Do you need a breakthrough in your life—in your health, relationships, finances or any other area? Have you been asking God to give you a breakthrough?
Needing a breakthrough basically means you’ve come up against something that is preventing you from doing what you really want to do, being who you really want to be or having what you really want to have.
The first step to getting a breakthrough is to pray and ask God for help. But it’s important to understand that when you pray and wait on God, you need to be prepared to listen to what He may speak to your heart because He will likely give you something to do.
As believers in Christ, we have a personal relationship with Him and we are partners with God. The Holy Spirit lives in our spirit and He speaks to our hearts. John 16:13 (NIV) says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
One way He communicates with us is through our thoughts; He gives us an idea or desire that sticks with us and won’t go away. It could be something you’re supposed to do for someone, a change you need to make in your daily routine or something that seems too hard for you to handle.
In our day-to-day journey of walking out God’s plan for our lives, we have a part and He has a part. We can’t do His part, and He won’t do ours. But we can be confident that whatever God shows us to do, He will always be faithful to give us the grace, the ability, to do it.
So when we pray, instead of just asking God to fix our problems, we need to pray for Him to show us the truth about the real issue. Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
It takes courage to pray for truth to be revealed. I believe that facing the truth about ourselves is one of the hardest things we’ll ever have to do; however, facing the truth is the key to being set free and moving forward into the life Jesus came to give us.
I remember when I was convinced that all of my problems—my unhappiness, bad temper, dissatisfaction with life—was ALL my husband Dave’s fault. He played golf too much, wasn’t aggressive enough, watched sports too much, didn’t help me around the house enough, and on and on.
One day I was praying about this and said, “God, You’ve got to change Dave!” When I finished complaining and let God get my attention, He spoke to my heart and clearly said, “Joyce, the problem is not Dave.”
Well, I couldn’t even begin to conceive in my wildest imagination that the problem was ME! I was deceived.
So I prayed for God to show me the truth and for the next three days, God revealed to me what it was like to live with me. I cried for three days.
This experience was painful and it took time for me to walk out the changes I needed to make, with God’s help. But choosing to trust God and obey His leading in my life so He could change my heart and I could do my part in the process was the key to getting my breakthrough. I can honestly say that choosing the pain of change was totally worth it, because today I have a life filled with God’s love, peace and joy.
I really want to encourage you to make a determined decision to seek God in prayer and by studying His Word. Humble yourself and tell Him how much you need Him. Ask Him to help you see the truth that you need to face and show you the wisdom in Scripture that you need to make right choices. He will answer you because Psalm 51:6 (AMP) says, “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.”
Remember that God doesn’t expect you to do it all in your own strength. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]”
That is an amazing promise from God! And I can tell you from personal experience that if you will do what God tells you to do, you can have everything God says you can have. Don’t waste another day waiting for your breakthrough. It’s time for you to start doing the things God is telling you to do and get your life headed in the