Paul and Silas were thrown into jail for sharing Jesus (Acts 16). They were severely beaten and thrown into prison and the guard was told to not let them escape. When it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, they started singing and praying. Their attitude was centered on honoring Jesus. Suddenly, there was an earthquake, Paul and Silas were freed from the prison. The prison guard was about to kill himself for fear of what would happen when his authorities found out. Paul and Silas stopped him from committing suicide and that man invited Jesus Christ to be His Forgiver & Leader along with his whole family.

DON’T BAIL BEFORE THE BREAKTHROUGH!  Someone else’s breakthrough is tied to your obedience!

Peter was thrown into prison for sharing Jesus with those in his community (Acts 12). It was dark and dirty. It was cold and uncomfortable. I am sure he was thinking, “Umm, God, I am kind of in here because of the mission you gave to me; I was only being obedient to what you told me to do.” Yet Peter didn’t bail on the mission, Peter didn’t get a funk in his attitude. In the middle of the night an Angel of the Lord came to rescue Peter. Peter went on to pastor the church in Jerusalem.

DON’T BAIL BEFORE THE BREAKTHROUGH!  The church of Jesus flourishes in the darkest of circumstances!

Maybe right now you feel like what you are doing is insignificant, or that nobody notices, or at least the people you want to take notice aren’t giving you any attention; maybe you feel like what you are doing doesn’t really matter.

DON’T BAIL BEFORE THE BREAKTHROUGH!

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12 NLT)

God all throughout Scripture uses the “pain” and “waiting moments” to shape our character and prepare us for greater success in the future.  All too often we are consumed by achieving greater accomplishments when God is concentrating on greater character – to think, feel, and act like Jesus Christ!

God says, when your character is ready you will see greater accomplishments because it is THROUGH YOUR CHARACTER THAT I WILL WORK OUT GREATER ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

High levels of success without character can be dangerous and even disastrous.

Your breakthrough is coming. The BEST is yet to come! Through the pain and waiting, God is preparing you character for greater success!