Right People, Right Place, Right PlanSample

The Next Level

Many great Bible heroes found their success by learning from and being encouraged by people God had placed into their lives.

Anytime you’re about to go to a new level, God will bring new people into your life. These people become the relationships that God uses to release you from the old and move you into the new. 

The apostle Paul was a wonderful man of God, yet he still needed the encouragement and support of other people, and God brought the right people into his life for specific reasons. When Paul needed to be healed, God sent Ananias. If God hadn’t, Paul’s ministry would never have begun. (See Acts 9:10-18). When Paul was discouraged, tired, and afraid. God again sent someone to encourage him and lift him up. (See 2 Corinthians 7: 5-6)

Somebody out there is already at the next level where you need to be. Somebody else has already made it through the mess that you’re struggling to get through. When you connect with that person, the power of God begins to flow in a new way in your life and you find yourself moving from where you are to where you need to be. 

You see, there’s a “real you” trying to break out. God sees the real you. He sees your potential. He sees what is inside of you that can take you into your destiny. If you don’t have a mentor, ask God to bring one into your life. A mentor is a person who speaks to that element of potential inside of you and leads you to become the person God has created you to be. They expose you to new orbits of ministry, new habits, and new levels of expectation. A Godly mentor will keep raising the bar for you, asking for a little more effort and for better results, and teaching you to expect more from yourself.

Joshua was always hanging around Moses. Elisha’s success was found in his relationship with Elijah. Timothy sat at the feet of Paul and caught his spirit.

Be open and willing to learn as God uses relationships and connections with other people to move you to a new level. 

Do you have people in your life who lift you up, encourage you, or help you on your journey? Is there someone who has successfully made it through the struggles you are facing? Do you have a Godly mentor in your life? Ask God to reveal to you the people and relationships that will help you overcome and reach the next level. When He does, don’t hang back and wait for the person to approach you; you may need to reach out and ask him or her to mentor you.