Dream Killers - Don't Accept False Labels - Do Whatever God Puts Into Your Heart

This is part 5 in a series on dream killers written by Jill Austin. I hope it plays a role in releasing you to fulfil your God given destiny.

You'll find more articles by Jill at www.masterpotter.com

Counterfeit labels give the appearance of the real thing, but they are cheap imitations. In the case of dream killers, this means losing sight of the fact that you are an original, custom-designed by God, and accepting the false assessment that you were made in a sweatshop.

Labels have to do with unwritten rules. It happens like this. You have a calling from God, but you never seem to be put into a place to let it grow. Perhaps you are divorced and your church frowns on divorce. Or you are married, but your spouse is not saved. Or you are single, and your church is not comfortable putting single people in positions of leadership-particularly a single woman. Or perhaps you feel on the outskirts because you are in a racial minority or are elderly or your son is homosexual.

Whatever the reason for the labels that are put on us, we see others positioned ahead of us-the young couples, the financially well-off, the popular-and our hearts faint. We compare ourselves with others and jealousy shuts us down. We think, I'll never be able to fulfill my dream. I'm disqualified by the system.

The Lord goes beyond labels when He gives out marching orders. We could name many people in Scripture who defied convention, some of them pairing with other candidates who were just as unlikely. Simeon was an old priest and Anna was an old widow and prophetess, but the two of them were brought together in an assignment to announce the arrival of the Messiah.

Esther, an orphaned Jewish girl, teamed up with Mordecai, her cousin, and delivered the Jewish nation from destruction. Deborah was a judge and prophetess during a time when Israel was being harshly oppressed. She teamed with Barak, a great military commander, and, with the courageous efforts of a housewife named Jael, their enemy was destroyed.

All of these characters ignored conventional labels that could have disqualified them to achieve great things: age, marital status, race, sex, job descriptions. Because they were not afraid to dream, God could give them creative and dangerous assignments.

Copyright - Jill Austin

I hope this article has encouraged you to rid yourself of everything that gets in the way, and to run with determination the race that lies before you. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.