Next Level Thinking DevotionalSample

Be a Barrier Breaker

Have you ever seen an old oak tree? It is one of the most beautiful and majestic types of trees. When fully grown, it can be up to 70 feet tall and span 50 feet across. However, this is only possible if it is in the right environment. If an oak tree’s seed was planted in a small pot and kept indoors without sunlight or food, it would never reach its full growth capacity.

This principle also applies to our lives. Many of us feel like we have been “planted” in a small pot, deprived of what we need to grow. But Scripture talks about how we are in the world but not of it. You may be in a limited environment, but you don’t have to be of it. 

Don’t let your environment dictate your future.

God has planted seeds of greatness within you. Scripture says that before He made you, He knew you. He planned good works for you to do. Works full of purpose that will produce much fruit. 

The first step of embracing the life that God is inviting us into is to let go of the self-pity and victim mentality. Allowing negative thoughts to play over and over in your mind will limit your potential. You will always believe that the barriers in front of you are too big to break.

Maybe the barriers are impossible to break through in your own strength; but with God, nothing is impossible.

Will you stir up your faith and begin to believe that God is who He says He is, that He will do what He says He will do? Don’t settle for less than God’s best in your life. 

My dad, Pastor John Osteen, grew up during the Great Depression. Because of this, an environment of poverty and lack was all he knew. But when he received Christ at seventeen, he began to have a new outlook. 

He began to believe the promises of God. He dared to believe that there was greatness inside of him. He chose to break through the barriers that were surrounding him, making the difference for future generations.

Be confident that you have barrier-breaking power on the inside of you!