimate sacred romance; a small romantic touch can go a long way. Romance does not have to be big and expensive. All the little things add up and make great memories.
Romance should be safe; you are ONE. It shouldn’t be boring, but it should be creative and spontaneous. But then again we should not embarrass, gross out, or frighten our spouse.
Romance is something that you give; NEVER use it to manipulate the other. “I did this for you, so you do this for me,” kind of thing. We want to do this to bless our partners.
Wear a scent. Whether it’s an oil or perfume on your body, a pleasant smell attracts. Sensation from Young Living Oils is a wonderfully fragrant, powerfully romantic.

Is there a tip that you like to share with our readers? Let us know in the comment section!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, God knew you before you were born., home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

You Have What It Takes

January 30, 2012 by Olga 12 Comments

You Have What It Takes

by Olga Hermans

Sometimes God leads us the hard way instead of the easy way because He is doing a special work in us. How would we ever learn to learn from Him if everything in our lives is easy enough for us to handle ourselves?

That’s why it so important not to lose heart and not to grow weary or faint. You can be sure that wherever God leads you, He is able to keep you. He never will allow more to come on you than you can bear.

God is interested in us yielding to His grace to do the extraordinary. We are nothing without Him, but with Him we can do things that we cannot even imagine. Look at Moses who was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

He could not see himself doing what God had called him to do; he thought he couldn’t speak well enough, he thought that he wasn’t strong enough. But something happened to him when he started thinking about the dream that God had given him; God supernaturally gave him the qualities he needed to fulfill this vision. The moment he started to realize that, he started to hold on to this dream with a tight grip and pursued it by force.

There are 7 qualities that you need, to discover the life you were born to live; we too have to take our land by force with a determination s never before. This is you’re your year that you have to know that you have what it takes to rise up and shine!

1. You have to know WHO YOU ARE; you are unique and you are valuable!

God’s plans for us contain a lot of surprises. God tells Moses in Exodus 3:10 that it was time for him to go back. God was sending him to Pharaoh to bring the People of Israel out of Egypt. He had to go and confront Pharaoh, but he didn’t know who he was.

We need to know who we are, what we can do, what we cannot do. God strengthens us in our weaknesses. As long as He is with us, we can do whatever we need to do. Be more concerned about who God is than you are about who you are.

2. You have AUTHORITY.

God explained to Moses that he would go in His name. He told him to say to Pharaoh that “I AM” had set him and that would be enough. God was saying that he didn’t have to worry about Pharaoh or anybody else. “I AM” is able to take care of everything you encounter. Whatever you need “I AM“, so relax!!

The moment you know what you need to do, you will have authority. You have authority to walk in that vision and you have the authority to believe for it to come to pass. Some people may question your authority to do this, but your authority is in the “I AM”!

3. You need INTEGRITY!

When you know your assignment in life, you will have a desire for integrity in every situation because that is what gives the credibility for what you are doing. It established you in your vision. It really doesn’t matter what people say; it matters what God says about you.

You know that He is always backing you up when you do things His way; you have credibility with God!

4. You have to know that you are ABLE

The moment that you discover your assignment in life, you will find yourself capable of doing so much more than you were used to. Moses kept saying, that he was capable and this and that. Exodus 4:10, He wanted God to choose someone else!
But God highlighted his ability; his God-given ability, that divine ability to get the job done.

5. You need COURAGE

God ignored everything that Moses came up with about his “inability” to perform, to speak, and his age, and gave him courage.

Vision establishes courage. We have been reading in Exodus of all the obstacles Moses faced when God called him to fulfill this vision, but God ignored all that and gave him courage.

When you know your assignment, you also will have the courage to do exactly that what God told you to do and the courage to go after what God says is yours!

6. BOLDNESS will show up

It is really funny when you see the change in Moses. He always talked about God’s people, but the moment he discovered his assignment, he started talking about “My people!” He started to be bold because he had the courage and he took ownership (authority) of his own vision. That is what vision does.

He was changed, he didn’t say any longer “I am not…I can’t do…I can’t talk….”. No, he is bold now, because he is established in God. He knows now that God would back him up in everything that he was about to endeavour.

7. You need PERSEVERANCE

We all know the story in Exodus that Pharaoh didn’t want to let the people go, but he insisted and kept going back to him, but Pharaoh would not. He continually went back again and again. This was a different Moses. When you discover your assignment, you need perseverance, a “do not quit” attitude.

In the end Moses won; He knew what he needed to do, he knew the assignment that God gave him and by the perseverance that was established in his life he was able to conquer his weaknesses and finish his race.

We all have a purpose or a calling in life that God expects us to fulfill; we all need to discover the life we were born to live but we must have patience and perseverance in order to carry it out.

You have everything you need to be victorious just like Moses. Don’t settle for a life with no goals, no vision, and no purpose. You know that God has called you for a reason, so go for it! Don’t let Satan or anyone else talk you out of it!

Let me ask you a question; I would love for you to answer it in the comment section!

Q. If you are uncomfortably shy, how can you allow God to help you overcome this? Has shyness ever held you back from saying something God wanted you to say?

