Going through life, following the path set out for us, we are afraid to try……no, we never, ever imagine life outside of our ‘normal’.

You see the parameters were drawn for us by our past experiences, our families, the society we live in. We fall into a box – accept our norm – and never attempt to challenge the status quo.

Acts 10:11-13 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up. Peter. Kill and eat.”

Peter had grown in his faith, walked with Jesus, preached the gospel – and yet, the penetration of his ministry was limited by the beliefs, perspectives and prejudices of self, tradition and religion.

And so it is with us, born to do exploits, conquer mountains, and achieve greatness – yet we are too limited in our minds – too limited to question, too limited to dare, too limited to go against the grain.

Acts 10:15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Sometimes in our quest to justify our convictions, we will impose Scripture, God’s will or God’s voice – if only to further endorse our convictions as law.

But yet for God to fully utilize the gifts and abilities that He has deposited in us, it will require for us to stretch out, to dare to think out of the box, to begin to question the barriers that have been put around us, and the labels that society has given that which they do not understand.

Acts 10:17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.

It will take an encounter with ‘the other side’, for us to begin to shift our minds and our thoughts.

God will, by His hand, divinely orchestrate for us to encounter men and women from whom we were barred by our prejudices and biases; He will, by His hand, bring men and women who will use their gifts and abilities to usher us to the place of our assignment. God will use men and women to open our eyes, bring us to the place of changing our perspectives, and then cause us to break barriers that stood in the way of His purpose being fulfilled.

Acts 10:20 “So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

Peter’s decision to hear the men out, or even to go with them, was not made on a whim. He knew he had Heaven’s backing on this one.

For us to go out of our way to do that which we would not ordinarily do, to take a path we would not ordinarily take, it will take an inner witness – that comes from having a soul encounter with God.

Fear, doubt, insecurity will grip us when we are stepping into new territory. Our only confidence is the inner witness, an inexplicable peace that gives us courage to move forward.

Acts 10:28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him.”

Peter had just gone against protocol. He had broken a generational, traditional and religious barrier.

And yet, Peter was the ideal candidate for this task. He himself had failed in his judgement, and therefore would offer empathy to others. He had had to fight for his destiny.

It takes great conviction, strength and courage to go against a mindset you once held; a belief that society holds – and then dare to begin to redefine thoughts and actions.

For us to break barriers, we must first approach our surrounding from the place of empathetic understanding. Only then, can we appeal to the reasoning of ‘the other side’ having achieved a commonality, a sense of connection.

Peter was obviously different from the Jews, but yet he drew close enough, breaking the barrier of bias and prejudice, to demonstrate love and respect for them.

Acts 10:47-48 Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Barrier breaking is about charting new waters and then somehow opening the doors for others to benefit from the change you have precipitated; Barrier breaking is about challenging the system and setting new standards; Barrier breaking is about having the courage to go it alone.

At definitive moments in our lives, circumstances will demand that we break out, that we refuse to be held back by labels and prejudices, that we re-define standards.

We must, then, find courage, pay the price and step out – if only for the sake of our future generations.

Only then can we find peace in the knowledge that if nothing else, we fulfilled our Purpose for being in certain places.

When your time comes, and you must take the test, I pray you will find the courage to step out and Break those Barriers. Bon Voyage