You Must First "Be" What You Hope To Become

"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have
I made thee." Genesis 17:4-5, KJV

I can remember when I began to write my first book. I
felt as if God was leading me to do it, but I wasn't sure
of how to start. I had never written a book before and did
not personally know anyone who had done so themselves. As
I considered actually doing it, doubt and fear ran through
my mind saying, "No one knows who you are. What do you have
to say that hasn't already been said? Who do you think you
are? As these thoughts went through my mind, I heard God
say, "I'll tell you who you are, - you are an "author".
Now get started writing!"

At that moment I realized something that revolutionized the
way in which I approached achieving the things in life I
hoped to achieve. I realized, in order to become an author
I had to first do what authors do. I had to first write. If
I had waited for someone to declare me an author before I
began writing, I would have never authored my first book.
Part of my ''being" what I was seeking to "become", I began
to read as much as I could about the publishing process,
and went to industry events that authors frequented, so I
could familiarize myself with that environment. I had to
"be it" before I could ever "become it".

There are some promises and opportunities in life you cannot
afford to wait until they present themselves to begin the
process of preparing for them. You must be ready for your
moment when it comes. You must become so pregnant and
possessed with your promise that when your moment comes you
are able and ready to deliver. You must position and prepare
yourself to operate at the level you intend to occupy before you
actually occupy it. If you practice being what you hope to
become, when the opportunity arises, you won't be intimidated
by it because you have already prepared for it.

So many people fail to realize what they hope for because
they believe that they must wait until everything is in place
before they attempt to accomplish anything. They want all of
their resources and support in place first and leave no room
for faith in God. Because this ideal rarely materializes, they
allow their hopes to go unrealized and are unprepared for the
opportunities that do present themselves.

This is backwards. In the Kingdom of God "we walk by faith and
not by sight" (2 Corinthians. 5:7). "Faith is the substance of
things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen"
(Hebrews 11:1). Anything that God places in your heart to
accomplish you already possess the substance necessary to cause
it to manifest in your life. You must believe that whatever God
has promised you already exists and is yours before you actually
possess it. Just because you can't see it (yet) doesn't mean
it doesn't exist. If God said it - it's already done!

Oftentimes in the Bible, when God spoke a promise concerning a
person He spoke it in the past tense. When God told Abraham
that his name would no longer be "Abram" but "Abraham", because
He had made him the father of many nations, Abraham was still
childless! Did God lie? Never! God was simply revealing to
him what He had already done. In order for Abraham to receive
his promise he had to operate within his promise. Every time
Sarah called him "Abraham" he was reminded of who God had made
him - the "father of many nations".

What is it that you are hoping will manifest in your life? You
must be what you're becoming because transformation is the
precursor to manifestation.

By Dr. J.C. Matthews, Senior Pastor of Dunamis Life Ministries and Chancellor of The International Kingdom Institute.