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, God knew you before you were born., home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

5 Keys to Master The Fear of Failure

January 26, 2012 by Olga 10 Comments

5 Keys to Master The Fear of Failure

by Olga Hermans

Have you ever been in a situation that just seemed totally impossible to you? I have and I like to believe that you have to, because life happens to all of us. Sometimes, because we make the wrong choices for one reason or another, we can feel helpless and feel that we are not equipped for the situation, but God would NEVER allow something to happen to us and not give us a way out. In 2 Kings 7 God gave a way out to the lepers.

It is a story that speaks of a time when the people of God had been completely surrounded by enemy forces to the point that had completely cut off their supply lines. There was no food. Everybody was starving. Then there was a prophet who said more or less that God was going to turn things around.

That was difficult for everybody to believe because the situation was so devastating. The enemy was either going to starve them to death or they would invade and kill them all. So it looked as though it was a hopeless situation. But the prophet said that things were going to change and that God was going to turn everything around.

Outside the camp were four lepers. These lepers were in a more critical situation than the people inside the camp. They had three things against them:

There was nothing to eat so they could die of starvation.
The enemy was coming so they could die by the sword.
Leprosy could kill them; they had nothing going for them.

It looked like the only thing they could do was just sit there until they died. That is what a lot of Christians do. Rather than conquer their fear; they just sit there and let the devil take over and rob them of what rightfully belongs to them.

Finally one of the lepers says in 2Kings 7:3 … “Why should we sit here waiting to die?” Those lepers would not accept defeat even though they didn’t have anything going for them. At least the people in the camp had all their flesh intact. They were starving and the enemy was about to invade, but they were not nearly as bad off as those lepers.

Let’s see though who got the job done. It was the four helpless, hopeless, impossible-looking lepers, who decided they were not going to let fear control their lives anymore. They got up and started moving towards the enemy’s camp. When they did, God got right in the middle of what they were doing, amplified their footsteps, and made it sound like an entire army coming over the hill and it frightened the enemy to the point that they ran away and left all the food, all the gold, and all the silver.

Four lepers came over the hill and there was not a soul to fight! They marched into the enemy’s camp and took back everything that was stolen. God is looking for some courageous people like these four lepers today. God is looking for some people who will master their fears.

Courage comes every time you look fear right in the face and decide you are going forward. You will never find a person who has great faith and great fear at the same time. One works against the other. When faith comes, fear goes out; but if you are not in the Word of God, then fear comes and faith goes. You are attracting one or the other into your life every day based upon what you listen to and what you see.

If you fail to conquer the fears that you have allowed to come into your life, then you are never going to be free to be yourself and do what God put you on this earth to do.

Here are 5 keys that you can do to master the fear of failure:

1. Perceive yourself the way God sees you.

This means that you need to see yourself that way; meditate on who God says you are. Start talking about yourself the way God sees you. God is looking at you through the blood of Jesus. He sees you as more than a conqueror.

The more you spend time in the Word of God and read with your own eyes how God sees you, the quicker you will become the person that God sees in you.

2. Become passionate and enthusiastic about what God says you can do.

When you are enthusiastic, that means that you can see God in every situation. Others may not be able to see what you see, but you see victory and success coming your way. You can see God at work on your behalf and that creates enthusiasm.

This will deepen your faith. Nothing great is ever achieved without them. You must be enthusiastic about whatever you do.

3. Constantly affirm to yourself who you are, what you are and what you can do in Christ Jesus.

This is very basic, indeed and maybe you have heard this a 10,000 times but you are not going to be free to be you nor will you be the success that you are destined to be until you act on them every day of your life.

You see, affirmations are strong statements regarding what you believe. Affirming who you are and what you can do changes what is on the outside to what you see on the inside.

4. Read the Word of God daily.

Feed your spirit daily on God’s Word and faith-building material. The more you read, the more you listen, and the more you watch faith-building programs, the less you will have to deal with fear because faith will come and fear will go. Be very selective about what you read, what you watch, and what you listen to.

5. Surround yourself with winners.

Associate with people who have conquered fear. Associate with winners. Stay away from people who constantly talk fear and stay away from people who constantly talk failure. Who you associate with has a lot of influence on your outcome.

Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces. Proverbs 13:20 Msg.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: Making Choices in Life Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, God knew you before you were born., home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

Become A Trophy for God

January 23, 2012 by Olga 14 Comments

Become A Trophy for God

by Olga Hermans

By now everybody knows Tim Tebow who made a mark in college football as a University of Florida Gator with his strong arm and with his determined play with the Denver Broncos. He is also known for his unwavering and bold Christian faith.

Tim is the son of parents that are missionaries to the Philippines and has become a very influential athlete in professional sports. I heard an interview with Tim, where he said how proud he is of his mother, who made a strong decision in her early pregnancy with him NOT to abort him. Her life was threatened with what the doctors thought was a tumor, which they later found out was just a tiny piece of placenta. Tim gives God all the glory for it.

Tim emphasized that it wasn’t really a choice for his mother. She never would have chosen to not give him a chance; she had the same determination about her pregnancy and that she would trust God as he said he has.

Tim accepted Christ when he was 7 years old. He grew up and became extremely competitive. He played baseball, basketball, and football, but most of all football. There was a desire in him to be a hero for Jesus and that led him to the University of Florida, where football became his platform.

I think Tim is such a great example to all of us in the way he looks at things. People look up to football players. As a football player, you have been given a platform, which is far more important than any touchdown or trophy or anything you could win with football. It is taking that platform and being able to influence people. Tim’s dad taught Tim that with this position he could go into any school and share any message he wants around the country, around the world.

