The gap between aspiration and achievement is development.
~~Graham Cooke
Bridging the Gap means connecting where I am to where I am going. We all have things that we are aspiring to achieve. We close our eyes and dream about the person that we can become. Our children go off to college in great expectation of what that education will afford them. But In addition to the time that exists between your aspiration in your achievement, there is also a window of opportunity for God to promote your development.
The gap that lives between your hope-filled aspirations and your effort to achieve them is the Developmental territory. The first thing God wants to cultivate in the process of cultivating you is a relationship with him. Everything God does is an effort to connect with us. Jeremiah 24:7 is one of my favorite passages. It says, and I will give them the heart to know me, that I am the Lord and they shall be my people, and I will be their God for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
Another power passage that reflects this truth is Daniel 11:32. It says but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. But we have to bridge the gap in our own self belief in order to see this manifest in our lives.
Defining the Gap
I’m realizing more and more that these scriptures are describing the process of my inner development that happens in the space between my aspirations and my achievement. God is working in me to shape my identity and to reveal what I look like from his perspective – – to me. The more I know him, the more I realize my own potential in him. This insight helps me understand why I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It shows me what happens when I realize that the same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, is living inside of me. This wisdom allows me to expand my own capacity on the earth right now. It teaches me to not be a coward but courageous when facing opposition.
Recognizing the Gap
This wisdom helps me recognize the gap between my head knowledge of God and my heart knowledge of God. What I know in my head and what I believe in my heart are not necessarily the same. This is why God allows us to go through circumstances that revealed to us what we truly believe. And he works in us to give us a heart knowledge of who he is as we work our way through difficulties and opposition with HIM! The more we overcome, the greater our understanding of him becomes.
Example of the Gap
This is exactly what happened to Gideon. In Judges chapter 6, we see a guy hiding out threshing wheat in the winepress. He was hiding out from the enemy trying to get some food. An Angel shows up and calls him a mighty man of valor. Talk about a gap in identity! Gideon was hiding in the winepress because he was afraid the enemy would find him threshing the wheat and take it. Not only does God tell him he is a mighty man of valor, but he says the Lord is with you. This is a classic image of God‘s willingness and desire to have a relationship with us. He wants to be with us in every circumstance so that we can realize who we are as we identify with his presence in our lives.
The Gap in Me
A few days ago, I had an opportunity to experience this reality for myself once again. A great opportunity opened for me, and yet at the same time self-doubt also showed up as I questioned could I really accomplish what was set before me. It took several days for me to process not only the magnitude of my opportunity but to recognize that God was with me and that I am well able to do this task. I am not a grasshopper. (That’s what the children of Israel called themselves when first presented with the opportunity to occupy land in Canaan) Numbers 13:33
Furthermore, I refuse to be little in my own eyes. But I have chosen in this moment to reflect on the identity I have with God. He is expanding my heart’s ability to know him. My capacity to recognize him working for me is expanding. I can do all things through Christ. Why? Because he is strengthening me. I am knowing him more. That strength is making me stronger, and I will do exploit! Because God is with me. You are no different!
Bridging the Gap
When we change how we see ourselves in the image God pictures of us, we start to do things that enable us to maximize the space between aspiration and achievement. We will take advantage of opportunities and not be afraid to step out into the unknown. We will go after the dream and not just think about it. We will pursue that open door. We will make the phone call to the potential client. We will enroll in the class that allows us to learn what we need to know so we can go where we want to go! We are well able To do all the things God has predestined us to do. And we are in the process, becoming everything God imagined us to be.