Have you erected barriers against God in your life? Maybe not knowingly. But sometimes we act out of fear without thinking.

We might think we are not good enough for blessings and turn away. We might look at our own resources and shy away from service. Hence we don’t dare to dream God-size dreams. Instead we bar God further away from our lives.

That’s why we need this quote from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis to wake us up from our stupor:

We may be content to remain what we call ‘ordinary people’: but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility: it is laziness and cowardice. To submit is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience.

I have to confess I struggle with this. An ordinary life sounds nice and easy. And taking the higher route sounds egotistical and scary.

But…

…what if God is calling all of us to do extraordinary things for the kingdom of God? What if it really mattered how we follow Christ? What if we were not being humble but disobedient when we shy away from being all God wants us to be?

We are not to be proud, cocky and full of ourselves.
But we are to be humble, strong and full of God.

You see, being humble does not mean weak or lazy. It means being bold in Christ, not in ourselves. And when we are bold and strong, we dare to follow Christ into extraordinary adventures.

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. (1 Peter 5: 8-11, MSG, emphasis added)

God indeed has a plan for you. And it is an extraordinary plan. Are you ready for it or do you still rather erect barriers against God?

We are not called to be lazy and ordinary.
We are called to be bold for Christ.

What if we gave free hands for God to do truly whatever he wants with us?
What if we dared to be as great as God wants us to be?

Let’s tear down all our barriers against God. May God rule freely in our lives!

 

Gracious God,
Expose all the barriers we have erected against you.
Enable us to tear them all down.
Show us how to be bold and strong in Christ.
Do whatever you want in and through us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Have you erected barriers against God? How did you tear them down? How’s your life now?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you dare to be all God created you to be!

Image courtesy of Adam Neal. Linking up today with Wisdom Wednesday, Heart & Home,  Unite the Bloggersphere and #tellhisstory.