Many people know him for all the trophies he won, and others know him for the verse that he uses in everything that he does and that is John 3:16

He did one little thing; Tim had this scripture painted just below his eyes and because him doing that, the secular media displayed this throughout the earth, which made people look it up online; what a testimony. There were 19 million people who googled this scripture. Tim did something unusual and brought something unusual about!

There was one Sunday that the NFL wouldn’t allow him to paint the scripture under his eyes, but he said that John 3:16 was his most favorite Bible verse. Tim threw exactly 316 yards and an average of 31.6 yards. The odd of this happening is just unbelievable; it would never happen if you would plan to do it. The world calls him a huge phenomenon.

They call him a miracle by the numbers. Tim had nearly 9500 tweets a second; that is more than after the death of Bin Laden or the death of Steve Jobs and even more than during the royal wedding, but Tim never took the credit; he always gives the credit to Jesus. What a great success story!

So, what can we learn from Tim’s example? I truly believe that everybody has potential for greatness, but just having potential is not enough unless you are willing to take a risk, step out, and let God go to work in your life. We have potential because God places gifts and talents in us, but they must be developed.

Many people today are wasting their potential because they are not developing what God has placed in them. Instead of developing what they have, they worry about what they don’t have, and their potential just goes down the tubes.

The reason for this might be that you think that others may not see you as having much worth, but the truth is that God sees you as priceless! You are valuable to God! And you are valuable here on this earth to someone out there who knows how to look deeply and envision the contributions you could make. Everyone has a gift and it’s a matter of matching your gift to the right people who can appreciate you for who you are and what you have to offer to the world.

Tim Tebow had to make a choice to discipline the gift that was on the inside of him. I believe you are reading this article because God wants to do more with your life than you have ever imagined. You too have a tremendous capacity and potential that needs to be developed. You have to know that we are never fulfilled until we become all we can be.

Each of us has a destiny, and unless we are pressing toward fulfilling it, we will be frustrated in life. Moving up to the next level requires a decision to press in, to let go of what lies behind and refuse to be mediocre. Those are attributes that we can see clearly in the life of Tim Tebow. He surely is not a mediocre person.

The fingerprints of God are all over you. God knew you before you were born. He has planned out all your days for good. Don’t let potential lie dormant. Tap into that buried treasure. Share your gifts with the world. You have more in you than you realize.

There is talent you haven’t yet discovered. You may have had some great victories in your past, but that is nothing compared to what God has in your future. You know you are not average, you are not ordinary.

Even right now I am declaring that the treasure buried in you will come out. I am calling forth the dreams, the gifts, the talents, the businesses, the ideas, the inventions, the books, the songs, the movies. I am calling forth your untapped potential.

I pray that you will be stepping into a new season. You will have to have confidence to do things you wouldn’t do before. You will feel a supernatural strength. Supernatural doors will open for you. Supernatural opportunities are coming your way. Don’t shrink back. Don’t be intimidated.

God is saying to you what He said to Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord your God is with you.” You may have been told a thousand times what you can’t do. But I am here to tell you what you can do.

You are valuable and you are God’s craftsmanship. When you get a revelation of your worth in God, it will transform your life. Most people lack a sense of worth or value in their life due to things that have happened to them in the past.

Many people have had to deal with feelings of inferiority because of the putdowns in their lives. But when they start to understand their value in God, you will start to value other people. You are a champion. You have been prepared for such a time as this.

Be a Tim Tebow in the area that you are good in. The world wants to know the God of Tim Tebow, just as they wanted to know the God of Daniel. Show them what God has shown you; be a light in the darkness of other people. Our God can show off and one of the things He shows off on is a platform of impossibility. Impossibilities don’t scare God – He works with impossibilities!

Somebody wants to hear what God has done for you; somebody needs to hear of what God can do. Your life is a personal trophy of the work of God.

Start seeing yourself as worthy to give your talents and creativity — whatever it is, God has the perfect plan for you and just like Tim Tebow, if you stay persistent in your dreams and prayers, then His favor will make a way for you to prosper. You are valuable!
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7)

I like to end this post with a quote from Tim Tebow:

“Well, when people meet me, I hope that they say this-this is a guy who, number one, loves the Lord, but he also loves people and he wants to make a difference in people’s lives. And he wants to help everyone he comes in contact with and he is genuine, he is real, and he cares about people. And it’s not about the scoring touchdowns, or being famous, or anything like that. But its about relationships, its about making a difference in people’s lives, and at the end of the day it’s about glorifying God.”

It’s Time to Expect God’s Best

January 19, 2012 by Olga 24 Comments

It’s Time to Expect God’s Best

by Olga Hermans

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is free will along with the ability to believe. I hear people around me say they don’t believe in anything, but in reality they do believe in something. Choose to trust Him with your day and with your family. Watch how your expectations will change according to what you believe. Others may see obstacles, but you will see miracles.

You need to expect God’s goodness and blessing to overtake you! Don’t let fear discourage you, because fear will keep you from receiving from all that God has for you! God says to you and me to “Expect and not Fear.”

Everything that He says in the Bible, all His promises to you are Yes and Amen, and He so wants to fulfill them in your life. It doesn’t matter what is going on in your life, God’s Word to you still stands and is always true. 2012 is not the year to be swept away by worry and fear, but this is the year to focus on the goodness of the Lord and ALL His promises.

