Heaven Will Handle It

Barrier – What Business is It of Yours Anyway?

The Thirty-Thousand-Foot Prayer On The Ground – Part 8

There are always barriers otherwise there’d be no problems. Opposition is something you don’t see coming. Barriers are the things that get in your way as you progress. You’ll have to knock down some walls. You’ll have to take a stand. As others would say, you’ll have to risk some things. You’ll have to move even when you’re not sure of the steps you’re taking, but you must stay the course. A barrier is something that will stand in your way unless you deal with it. It must be dealt with otherwise you will succumb to the opposition. We’re talking about barriers that come your way when you’ve decided to pursue a thirty-thousand-foot prayer.

Let’s take a look at the barriers that our friend from the Bible, Nehemiah, encountered.

“But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.

I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”” – bible.com/bible/116/NEH.2.19-20.NLT

Your barriers are closer than you think.
“Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan”

How does someone get a hold of your plans unless they’re close enough. Ordinary people think that it’s outsiders that are out to get them, but unfortunately it’s those close enough that can do you harm. Your barriers aren’t coming from the unknown places, they come from the places you’ve been or the people you’ve encountered. It’s not the people who you don’t know that create problems for you, your prayer, your plans. It’s the people just close enough to get your attention, your ear.

The barriers will question what’s important to you.
“What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.”

This is what Nehemiah faced, the threat that he was rebelling against the king, the very one who gave him a leave of absence, the resources and backing needed to do the job. Now, these three were creating rumors that went against the very person who’s helping Nehemiah. In the same way, we run into such barriers. You might have friends who turn away from you because of the decision you had to make. You may have your church family talk about you because you decided to change affiliations. (To the left) Why in the world would a church family get upset with a person who decided to go to another church? I could see if the person quit church altogether. You’d think they’d put more energy on saving the loss and wouldn’t have time to worry about one person changing churches. Moving on… The barriers will have you questioning why you’re doing what it is you’re doing in the first place.

Go ahead and shut down your barriers.
“I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.””

Sometimes the best action you can take is to stay with the mission. Stay aligned with your thirty-thousand-foot prayer.
Do what’s not normal. Don’t get on the level of the opposition that’s become a barrier to your mission.
There’s a principle that I like that says we can “bring Heaven to Earth.” In other words, we can release things from Heaven so they are available on Earth. Nehemiah says to his barriers that he’s not concerned with what you might put in front of him because “the God of Heaven will help us succeed.”
Whatever gets in our way, Heaven will handle it.
Whatever keeps me from getting that new home, Heaven will handle.
Whatever’s bringing discord in my marriage, Heaven will help us succeed.
Whatever’s keeping us from producing that movie, going pro, writing that book, or starting that organization, Heaven will help us succeed.
Whatever’s bringing restlessness and turmoil to our community, Heaven will see us through to peace.
Sanbellat, Tobiah, and Geshem tried to be a barrier to Nehemiah, but Nehemiah’s response was “what barrier?” When you pray a thirty-thousand-foot prayer you need to be reminded that there’s nothing too hard for God. He will bring down Heaven upon you.

Ordinary people use ordinary tactics to deal with barriers.
Therefore they succumb to the barriers because that’s the normal results. Uncommon people use uncommon tactics to deal with barriers and get uncommon results. Nehemiah asked those three guys, why are you here in the first place.

“You have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
When your barriers attempt to block you, ask them what business is it of yours anyway. Don’t get in my way simply because you haven’t done what I’ve been doing, the uncommon. Ordinary people will always try to stop you from achieving greatness because that’s what ordinary people do. They see you going after the big prayer and want to bring doubt. They see you rising early in the morning and say why you should get more rest. They see you changing your habits and ask you why you’re acting strange. They see you getting busy and try to keep you from staying focused. That’s what an ordinary person does when they see you moving from the ordinary to extraordinary. This is what they do when you’re praying an unrealistic prayer.

Don’t be naive, when it comes to your opposition. They will attempt to stop you, discourage you and even derail you. But you must not allow the barriers they put in the way to keep you from moving forward. You see, in order to see your thirty-thousand-foot prayer through to the end, you’ll need to become a barrier overcome, something you’ve never been before.

Questions: What barriers have formed to keep you from reaching your goal?

Thank you for visiting NoLongerCommon.com. Until next week, do me a huge favor and share the link to this message with a friend who’s working to overcome their barriers.

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