There
have been many people that I know that have really been aggressively pursuing
and acting on their God-given destiny. I have friends that are writing books
about their deepest struggles, moving into new careers, starting new business
ventures and the list goes on. They have decided that it is time to do what God
has called them to do, no more excuses, no more partial obedience, just doing
it. They are moving forward with God’s plan for their lives. I am actually one
of those people. In all of these situations the decision to move forward has
not been without opposition, in fact that is the one common denominator among
all of us, what I like to collectively call “Red Tape”. This term is
officially defined as the “obstructive official
routine or procedure” Normally this phrase is used in the governmental
sense, but I borrowed it for a spiritual application. Red tape is anything that
the enemy does that is designed to hinder, to halt or obstruct the official
God-given plan for someone’s life. Just like real tape it has the ability to
stick and it binds us up causing us to be at a stand still and unable to move
forward. This "red tape" can come in many forms but the goal is the same,
obstruction and destruction of God’s plan. It is worth identifying the many
disguises of this culprit so we are aware and can pray against it.
One of
the disguises of red tape is Feelings of Inadequacy – This
particular scheme causes us to not act on our destiny because we feel like we are not enough” to do what
God has called us to do. Sometimes in response to those feelings we verbalize
things like “Who am I to do this?”, “My
story is not that important”, or “What
do I have to share with “them”? The end result is the same; no action.
A second
disguise is the Fear of Failure – The simple “I can’t” response because of fear of not being able to accomplish
the goal, so why start in the first place. For some reason we allow the
enemy to convince us that we could never be successful at doing “that”, in fact it is even absurd to
think it will ever come to fruition, so don’t even think about it. The end
result is the same; no action.
There is
also a third disguise that is so very prevalent today and that is the Reaction
of People (or the lack of). I can’t tell you how many times I have
talked myself out of doing something that I know God told me to do because I
predicted what people’s reaction would be. I have said things like “They’re going to think I am crazy”, “They are going to think I that I am trying
to be something I am not.” or “They
are not going to like it.” Sadly enough, I have used them all and more as
it relates to people. The end result is the same; no action.
We
must recognize the enemy’s tactics for what they are “red tape”. In John 10:10 the scripture reminds us
of this “The thief comes only to
steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to
the full.”
If you
have been bound by “red tape” it’s
time to break free and spring into action! God desires to use YOU! Be encouraged today!
_______________________________________
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is
behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win
the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:13-14
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