Most people tend to focus on the negative of who they do not want to imitate rather than the positive of what they do want to become. Our focus determines what we become. Focus on the truth of what God says about you and watch how your thoughts and behavior change according to that truth.

The key to keeping fear from dominating your life is to focus on God’s great love for you. I John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” If you believe in the perfect love of God, fear has to go because the love of God flushes all the fear out of your life.

Fear is a tactic the devil uses to hinder you from receiving the love of God and keep you from accomplishing God’s will for your life, but you don’t have to fall prey to his evil devices. The first step to overcoming fear is to recognize where it comes from.

There was a time in my life that I was really worried about having enough to meet all my needs. But then, (I like the word “but”), but then I started to really understand how much God loves me and I started to realize that He WILL supply ALL my needs. Phil.4:19 I started to say during the day: we lack nothing, God fully supplies our every need.

It is a glorious thing to live in the times that we are living in and having all our needs met in Christ. Once you believe this and once this is settled in your heart, the fear of lack will leave. Once we have a revelation of God’s great love for us and how much He wants to fulfill all our needs, it will literally flush out fear! Fear is not removed by willpower alone, but by realizing how much God truly loves you!

The Bible encourages us not just to forsake something, but to pursue what is right (2 Timothy 2:22). We are encouraged to resist the enemy, and also to draw near to God (James 4:7-8). In other words, resisting fear is only half of what we do to release expectation of God’s goodness in our lives. We must also focus on the love of God and spend time renewing our mind to that love. Romans 5:5 says that faith works by love. Love is the fuel that makes your faith work. It is not only your attitude of love towards others, but it is also receiving God’s love for yourself.

The apostle Paul emphasized this in Ephesians 3:14-21; He prayed for the church at Ephesus and for us to have a clear understanding about the love of God. That is the only way that you can experience God’s goodness in your life.

You can see in this verse that if you want to be filled with the fullness of God, you first must be rooted in the love of God. It is impossible to receive everything that God has for us if we are not convinced that He loves us through and through, no matter how bad we mess up. How else can we truly expect good things from Him? God will always relate to us based on love. 1John 4:8

The devil has come against God since the very beginning and has deceived a lot of people. At first he lied to Adam and Eve and told them that God was trying to keep them from knowing all He knew and being like Him. Genesis 3:1-6 While in reality, they were not lacking anything; they had perfect communion with God; they experienced heaven on earth in a very real way.

And today, the devil tries to deceive us the same way. He lies to people telling them God is mad at them or that He will not come through for them. As a result, many Christians try to please God by their performance instead of realizing that God loves them unconditionally and wants the best for them.

When we believe these lies, it is difficult for us to clearly understand this unconditional love from our heavenly Father. But when we do understand, it is easy for us to respond to His everlasting love.

The moment we become more established and don’t waver on how much God loves us, we will be able to release our expectation of ALL His promises to come to pass in our lives. Expectation acts like a magnet that attracts what we are believing for into our lives.

A way to release expectation in your life is to use your thoughts to imagine God’s promises coming to pass in your life. When we meditate on the Word of God, we strengthen our faith to fully receive what it promises us. As we hear from the Holy Spirit and read His Word, we can begin to imagine the fullness of His promise to us as though it was already done!

Wouldn’t it be awesome if your debt would be paid off? What if your unsaved family members would surrender to God this year? My pastor says that this year is the year of the double doors! You know those French doors, that open up to the patio? Both doors can open? These are similar to the doors that you should imagine. These double doors are huge and heavy like in a castle or a palace. Can you imagine all that?

Everything is possible with God. Luke 1:37 God gave us the ability to imagine things and He wants us to use it to create a picture of the future that He desires for us. He doesn’t want us to think on those thoughts of doom and gloom that will overshadow our expectations of the goodness of God.

I want to encourage you to pray the Ephesians’ prayers and especially the one in chapter 3 and then put your own name it. Pray that God would grant you to be strengthened in your inner man so you can comprehend and have a revelation of God’s great love for you!

GOD says to you and me, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! Jer 31:3 Msg. His love for you cannot be contained. I found this great quote:

Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind. ~ Anonymous

Our minds must go through a process of renewal in order to experience God’s best for us. It is impossible to change our lives unless and until we change our thoughts. So, when thoughts of fear or worry try to rise up in your mind, remember how much God truly loves you! Start speaking what God says about you and about your situation; start thanking God for how He truly loves you.

Tell fear to go in Jesus’ name and expect the goodness of God to overtake you. Praise Him for the fact that you don’t have to live in lack. Praise Him for supplying your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus Phil. 4:19.

Expect the very best in your life because He loves you ALWAYS! Make a choice to trust Him with your day and with your family. Watch how your expectations will change according to what you believe. Others may see obstacles, but you will see miracles. You will begin to see and recognize His provision in your life!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: Making Choices in Life Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

Learn To Pray Effectively

January 16, 2012 by Olga 12 Comments

Learn To Pray Effectively

by Olga Hermans

Last year I wrote my book on prayer, because I truly believe that you have to do things the right way. Many people want to build their business or find their purpose in life and are very fervent about it, which is a good thing. They want to climb that mountain so to speak. BUT….. you have to climb the right mountain first and then come down from that mountain to your own mountain.

