Whether you’re in the world or in God, you’ll never be able to succeed by carrying everyone and everything that you used to. Success never comes without sacrifice. As you’re going through the wilderness, God is going to change some things for your benefit and for His use:

Friends – When God starts pulling you in a different direction, you quickly come to understand the difference between friends, acquaintances, and enemies.

People that claimed that they would support you no matter what easily become people that will only support you if you’re going in the same direction they are. Some people just need a partner in crime, but the moment you try and go legit, you see that the love wasn’t there like you thought.

You’ll also find out, particularly in the church, that many love you when you’re next to them in the pews, or even sitting there as they minister. However, the moment God calls you up front, they make you aware that they don’t approve of what God has done in your life.

This is why God wants to isolate you. So that you come to understand where your help is really coming from, and it’s never from the place where you thought it was. In time, you find out that God will send new friends and new supporters, often from unexpected places.

Family – I’ve often stated that we’ve allowed the enemy to change and distort the meaning of the word “family”. The word used to invoke feelings of warmth, togetherness, unity, and support. Never just bloodline.

However, as time has gone forward, we’ve all come to realize that some of the worst people in the world are actually some of our blood relatives, and they’re not just people in someone else’s family. And we’ve said, “Well, that’s just family.” But God says “Not so.”

Understand that as God isolates you for elevation, you’re going to find out just how many of your blood relatives are not on board with your call. It’s surprising to those that haven’t read what Jesus said about it or even what happened to Him personally (Matthew 13:57-58, Mark 6:3-6, John 7:3-5), but even when you know it’s coming, it still hurts.

However, God wants us to know that in the midst of it all, family is about bond, not blood. Therefore, even as you lose people that you feel should’ve supported you, God will send you the right people to bond with in the truest spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood.

Associations – Some of the people that we even casually associate with can be a hindrance to what God has for us to do. Sometimes we feel because we’re not in deep with some people that they can’t harm the work we’re doing.

However, anything or anyone that distracts us from the purpose that God has for our lives is a threat to our success. God wants all of the distractions, especially ungodly ones, taken away. Even those that appear minor.

Location – How about this? Sometimes we only wanna do what God told us to do where we wanna do it. However, there are times where God will call us out of where we’re comfortable, to do a work for people that need our gifts, even though we know nothing about them.

We often wanna stay close to home so that what we’re excited about in God can benefit the people we’re close to and grew with. But understand that just as we referenced Jesus not being received by His family, some people that you’re close to will have to realize God’s vision for your life from a distance.

Such changes are often rapid in our lives, and come upon us suddenly. God isn’t trying to damage you, nor is He trying to ruin lifelong bonds that you have formed. When God isolates us, He simply wants us to be made over into what He would have us to be.

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