Break Out – Day 3

Here is an excerpt from a reader’s e-mail I received: “Benescke, you say God is everywhere, but what can one do if he has forgotten you? The Bible says: ‘You have not, because you ask not,’ but what if you pray and you don’t receive an answer from God? The Bible also says, ‘God will meet all your needs abundantly, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus,’ but what if it seems that this is only true for some people? Please help.”

During hardships or extended times of unanswered prayer, the temptation is always there to start believing that God has forgotten about you, or that he answers only certain people’s prayers. The truth is, God is not a respecter of persons. He loves us all equally and he has plans to prosper and not to harm us.

So, if you feel like the above-mentioned reader today, I want to encourage you with the one-degree rule. Have you heard about it?

At 99 °C, water is hot – very hot. However, it should reach 100 °C to boil and release steam. This steam can power a locomotive, factories and ships. Hot water cannot do it. It is the 1% extra that makes the difference.

In our lives, we easily fall into the trap of giving up at 99 °C. Think about how you feel when you have been praying for a job, a spouse, a baby, healing from a disease, for a loved one to repent or for the restoration of your marriage – without success. The water is warm, but the steam stays away. This is where you will have to pass the character test.

Job and Joseph were once there. Job, stripped of all his possessions, had to deal with the pain of the loss of his children and sores covering his body. Joseph was in a dirty, abandoned prison in Egypt without any hope of ever being released. Both men had many questions about their circumstances, but neither turned their backs on God. They continued to believe that he was in control of their lives. Because they passed the character test, God intervened and turned their situations around. Job received twice the amount of possessions he had lost and Joseph was made second in command of all of Egypt. They experienced how 99 °C turned to 100 °C – all because of their faith.

Daniel also prayed for a breakthrough – he later, fasted and prayed. In Daniel 10:12-13, we read that God already answered on day one, but it took 21 days because a demonic power prevented the answer. Daniel’s fast broke that power and he received the answer. In Matthew 17:21, Jesus says that some breakthroughs only happen by fasting and prayer.

In Isaiah 49:8, God reminds us that he is in control of the times: “This is what the LORD says: ‘At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation, I will help you.’ ”

Let’s pass the character test and keep trusting that God is in control of our lives – even if it takes longer to receive breakthroughs. You never know, today might just be the day your 99 °C turns into 100 °C. God bless.