Does that sound complicated? Let me explain; first you have to go to God and get all the instructions you need. Your greatest need right now might be to hear from heaven and know the plan of God. The Bible says tells us in Psalm 37:4 that God will put His desires in us until His desires become our desires and our desires become His desires. One of the aspects of delighting yourself in the Lord is definitely prayer.

This is what E. M. Bounds says about desire: ” Desire is not merely a simple wish: it is a deep seated craving; and intense longing, for attainment. In the realm of spiritual affairs, it is an important adjunct to prayer. So important is it, that one might say, almost, that desire is an absolute essential of prayer. Desire precedes prayer, accompanies it, is followed by it. Desire goes before prayer, and by it, created and intensified”.

Prayer is the oral expression of desire. If prayer is asking God for something, then prayer must be expressed. Prayer comes out into the open. Desire is silent. Prayer is heard; desire, unheard. The deeper the desire, the stronger the prayer. Without desire, prayer is a meaningless mumble of words. Such perfunctory, formal praying, with no heart, no feeling, no real desire accompanying it, is to be shunned like pestilence. Its exercise is a waste of precious time, and from it, no real blessing accrues”.

There are some things we need to know about prayer for our prayers to be effective. I want be prayer to be effective, what about you? If I have the idea that something might not be working or that I might be missing something; I want to know it and I want to know it to the detail. Why bother otherwise, right?

We are to be effective in prayer; we could say that we should bear “prayer fruit.” On a natural tree, let’s say an apple tree, if the branches were injured by a storm and somewhat disconnected, they could still receive nourishment and live. They would still leaf and survive, but they would no longer produce fruit.

We can be this way as Christians—we are still on the vine, but because there has not been pruning and purging of those damaged areas we produce no fruit. On a natural fruit-producing tree they would cut away any unnecessary branches so that the fruit is the very best.

The purging and pruning in us is so important. Do not shy away from consecration and separation; these are the things that would keep us from moving forward in Him. Are we abiding in the Vine fully? In the Word and in prayer and in His presence daily? God takes out things in us that are not necessary, they are pruned away. Why? To produce better fruit.

We are never to stay in the same place, we’re always to be moving on in God. More fervency, more fire released through His Body; always moving further in God. Then, we will not become religious or stale in the Spirit. We are to be strong in our union with Him in Word and in prayer.

Ephesians 6:10 (AMP) says, “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].”

We are to have a quality to the time we spend with Him, in our fellowship with the Lord, so that when we pray it is truly God propelling us. When we do this we pray what He gives us to pray and the answer is sure. We are to have a precise walk with the Lord, perfectly precise prayers. When you want to pray about in the final leg of the race, and we need to have a mindset and our hearts on precise prayer—those things that the Lord would have us release in prayer that are completely effective.

Probably the greatest need you might have right now in discovering the life you were born to live is that you desire to hear from God and know the plan that He has for your life. I might dig into that another time and you can read more about this in my book on prayer. God will show us things to come, and we can tap into those things through prayer. It can happen when things rise up on the inside of us along with a knowing. There are things that you know that yo know are from God.

God often deals with us ahead of time, especially if it involves a major change. If there is something coming in the future, then He deals with us six months to two years in advance. This happened to us when we moved to America and when we moved to Canada as well. It is a great experience when you know that God went ahead and prepared everything for you.

We can find out so much about the future through times in prayer. We can pray in the Holy Ghost and hear from heaven about things concerning our future. The easiest place to hear from God and to find God’s plan for our life is through prayer. Prayer processes the plan of God. If we will take time to pray our future out, over, down, and through, it will be much easier to walk it out!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: PRAYER Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

You Were Born For Such A Time As This

January 12, 2012 by Olga 10 Comments

You Were Born For Such A Time As This

by Olga Hermans

Some people say, “Why was I ever born? I am not important.” But you were created for “such a time as this!” God has a great plan for your life! You are here not just to take up space or make a living. You are on this planet at this time in history for a unique purpose. It is your destiny. His purpose for you involves using your gifts and talents.

Every one of us has something that is unique and different about us. Maybe you have a gift of organization. Maybe you have a gift of business or you have a talent of music, art, or writing. Or maybe you are interested in becoming a doctor; you may have a desire to start a business, to be a musician, an athlete like Tim Tebow, a designer, or you may feel called into the ministry. There are things on the inside of you, and God can use those talents and areas to influence and touch people in those arenas.

God has put specific things inside of you, not just for yourself, but to bring Him fame and glory. Do you even know what God’s purpose is for your life? Do you know what is on this inside of you? Sometimes it is like we are playing games or we don’t realize what God has put on the inside of us.

I remember the time that my husband and I stepped out on the water to start a bibleschool in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We have always been kind of adventurous; what I mean to say is that we weren’t the kind of people that wanted to do what everybody else was doing. So, although it seemed kind of easy for us, we were still shaking in our booths.

We had a lot of conformation and our pastor, Billy Joe Daugherty, was behind us all the way. Stepping in the unknown is not easy though; we had never done this and we didn’t know the practical side. But the 1^st year we experienced miracle after miracle, because God was with us and His grace was more than sufficient for us. It was a tremendous experience.

