Are you ready for your miracle?

Today I woke up feeling queasy. You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you are riding a roller coaster or go to high on a swing. I hate that feeling. I'm usually the one that is designated to hold all the bags at the amusement park. Everyone knows that I'm not getting on anything that goes to high. I would rather keep my feet on the ground. Just the thought of putting my life into the hands of some unknown engineer for the purpose of a thrill is not my idea of fun.


The nervous feeling is explainable. You see, I have totally immersed myself in getting the second edition of my book "Take off the Mask" released. I have learned new marketing techniques, and have made it a goal to implement them daily. My days are filled with emails, conference calls, social networking, marketing pitches, meetings with graphic artist and printers. Every day I confess "my life is going to change overnight." Every day I look for that change to happen, and everyday something happens to push me closer to my goal. I have prepared myself for where I'm trying to go and it's exciting because I can actually see the results of my hard work. My queasy stomach made me ask myself, how high was I willing to go.


Was I going to allow my fears stop me from getting what I prepared for?


We all want to achieve our goals. Many days of hard work and sacrifices have prepared us for the opportunity that will catapult us to our miracle. Or will we be like the lame man who sat by the pool of Bethesda in St. John 5:1-27. I can't help but think, how did this lame man get to the side of the pool in the first place? In my mind, I think he must have crawled. I can picture him dragging himself along the hot, dirt roads that led to Bethesda. He went there because he knew that was the place that his miracle would take place. It took him many long agonizing months to get there. Fueled by his determination to be healed, he didn't quit until he got to his destination. Once there, he could see the crystal clear waters. He could see many others disabled persons waiting for the time to jump in.

Then something happened.
He got that nervous feeling in his stomach.


Was he really ready for the miracle? Was he ready for his life to change forever?

38 years later Jesus comes by and asks him a rhetorical question, "Will thou be made whole?" Of course he wanted to be made whole? Isn't that what he prepared himself for?

So this makes me ask the question, "Are you ready for your miracle?"

Are we really ready to receive what we work so hard for? Or, have we just gotten used to the way things are and are afraid of change. Fear will paralyze your will to achieve what rightfully belongs to you. The man at the pool was paralyzed in his legs, but that didn't stop him from getting to the place of miracles. He worked hard to get there. He became truly immobile when he allowed fear to cripple his mind.

There are 3 key things that will ensure you are ready for your miracle. It's a simple equation that I believe in:

Preparation + Purpose = Opportunity


Preparation

You must be prepared to receive your miracle. The man got as close as he could to the place of his miracle. You have to make sure you have prepared yourself, for whatever it is that you want to happen. If you need to take a class, get a website, or business plan. You must do whatever it is you need to do to get what you want. You must prepare yourself for your miracle. And then you must make sure you are at the place where miracles take place. In other words, you must go to the place that has what you need.

Purpose

You must know your purpose in life. God wants the best for you. He has plans to prosper you and bring you to the place where you need to be. If you know this, believe this and trust this, then you are well on your way to living your purpose. Sometimes people get stuck in dream mode. It's not bad to have dreams; it's just that you must be awake to fulfill them.

Opportunity

If you prepare for purpose your opportunity will come. You hear success stories all the time of how people became rich and successful. It was not luck. It was preparation and purpose that made them ready for the opportunity. Successful people prepare themselves for what they want and when the opportunity presents itself they are ready. I love the story that Bishop T.D. Jakes tells of how he used to preach in the yard to the ducks. Those ducks were his congregation before he had a church. His preparation equipped him to speak to thousands. This man at Bethesda positioned himself at the pool and waited for the opportunity, but he forgot his purpose. It was God's plan that he be whole, he allowed fear to stop him. Will you be positioned and ready at the place of your opportunity?


Finally you must be fearless; you cannot allow fear of the unknown stop you from getting what you have worked so hard to receive. You must be determined to cease the moment. It's your moment. It's your time to be successful, your time for change. It is your turn. If you are really ready for your miracle then you will not allow anything to stop you from getting it.  Like the woman with the issue of blood your determination must supersede money, protocol and position. You must be fearless.


I am determined, despite the nervous stomach, to get what I prepared for. They tell me riding roller coasters are more fun when you ride with friends. Well take my hand, let's go together.