It doesn’t matter how old you are, because it is never too late to begin pursuing God’s purpose and plan for your life.
One of the saddest things I encounter as I travel across the country is that the Body of Christ is filled to overflowing with believers who received a word from God, men and women who were burning with a passion to do something tremendous for God in this world, but the dream thieves pressured them and pressured them, whittling them down and breaking them down, until they let their dream slowly drain out of their hearts and minds.
The exciting and adventurous and faith-filled life that they once envisioned and looked forward to has been reduced to a regular, boring, grinding routine.
In my services, I see and talk with people who early in life burned with a dream from heaven.
For example, some of them knew that they had the ability to make millions of dollars, that God had gifted them to help finance the preaching of the gospel throughout the world and bring in the end-time harvest that is currently taking place.
There are those who were born to have their own businesses or ministries, but they have settled for less, for a mediocre life. Now I want you to understand that “less” and “mediocre” do not mean that being a ditch digger is less and mediocre, and being an international evangelist is the pinnacle of success and fulfillment. Mediocrity is simply not being all that God called you to be.
If you are a ditch digger and you know in your heart that you are called to be an international evangelist, then you are settling for less – you have chosen to live a mediocre life.
But if you are an international evangelist and God has called you to be a ditch digger, you are also settling for less and living a life of mediocrity.
A believer’s purpose, fulfillment, and greatest joys and adventures can only be found through following the plan of God for their lives.
Unfortunately, one of the scapegoats people use for coming to the end of their lives without accomplishing what God has called them to do is their children. They say, “Well, you know, if I didn’t do anything else, I raised some good kids.”
Certainly, raising godly, healthy, and productive children is a high priority in our lives, but it is no excuse for ignoring or choosing not to fulfill the call of God on our lives. And, the trust is if you refuse to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit for your life, you are not setting a godly example for your children anyway!
You are going to perpetuate your frustration and pass your failure down to the next generation.
If you realize that you have allowed the dream thieves to steal your dream, remember this: it doesn’t matter how old you are, because it is never too late to begin pursuing God’s purpose and plan for your life. Moses was 80 years old when God called him out of the wilderness to confront Pharaoh!
The main thing to remember is that whey you get a word from God you must “hold fast,” wrap your arms around it, hold it tight, and keep it down in your heart. Do everything in your power to keep it from being stolen from you – and go after it with all of your might!
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing
Rick and Denise met while they were each on an individual quest to wholeheartedly follow God's plan for their lives. Rick was a college student, growing in his teaching ministry. Denise was a talented vocalist. She chose not to pursue a course that held the prospect of performing with the Metropolitan Opera so that she could instead pursue a relationship with Rick and fulfill her heart's desire to enter full-time ministry.
Rick and Denise's friendship has led to lifelong love and a powerful partnership in building the Kingdom of God. After a decade of ministry, first as pastor and then as itinerant ministers, Rick and Denise Renner embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. In January 1991, the Renners and their sons Paul, Philip, and Joel left behind all they knew to relocate their family to serve the region that only weeks earlier had become the former Soviet Union.
Rick and Denise remember kneeling together as a family and kissing the ground when they arrived at the airport in Latvia on that cold January day. At that moment, they all committed their lives to the will of God and to the people of their new homeland. The following year, Rick moved forward to launch and establish the first of its kind, and eventually the largest, a Christian television network in that region of the world.
Over the years, Rick and Denise pioneered three churches, a Bible school, and a ministerial association that serves thousands of Russian-speaking pastors throughout the former USSR as well as parts of the Middle East. As Rick began training and mentoring leaders in the early days, Denise also developed a women's ministry that is actively involved in changing the lives of women and their families today. Specifically, they minister to the needs of orphans, women prisoners, the homeless, and drug-and-alcohol addicts.
Rick, Denise, and their children began as a small circle of five, willing to go beyond their comfort zone to reach the uttermost parts of the world. Today that circle includes their sons' wives, six grandchildren, and a large ministry staff that helps the Renners extend their reach as they exalt Jesus Christ as the Hope of all nations.