You know, the difficult part of stepping out in faith is that we don’t see the answers and the people on the “other side” of our obedience that need our gifts and callings. Of course we knew we were going to face challenges and storms. You too may be facing storms right now, but remember that Jesus is in your boat and you can make it to the other side.

Think about the story of Esther. Esther was a Jew, was divinely placed in the position as the Queen of Persia. During that time a decree went out that all the Jews were to be killed. Her uncle Mordecai sent word to her, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:13-14

Esther was afraid to say anything because she knew if she went before the king unannounced she could be executed. But when she heard that word from Mordecai, she awakened to her purpose. She realized that she had a responsibility to speak up for her people. She fasted and prayed for God’s wisdom and favor. God gave her the strategy on how to communicate to the king.

Then she rose up with courage and went before the king. She invited the king and Haman to a special banquet she had prepared for them. When it came time for her to share with the king, she told him of Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews, which included her and her family. The king was outraged. He cancelled the decree and Haman was executed instead.

The Jews were saved because Esther got out of her “cave” of self-centeredness and fear. She realized she was not in the position of queen just to look pretty or have a title, but she was in that position to make a difference in the lives of others for the Glory of God.

Just like Esther you are called for a royal purpose. You too, may be alive today in order to fulfill the purposes of God in your generation. The timing and place of your birth are not accidental; God purposely and specifically places us all in certain time frames and places. Many people spend their entire lives never knowing what their purpose is, but perhaps it is because they try to choose their own destiny rather than follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Following God requires sacrifices and a willingness to be uncomfortable. Esther reached a point of being willing to lay aside all her own thoughts, plans, and ideas. She was even willing to die if she needed to in order to obey God.

Because of Esther’s sacrifice and bold step of faith, God did use her to save a nation. She was more blessed in God’s will than she could have ever been anywhere else. God’s will is not always easy, but it is always worth any sacrifice we need to make.

God has unique strategies for you to fulfill the purpose that is on your life. He has ways that maybe you haven’t seen done before or maybe other people haven’t thought to do.

I want to encourage you with the fact that one person can make a difference. I believe that God has a great call and purpose for your life, as He did for Esther’s. Your assignment may not be the deliverance of a nation, but whatever God has called you to be, is extremely significant.

Whatever it is, be diligent to embrace the preparation process it requires so that you will be well-equipped when the time comes for you to act.

God’s Word says if you need wisdom that you can ask Him and He will give it to you. James 1:5 So, if you are seeking God for direction on what the next step is, ask God. Seek Him for His divine purpose for your life and how it relates to helping others.

Once God gives you direction or strategy on His purpose for your life, write it down. Then begin to take steps to carry it out. Hab 2:2-3

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

Yes You Can Be In Charge Of Your Life

January 9, 2012 by Olga 10 Comments

Yes You Can Be In Charge Of Your Life

by Olga Hermans

When it comes to a new year, people of faith generally talk about what God is going to do. This year, however, I challenge you to put the responsibility on what you, as an individual, are going to do. God already has His part worked out; He is faithful. I believe that this is a year of transition, decision and especially restoration. Make sure you are properly focused on what you need to do and think on this year.

Ask yourself what you want to do with the rest of your life. The decision you make, based on this question alone, will determine the quality of life you will experience. If you make a quality decision, your life will gain quality.

Think about it for a moment. Will you sit around waiting for someone else to change your life? Will you continue to live in bitterness and unforgiveness because of the things that have happened in your past? Will you allow your personal limitations to keep you from experiencing God’s best? What will you do? Take the time to search deep within yourself for the answers to these questions. Make a decision. And when you’re ready, begin the transformation process. How you live your life from this day forward is entirely up to you.

Nobody can make decisions for you, that is something that you need to do yourself! Let me give you an eye-opener: nobody can take your life away from you. God gives you the opportunity to decide how you want to move forward. These are not one-time decisions; these are daily decisions about how you are going to live.

Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus is telling us in John 10:17-18 that no man, and no devil in hell, could take His life. He and He alone had the power to lay down His life and the power to take it back up again. That same power, that same authority also lives in you. No man can take your life from you; no demon in hell can take your life from you, lest you lay it down. You have control over your life, and either you lay your life down, or it doesn’t get laid down.

That is powerful; it doesn’t only apply to your physical body; it applies to every realm of life. Nobody can take your future, lest you lay it down. Nobody can steal your joy, lest you lay it down. Poverty has no right in your life, because your prosperity is part of your covenant with God. Nobody can take your marriage away from you, until you let them do it. You are in charge of your own life; how you live your life is entirely up to you.

I am not saying that you won’t have any attacks or that you will live without tests, trials, and temptations. When you look at the life of Jesus, you can see that people were out to kill Him. The devil tried to kill Him in the wilderness, but Jesus made a quality choice not to lay His future down. He exercised His authority; nobody could take His future away from Him.
We have to make that same choice, when sickness tries to attack your body, you have to exercise your authority and make a choice to claim your healing.

The apostle Paul understood that he had the authority and the power to give up his life. Multiple times throughout the Scriptures, we see where he was left for dead, yet he chose to take up his life. Philippians 1:19-24

You and I have to make the same choice; it’s up to us! In Deuteronomy 30:19 God says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” We have to make our own choice between life and death or blessing and cursing.

