Some times as you go through life, you settle for good enough. This is a result of being in survival mode, of just trying to get through the day.
Other times, there is a sense of pursuing greatness, a vague, somewhere out there feeling, you were meant for more than you are presently doing in life.
Greater by Steven Furtick offers a third way, a way that actually works. Instead of the mediocrity of good enough that left you stuck in life, or the endless frustration of an unfulfilled fantasy of greatness. There is the path of Greater, what Steven calls “the life-altering understanding that God is ready to accomplish greatness in your life that is entirely out of human reach.”
Before you think this is another self-help book with a divine twist, understand that Steven basis the path of Greater in the story of Elisha the prophet and though the stories of everyday people today. Some stories have that “happy ending”, some continued a rough path. They all point to a life that is Greater. That’s the beauty of this book as in chapters 3-12 Steven steps into different experiences in Elisha’s life, he finds similar stories in his own life and the lives of others. Even better he applies them to my own.
4 key concepts build the path to greater:
1. Burn the plows.
Steven sums it up well, “you can’t step into your new life until you first set fire to whatever is tethering you to your old life.” So what is it that is holding you back from that next step with God? What plow is God calling you to burn?
2. Dig ditches.
The path to greater doesn’t start with large and grandiose, it starts with small acts of obedience. Elisha’s advice to soldiers in the desert lacking water is to dig ditches. They need water. Elisha advises work to increase their thirst. The path to greater is often a path downward in service and obedience.
According to Steven, well-intentioned people get stuck after burning plows is that we don’t think big enough, and we don’t start small enough. As the tagline for the book says, “Dream bigger. Start smaller. Ignite God’s vision for your life.”
3. Under Review.
Under Review was one of my favorite illustrations in the book. Steven uses the analogy of a football game where play is stopped because the ref in the booth up in the stands has the play under review. He applies that to God seeing all of life, and we just seeing life from our limited perspective. God has life under review not to merely bring judgment but to abundantly provide life.
4. Strike the water.
Move from theory to practice, from preparation to participation. Take that next step, strike the water. As Steven writes, “whenever you do what God has called you to do — in any situation, in any given moment — He will do something greater.”
Greater provided a great reminder to trust God in my walk with Him and obey when I know what He wants me to do. The book itself is great, the resources it provides even greater. There are discussion questions at the back of the book to process on one’s own or in a small book. The website for the book, greaterbook.com, provides a wealth of resources to engage the content of the book for individuals and churches from a 4 day prayer journey, to the first chapter, to additional content for those wanting to go deeper.
Reflections 