Philippians 4:13. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.
Taking new ground in your life without upgrading your relationship with God is like climbing a higher mountain and using that old climbing rope… Don’t fall for it. In life, we will experience many new phases of growth. Could be starting a new business, career, relationship, or ministry calling… could be anything really. The problem with most new ventures and visions is that we bring the same relationship we currently have with God to the new, more intense, more demanding space. A quick glance at our spiritual disciplines may reveal our Word time is fragmented, our conversations with God are becoming recycled, worship is distracted, and our acuity to access and engage with the Spirit of God is dull and in need of sharpening. Unfortunately when taking new territory in life, the idea of improving our relationship with God to match the new challenge rarely enters our minds, if at all - like using old software to fulfill current and future needs. The result is we wind up suffering in our old strength, exhausted in the process, and the new thing we were so excited about becomes a burden it was never meant to be. To sustain the demands of the new territory, our spiritual disciplines and our intimacy with God must move to new levels of commitment and focus. We can confidently enter into any new vision with a surplus of God’s resources when our relationship with God is strong enough for the advance.
The question is: Is my current intimacy with God adequate enough for where I am, and will I bring it to a new level for where I am going?