Some people really think that God allows all the destruction to take place in our life while all our friends are blessed. If we believe this we get into that victim mentality. No, God called upon heaven and earth to record this very fact—He has set before you a choice, life or death. And the record will show that God not only gives you the choice, He gives you the answer—choose life!

Every day life presents to you choices, and in each you have the opportunity to choose life (abundant life, blessings), or you can choose death (destruction, despair). When temptation comes, you have to make a choice, either you consider the temptation and please your flesh or you pick up your authority and choose to deal with that temptation as God shows us in His Word.

You see, when you choose to rule your life contrary to the Word of God, you let your life go. It’s like lowering the drawbridge on a castle. What was once so protected is now vulnerable to the enemy. Over time, the enemy will continue to gain access through that opening, and you could lose the whole fortress.

I can tell you how you can constantly choose life, you probably know it as well. Proverbs 18: 21 says, Death and Life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. The only way we make the choice to choose life is to say something.

When you find yourself in a trial or a temptation, you have to speak up and say, “I choose life.” The moment you do that, power is released to back you up and heaven is right there to your side to help you fulfill the choice you just made.

Make sure you are properly focused on what you need to do, because you have the authority and the power over what happens in your life…you! Satan can attack you, but you choose life and you will not loose your life. Nobody can override your choices. Neither God nor Satan will make you choose something. You are responsible to choose things for yourself.

I don’t know what you are going through; maybe your mind is attacked with rejection or depression. Maybe your kids are acting up, or you let strife creep up in your marriage, or you’re stressed because of financial problems; it all can change today! All you need to do is make a choice to pick up your authority again.

Repent from it if you have to; it’s really easy. It’s just a choice. Instead of choosing to not do anything, you can choose to pick it back up again. The devil can’t keep you down! Today–choose life and blessing.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: Making Choices in Life Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

Let The Love of God Out Of The Box

January 5, 2012 by Olga 8 Comments

Let The Love of God Out Of The Box

by Olga Hermans

To know the love of God is to know His fullness. The Apostle Paul believed it was possible for born-again children of God to be filled with His fullness. He had confidence in God’s ability to do (by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit who works within us) more than our brains could even imagine.

Paul knew by divine revelation that God is truly able to glorify Himself through us! So how do we get the fullness of God? Ephesians 3:17-20 tells us exactly how to get filled with the fullness of God. We do it by becoming rooted and grounded in His love. We do it by developing such an intimate knowledge and experience of God’s love that we begin to comprehend the full extent of it.

Since He is love, when we comprehend and live completely in love we actually reveal God in His fullness.

The full comprehension of God’s love doesn’t just fall on us. It must grow up within us. And like anything that grows, it must start with a seed. That seed is the simple New Testament command of love found in Matthew 22, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (vv. 37, 39).

As we meditate on this, confess it and align our lives with it, that command begins to take root in our minds and hearts. If we stick with it, eventually we will become so grounded in the commandment of love that we’ll judge our whole lives by it.

When that happens, if somebody says something ugly to us, for example, instead of lashing out at them, start searching for a way to keep the commandment and respond to them in love.

The more we practice yielding to love, the stronger our revelation of God’s love grows. Our comprehension of it increases and as a result, our lives are increasingly filled with the fullness of God.

The more we practice obeying the commandment of love, the more rooted and grounded in love we’ll become. Before long, walking in love won’t even seem like a commandment anymore. It will become a privilege, an honor and a joy. We won’t desire to live any other way. The seed of love will be growing up within us. We’ll become rooted and grounded in it. We’ll begin to truly comprehend the love of God…and the God of love.

If you’ll keep on walking in love, every day as you step out your front door, you will be overflowing a little more with the presence of the Lord. Every day you’ll be living more of the life you are called and divinely designed to live—a life that is filled with all the fullness of God!

Google the word “love” and you’ll get 8,930,000,000 results – that’s nearly 9 billion hits! There is so much information on love, yet many have no concept of true love, God’s love…supernatural love.

What is supernatural love?
Supernatural love is above and beyond the capability of human character. Supernatural love is extended to us by God and flows through us to our fellow man. Anything with the label “supernatural” sounds difficult to define or identify. How do we know that we receive and give supernatural love?

How do I know I have it?
The Bible tells us the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). To love people unconditionally takes a supernatural kind of love! But praise God; we have the love of God residing in us. Actions follow beliefs.
It is only through our relationship with the Lord that this supernatural love will flow through us back to the Father and to others.

Why is supernatural love so important?
We are commanded to be imitators of God. God doesn’t love. God IS love – God’s nature is so overwhelmingly love that He is love.

What is the model for supernatural love?
Picture Jesus’ last supper with His disciples. Even then Jesus knew God’s plan was for Him to be tortured and crucified. He knew that Judas was going to betray Him and yet still released him to do so. Jesus knew every detail of the plan, yet He followed through with it because of his supernatural love for the Father and for us. How do we know if we’re operating in supernatural love?

How do I show supernatural love?
Supernatural love is seen in our love of God and our love of man. We make a choice to spend time with the Father, just as Jesus did. Supernatural love for one another is described in 1 Peter 1:22 which tells us “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently (KJV).” Unfeigned love means real, sincere, not counterfeit or hypocritical love. What are some of the blessings that come to us through God’s love?

