Raising the Bar

//Kenneth W. Hagin

Going From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like second place. Anytime I compete, I want to win. One team I was on got a second-place trophy. I later gave it to one of my grandsons. Why? Nobody remembers who came in second. Second place is for the ordinary. When I was growing up, my dad used to say, “Son, anyone can be average. It takes somebody who is willing to work to be extraordinary.”

Christians should not be ordinary or average. We have great potential inside us. There are things God wants each of us to do that no one else can do. And through Christ, we have been given everything we need to tear up the devil’s kingdom. However, too many Christians have become satisfied with where they are and never go any further. Some never come close to achieving their potential.

We don’t have to settle for average. Living an average life is like talking on a cell phone when it only has a couple of bars on the screen. It isn’t receiving a very strong signal. The phone is operating, but it cuts in and out or drops calls completely. God wants us to raise the bars in our lives. He has a way for us to live on a level of full bars. It starts with how we think.

Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” There are people who think life is hard. They don’t expect much. They constantly say things such as, “Under the circumstances, that’s the best I could do.”

If we allow ourselves to think this way, we will never rise above mediocrity. To run on full bars, so to speak, we must think differently from the average person. We must think thoughts such as, “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13), “I have the kind of faith that says and possesses” (Mark 11:23), and “I cannot be defeated, and I will not quit” (2 Cor. 2:14).

Turning Dreams Into Reality The potential for greatness lies inside all of us. But that potential won’t blossom on its own. We must work hard to reach our goals. Here are five points that will help us make our dreams come true.

Put God First In Our Lives. God can lead us further and higher in reaching our potential if we are behind Him and not ahead of Him. Stay Focused On The Right Things. If we focus on our potential instead of our limitations, we’ll find that we can overcome  those limitations. Speak In Agreement With The Possibilities In God’s Word. If our words don’t line up with God’s Word, we will sabotage any success we might attain. Apply Continuous Effort To Everything We Are Able To Do. No matter what we face, we must keep going and never quit. Don’t try to make it happen all at once. Break down long-term goals into monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Doing this makes dreams more achievable.

To learn more about living an extraordinary life, click here to visit our Study Center with more articles about Succesful Living.

As young children, we may have played the game “Follow the Leader.” The object was to do everything the leader did. The players who were eliminated were the ones who didn’t. In the game of life, Christ is our leader. As we follow Him, do what He did, and say what He said, we will become what He is.

Jesus chose ordinary men to be His disciples. And simply being with Jesus changed these very ordinary men into extraordinary men of God.

Who Influences You?

Our friends can have a profound impact on our lives. But do they draw us higher? Or does their influence keep us on a lower level of life? Who we hang around with has a lot to do with who we become.

When I was running track in high school, I never watched how the guys on my team ran, because I could outrun all of them. When I went to a track meet, I found out who the best runner on the other team was, and I watched him. I wanted to learn something from him.

If we want to become better at something, we must find people who do it better than we do. As we watch what they do and copy their actions, we’ll become better in that area.

Having Tunnel Vision

To run on full bars, we must focus on the right examples. Focusing does not mean just glancing or taking a quick look at something. It means having “tunnel vision.”

It’s common for blinders to be placed on some racehorses. That’s because the horse gets distracted by what is happening around him. But with blinders on, the horse can focus on running the race.

We can easily become distracted by unimportant things. These things only hinder us and keep us from running at full speed. Like the racehorse, we have to put on blinders, so to speak, so we remain focused on completing our race.

God didn’t create us to be average. So let’s do more than just the minimum required to get by. Let’s do what we do with all our heart (Col. 3:23–24). Let’s operate on full bars. As this becomes our lifestyle, we’ll far exceed the ordinary and live extraordinary lives.