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Shackled from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

When given a task, we tend to look at ourselves, what we currently have, and our available tools. We mentally dig through our toolbox. Our solution is often confined to what we have already experienced, so we have limited vision and resources for attempting new things. Your mind can become shackled by your past. 

The Lord sees more potential in you than the sum of your past actions. Some of His most difficult work is getting you to see it. To free your mind of its self-created restraints and limits. To trust in Him. There is no "can't" in His kingdom. Let's examine a few people He set free.

Moses was the most powerful man on Earth when he died, but he didn't begin that way. When Moses was a young man, he murdered an Egyptian taskmaster and had to flee from Pharaoh. He lived in exile in the land of Midian and tended sheep for forty years. Moses became a humble shepherd.

Then the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush and told him to return to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from their slavery. But Moses began to look in his toolbox, and nothing was in there that fit this job. So he began to make excuses as to why he was the wrong man for the Lord's project:

(Exodus 3:11 NKJV)  But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

I, I, I...like Keith Green sang, "It's so hard to see, when my eyes are on me." Moses could only see his weakness and failures up to that point in life. All the things he had done wrong and failed at flashed before him. Yet, God could see the neglected, unfulfilled potential inside of Moses. Convincing Moses that he was good enough for the job was an uphill task for the Lord. It took time.

(Taken from Exodus 4:1-14)

* Moses said, "Who am I?" The Lord said, it doesn't matter, for I will be going with you.

* Then Moses said, but who are You? And the Lord said, I AM WHO I AM.

* Then Moses said, but suppose they don't believe me! And the Lord turned his staff into a snake, and Moses fled from it. I have to laugh at this one, but I would have run as well...

* Then the Lord made Moses' hand turn leprous, as white as snow. Then He had him put it back into his robe, and when he took it out, he was healed from it. Moses had the power to heal the sick.

* After these signs, Moses said, Oh, but I am slow of speech and tongue! And the Lord said, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.

* Then Moses said, Oh Lord, please send someone else!

* Then the Lord's anger was kindled against Moses...

How difficult it was to see himself through the eyes of the Lord. "Go, Moe, it will be OK. Trust Me." 

Another hidden warrior was Gideon. Israel was overrun by Midianite raiders who stripped the land of every harvest. So Gideon was threshing wheat inside a winepress to hide it from them. When the Lord appeared to him and said, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." He told Gideon to go and save Israel from the Midianites, but Gideon looked in his toolbox and didn't see any mighty warrior tools in there.

(Judges 6:15–16 NKJV)  So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." And the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."

(Taken from Judges 6:11-40):

Gideon wasn't convinced, so he asked for a sign. He put some meat and bread on a rock, and the Lord touched it with His staff, and the rock burst into flames and consumed it. Then the Angel vanished from his sight.

Gideon still wasn't convinced, so he put a fleece on the ground and asked the Lord to make the fleece wet with dew and the dirt around it dry the next morning. He said, if you do this, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand. The Lord did this for him, but even that failed to convince him. So Gideon said, I will put the fleece out again tonight, and you make the fleece dry and the ground around it wet! Then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand.

Eventually, Gideon came around and defeated Midian, for the Lord is patient, kind, and longsuffering while He waits on our tiny minds to open up to His truth. How difficult it is to see yourself through the eyes of the Lord.

Another is Simon, the son of Jonah, who became known as the Apostle Peter. One day Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd was so drawn to Him they pressed against Him to hear better. So Jesus saw Peter's fishing boat there, climbed into it, and had him push off from the shore a little. Then He sat down in the boat and taught the people.

When Jesus was done teaching, He wanted to reward Peter for using his boat. So He told Peter to push out into deep water and let down the net. Peter was a professional fisherman and said they had toiled all night and caught nothing, but because of His word, he would do it. When he did, they caught so many fish that it filled both fishing boats until they began taking on water.

Peter was shocked, for there was now a vast, unbelievable abundance where there had been nothing but empty nets. How could this be? Peter's "I'm a poor fisherman" mindset was being stretched to fit this new reality. He told Jesus to depart from him, for he was a sinful man, but Jesus had other plans for him. He saw a powerful Apostle inside the sinner.

(Luke 5:8–11 NKJV)  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Scripture is full of people who were once shackled to a past mindset, but the Lord set them free. Saul, a fiery Christian persecutor, became the great Apostle Paul and wrote most of the New Testament.

Decades ago, when I began working on computer networks, strangers would call me with some complex, scary computer problem I knew nothing about. I knew little about computers, and they would contact me with issues like a corrupted network database in Unix, or a giant mainframe that wouldn't boot. I wanted to tell them no. But I could feel the Holy Spirit whisper, "Go, and I'll go with you." Each time I went, things would fall into place as if by magic. Sometimes merely walking into the building and laying my hand on the device would reveal the problem. I never realized how important, how precious that was. My mind began to expand until I began to expect His help, which was life-changing.

The Apostle Paul wrote (Philippians 4:13 NKJV), "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Yet, far too many will never try, so they will never know.

It's not how you begin, but how you finish. It's not what you have done in the past, but what He has for you to do in the future. It's not who you are, for He will go with you. It's not what you already have, for He has an abundance. It's not what you know, for He will teach you what is needed when the time comes.

Your history is already written, static, and unchangeable. At the same time, your future is dynamic and still evolving. Stop trying to punish yourself for past mistakes, and learn to forgive yourself. He has already forgiven you. Your destiny lies ahead of you. Free your mind, and don't be shackled to the past.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please free my mind and let me see myself through Your eyes. Help me see beyond my limitations, abilities, resources, and failures. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me! I am Yours, Lord. Use me as You like. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!