Breakthrough Within

Breakthrough Within

Then your salvation will come like the dawn. . . . When you call, the LORD will answer. “Yes, I am here,” he will quickly reply. Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Isaiah 58:8-9

ISAIAH WROTE TO PEOPLE who were praying, fasting, and pleading with God for a breakthrough in their circumstances. They asked God to take action but only from a distance, “pretending” they wanted to be close with him (58:2). In other words, they were focusing on the appearance of their relationship with God rather than on the relationship itself. But Isaiah pointed them toward inner change that would result in outward change. He brought them in line with their true identity as children of God and how that identity should play out in the world.

Isaiah was addressing a specific situation, but a larger principle was at work, and it applies to our prayers too. We are often looking to God for a breakthrough in faith, some movement on a promise or desire he has said yes to. But just because God has given his approval doesn’t mean everything is ready to unfold. We never have to earn his gifts, but we do have to position ourselves for them. Like a father who won’t hand over the keys of the car until his son or daughter has learned how to drive, God rarely brings us into the next season of faith and growth until we’re prepared to handle it. The breakthrough we hope for is very often germinating inside us, preparing for its outward display.

If you’ve been waiting for God to fulfill a desire and are wondering why he’s hesitating, you need to know that he is as interested in the outcome as you are. He is always excited about fulfilling the callings he has put in your heart. But internal breakthroughs almost always precede external ones, and fulfilling your inward calling is of most importance. He is rooting your heart in something other than the circumstances you hope for. Let your heart grow in the directions he has called. Delight in him and anticipate his goodness. Let the dawn break within you before it appears to the outside world.

To want all that God wants . . . this is the kingdom of God.