How do I benefit from God’s supernatural love?
We are beneficiaries of all the works that Jesus did on the cross. It’s by faith we receive what Jesus did for us in His body upon the cross, and it’s by faith that we give Him the burdens we carry. Our sins are forgiven and we declare that our bodies are whole and healthy because of the pain He endured for us. There are no words to thank Him for what He did on the cross. Two thousand years later, His Blood is still full of power and we can apply it to every situation and expect change; there are no limitations! How do I show God’s supernatural love to others?

How do I benefit others through supernatural love?
Being the messenger’s of Jesus’ love to mankind, we want to be lovers of God and to walk in love with all men. We ask Him for a fresh desire to extend love to the lost-those that do not know Him. We petition Him for opportunities to minister His love to make us bolder witnesses for Him. His heart is for all men to experience His love and He has chosen to send it throughout the world through you and me.

Supernatural love is a gift of God and we choose the extent to which it manifests in our love of God and our fellow man. If we are striving to be imitators of God, we will be full of love and continually ask God to help us love more.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: 5 Your Character Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

Get Out of The Cave in 2012

January 2, 2012 by Olga 6 Comments

Get Out of The Cave in 2012

by Olga Hermans

The philosopher Plato wrote an allegory in which he compared people to prisoners chained in a cave. The only reality they knew was the tiny space of their surroundings. But if a person would stand up and break out of the chains, they could step out of the cave and into the light. This analogy can relate to our lives spiritually. The Bible says in John 1:5 that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all!

You could be in a type of a cave. That cave could symbolize fear, depression, shame, or bitterness. The awesome thing is that Jesus has already paid the price for you to be free from the chains of the enemy. God has called you out of darkness and into the light of Christ Jesus.

There are so many distractions that will try to keep you from fulfilling your God-given purpose. You see, the enemy knows the potential that resides on the inside of you and he will do anything he can to keep you in fear of stepping out into something greater.

But you must wake up and realize you have been brought into the Kingdom for “such a time as this”. God has a purpose, an assignment, for you to fulfill. It is time to get out of your cave and be a light in this world.

God called Gideon out of the cave and to step out. “Cave dweller”, that is how Gideon, an Israelite, would have been labelled. The background on why this man was living in a cave is found in Judges, chapter 6. The story starts where the children of Israel had gone away from God.

They had begun to worship other gods, so they got out from under God’s protection. The Midianites (their enemies) took control for seven years, causing the Israelites to resort to dwelling in caves to hide from their enemies. Basically, the Israelites were in bondage and fear.

While in hiding, Gideon’s eyes were opened to the promises that God had for him. The angel of the Lord brought a word that Gideon needed to hear in Judges 6:12.

I love this because “God calls those things that are not as though they were” Rom 4:17, and that is what God does in our lives. Gideon was in hiding and God came and said, “Gideon, you’re a mighty man of God.” And Gideon said, “Who? Me?”

Gideon is wondering why everything had happened to them if the Lord was with them and where all the miracles are that all their fathers told them about. Judges 6:13

So many times we do that as well. We think, Well, if God is really with me, why are all these things happening to me? Gideon was complaining, but the children of Israel actually put themselves in the situation because they had gone away from God.

And so, the Lord turned to him and said: “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” Judges 6:14-15

Gideon did what most of us have done: He began to compare himself with others and say, “But me? I am the weakest. I am the least. What do I have? Why are you choosing me, God? I can’t sing like that person. I can’t do this like that person.”

The Bible tells us it’s not wise to compare ourselves with others. 2Cor.10:12. Why? Because God is not going to help you to be anyone else other than the person He made you to be! God has put gifts inside you to bless someone else, not for you to get jealous or compare your gifts with someone else’s gifts. You better accept yourself as God made you.

Psalm 139:13-15 “The Message” says, “… You formed me in my mother’s womb … I am marvelously made! … You know exactly how I was made, … how I was sculpted from nothing into something …”

You are uniquely designed by God for a special purpose. God has put gifts and talents inside of you that no one else has, and He desires that you use them for His Glory! Don’t let comparison or fear keep you from stepping out into your destiny.

I remember the time that my husband and I stepped out to build a bible school in Amsterdam. I remember how overwhelmed I felt by the assignment and didn’t feel capable, but He saw something in us that we didn’t see. We had to trust God that He would give us the grace in everything that needed to be done.

I felt like Gideon at the time, trying to make excuses of why I couldn’t do it. But then we finally said, “Lord, we will do it, but we need your wisdom to do it.” We knew it was God’s will for us to do it, and He was faithful to give us the grace needed for the task. My husband and I had to choose to get out of the “cave” and depend on His grace and power to help us accomplish what He was asking of us.

Gideon was a lot like Moses. Gideon had a word from the Lord, and he started making excuses of “I’m the weakest, and I am the least.” I thought about the story of Moses in Exodus 3. Moses was the same way with God. Here are two men in the Bible who are listed as people whom God used, and they both made excuses of how they didn’t think God could use them.

Both Gideon and Moses were about to put their lives on the line. They were looking for the absolute knowing that the Lord had called them to take on their enemies and deliver their people.

When the Lord calls us to do something for Him, it’s not a lack of faith to ask Him to confirm the word that He’s told us. Remember, He’s more concerned about your doing the assignment than you are, and He’s well able to send a clear sign to you about how to fulfill it. But He doesn’t want you to hold back in fear. He wants you to use all that is available to you so that you can step out of your cave into something extraordinary in 2012.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life