We bat above our status and punch above our weight | Northlands Church

We bat above our status and punch above our weight

June 12, 2018 | Jenny Lynn

We bat above our status and punch above our weight

by: Jenny Lynn

You are God’s chosen instrument to unleash miraculous breakthrough in the lives of others through your strategic, unmerited, highly favored positioning.

“Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this” Esther 4:14

A few years ago a guest pastor shared a word of encouragement with our church family. He told us that God says we are a people who “bat above our status and punch above our weight.” I heard that identity being spoken over our Northlands community and my heart leapt. If “We are” then that means “I am … a person who bats above my status and punches above my weight.” What a promise!

As we look to scripture for a Biblical foundation for this inspiring word, we see example after example of God advancing, promoting, positioning and favoring His people far beyond what their natural status in life would grant. Let’s take Mary for example. God promoted a common, unwed Jewish girl to be the mother of the Messiah. God couldn’t have chosen a more ordinary and unlikely candidate to become the most historic women of all time, bearing and raising the son of God!

Then there’s Moses. He was born the son of a Hebrew woman in a time when baby boys were being slaughtered. But He was protected by God in a mere basket on the Nile River and found favor in the eyes of Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses, a Hebrew child who should have been murdered before he ever grew up, was raised as a beloved family member in the house of Pharaoh. God later used him to free an entire race from hundreds of years of slavery! I would call that batting way above the status he was born into.

My favorite example might be Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by jealous siblings, unjustly imprisoned, and yet eventually became second in command of the entire Egyptian nation! Genesis 39 tells us repeatedly that in every situation Joseph found himself in he found favor in the eyes of God and man. “So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did” (Gen. 39:20-23). He was entrusted with leadership from the prison to the palace because of God’s favor over his life. What I love about his story is that his circumstances didn’t position him for favor, God did. Despite unjust slavery and imprisonment, God was his waymaker. God blessed everything Joseph, He highlighted Joseph to every authority figure in his life, He gifted him with the ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and He positioned to him to provide for an entire nation and its neighbors during a time of famine. We see how the favor of God in Joseph’s life positioned him to bat way above his status and punch significantly above his weight.

At Northlands, we believe every testimony is an invitation for God to do it again. So in light of the word we received and on the basis of Moses, Joseph and Mary’s testimonies, we agree with the will and way of God to favor and promote His children - each one of us - far beyond our natural abilities for His glory and good plan. You see, in each story above, God favored and positioned His children not only for their personal blessing but for the breakthrough and salvation of others, often entire nations.

It is not arrogant to declare this promise of God over your life because as God positions you to “bat above your status” understand that is about more than just you! You are God’s chosen instrument to unleash miraculous breakthrough in the lives of others through your strategic, unmerited, highly favored positioning. Queen Esther so perfectly illustrates this. She was a young Hebrew girl who became the wife of a king and the heroine of her people. Just before she risked her life for the sake of her people, Esther’s Uncle Mordecai spoke these unforgettable words to her, “Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)! God positions His people with unmerited favor and influential positioning for “such a time as this” to accomplish His will on the Earth.

We have to look to the nature of God, the ways of God to set our expectations for our future. If we only look to our natural position, the facts of our current set of circumstances we will never be able to grasp a vision and hope for all that God can and plans to do in and through us. He is a God who favors, promotes and strategically positions His kids. Let this truth become your personal declaration today. You are a man/women who bats above your status and punches above your weight.

Today declare:
I am a person who bats above my status and punches above my weight.
I have been given unmerited favor to serve as a conduit for breakthrough in the lives of those around me.
I am God’s chosen instrument, highly favored by man, facilitating heaven’s agenda on earth.
I am advanced far sooner than expected in my areas of influence for the glory of God.

Prayer

Lord thank you for your incomparable love for me. Thank you for weaving me into your tapestry of grace and into your plans for transforming this world with your glory and goodness. Today I ask for your word that I will bat above my status and punch above my weight to be manifested in my life in a fresh way. For you glory, would your favor and position me for influence in this area of my life: ______. I know that I am your chosen instrument for such a time as this. Would you use me in a way bigger than I have yet to dream for your glory and the salvation of many?

© 2024 Northlands Church and Jenny Lynn. Permission to share so long as credit is given.