You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:16 (NLT) The world is full of small thinkers. My Australian friends call this tendency the “tall poppy syndrome,” which is slang for the tendency to criticize highly successful people and cut them down to size. Others call it the “crab bucket mentality.” As one crab tries to crawl up the side of the bucket, the others claw him right back down. These small thinkers will tell you to be realistic. If you have a dream, they’ll poke holes in it or they’ll say, “Oh, I tried that and it doesn’t work.” They’ll try to discourage …

Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14 (NKJV) I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again–if you want to go places you’ve never gone, you have to do things you’ve never done. And to do things you’ve never done, you’ll need to think things you’ve never thought. All throughout the Bible we find examples of people who needed to learn to think differently before they could be used by God. Esther is a great example. One new thought started a chain of events that changed the fate of the Jewish people. Esther was a Jewish girl who had become one of the king’s concubines in Persia. After gaining favour with the king, she …

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) We all have old traditions and routines that threaten to stop us from doing what God has for us to do. When I think about it, one major way Holy Spirit works with me is by challenging me to think bigger. In fact, God always seems to expand our thinking before He uses us. When Moses complained and said, “I’ve never been good with words…. I stutter and stammer,” and “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else,” God told Moses that He would put the necessary words in his mouth (Exodus 4:10–13, MSG). He also equipped Moses …

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. Psalms 139:13 (ESV) God has placed gifts and desires deep within you that are like seeds waiting to be watered. When you were in your mother’s womb, God placed gifts and desires within you. According to Psalm 139:13, He shaped your inmost being. He gave you natural tendencies that can explode into great talents with a bit of dedication. He also shaped you for certain causes. You have the potential to focus your entire life on something you are passionate about. If you didn’t have the opportunity to cultivate your gifts as you grew up, those gifts are still waiting for your attention. You are not limited to only one gift. …

By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. Hebrews 11:7 (MSG) When God asked Noah to build an ark, it was no small request. The massive boat took years to build and although Noah faced bitter ridicule, he kept going. Despite ridicule, he continued to have faith. Supernatural strength flows out of us when we do things in faith. Without it, Noah could never have done what God needed him to do. Because he developed an unshakable belief that if God said it would happen, it would happen, he saved his family and the fate of mankind. The church is …