Permission Revoked: You No Longer Get to Play Small
By Pastor C – Cyclebreakers4life
There comes a moment in every cycle breaker’s journey where you must draw a bold, unshakable line in the sand and say: “This is where it stops. I will not shrink another day of my life.”
This blog is your moment.
A divine disruption.
A permission revocation.
See, too many of us have become experts at making ourselves smaller, so others don’t feel uncomfortable, so we don’t rock the boat, so we won’t be labeled “too much,” “too ambitious,” or “too anointed.”
But here’s the truth that the enemy doesn’t want you to embrace: Playing small is not humility. It’s hidden disobedience. Shrinking back isn’t safety, it’s sabotage. And invisibility is not a spiritual gift.
I came to call it out—and call you out of it:
The Survival Strategy That Became a Spiritual Stronghold
Let’s be honest. Many of us learned to play small as a survival tactic. Maybe you grew up in a family where confidence was mistaken for arrogance. Maybe your church circle taught you that being visible meant being prideful. Or maybe life has hit you with so many “nos,” denials, betrayals, and disappointments that it just felt easier to blend in rather than stand tall.
But here’s the revelation: God never created you to blend in. He created you to break cycles, to shift atmospheres, and to walk in kingdom authority.
Every time you silence your voice, sit on your vision, or mute your brilliance to make others comfortable, you’re agreeing with a lie that God never spoke over you. And today? That agreement is broken.
Let’s Read and Break Down Ephesians 3:20:
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…”
— Ephesians 3:20 (KJV)
This isn’t just a feel-good verse. It’s a framework for bold living.
The Breakdown:
“Now unto Him who is able…” – God is capable. He lacks nothing. The issue has never been His ability.
“To do exceeding abundantly above…” God’s plan for you is bigger than even your boldest prayer or your deepest dream.
“All that we ask or think…” That means even the vision that you only whisper to yourself at night... God can top that!
“According to the power that worketh in us…” This is where the shift happens. The release of what God wants to do is directly tied to the power operating in YOU. Not around you. Not above you. But IN you.
So here’s the hard truth: You’ve been waiting on a move of God… But God’s been waiting on a move of YOU.
When you finally revoke the permission to remain stuck, silent, or shadowed, three things begin to shift:
1. Your Environment Gets Uncomfortable.
You’ll begin to feel tension. Why? Because boldness disrupts comfort. Suddenly, the spaces you used to shrink into will start feeling like cages. That’s the Holy Spirit saying, “It’s time to expand.”
2. Some Relationships Will Shift.
Playing small often keeps toxic or insecure people close because you’re not threatening their comfort zone. But when you rise, they’ll either rise with you—or reveal themselves. Don’t fear the pruning...it’s protection.
3. You’ll See New Doors Open.
Doors don’t respond to silence, hey respond to movement. The minute you stand in your full truth, clarity comes. Resources come. Divine alignments show up. Why? Because you’re no longer hiding the very thing God wants to use.
My Personal Confession:
Let me be transparent.
I didn’t always walk boldly (sometimes I still shrink back). I didn’t always speak up (sometimes I still mumble). I didn’t always own the weight of the assignment God placed on my life (sometimes I still procrastinate). In fact, there was a long season—longer than I care to admit—where I became a master at camouflaging my calling.
I’d sit in rooms full of people and feel fire in my bones... Ideas would come. Revelations would bubble up. Wisdom was there. But I held it in, afraid I’d be “too deep,” “too much,” or “too passionate.”
I’d walk into opportunities and immediately disqualify myself in my mind.
“They probably already have someone better.”
“Maybe I’m not ready yet.”
“Let me stay behind the scenes—I don’t need to be out front.”
But what I was really doing was hiding. Hiding behind humility. Hiding behind fear. Hiding behind obligation. And most dangerously, hiding behind false loyalty to people and places that had already expired in my journey.
I thought staying small would keep me safe. But all it did was keep me stuck.
Stuck in roles that didn’t fit. Stuck in circles that couldn’t grow. Stuck in a version of myself that no longer matched my assignment.
And then life happened.
I lost a job I’d held for 15 years. Grief hit my house. Family chaos pushed me into the arms of God for real. I was in a silent prison, emotionally drained, spiritually frozen, mentally weary.
And that’s when God whispered those three life-altering words that shattered my hiding place:
“Write. Write. Write.”
Not speak. Not lead. Not perform. Just write.
It was in the stillness of obedience that God rewrote my entire life. That journal became a devotional. That devotional became a platform. That platform became a movement. And suddenly, the same girl who once begged to stay invisible was now being called to ignite others.
But even then, the enemy still tried to drag me back into the cave. He’d whisper:
“Don’t get too bold.”
“People will think you’re showing off.”
“Stay humble and stay hidden.”
But I realized something. True humility is not staying hidden, it’s obeying God boldly without apology.
So now? I’ve made a decision.
I will never apologize again for being who God made me to be.
I will never withhold my sound.
I will never dilute my assignment to make others comfortable.
Because if I play small, somebody stays stuck. If I stay silent, somebody misses the breakthrough they were assigned to receive through my obedience.
Cyclebreaker, listen to me.. You’re not crazy. You’re not too much. You’re not behind. You’re becoming.
And when you revoke permission to play small, you make room for God to show up big.
Take a moment to journal or answer the following:
Where in your life have you allowed fear to write your script?
What parts of yourself have you been hiding, minimizing, or withholding?
What would it look like to fully occupy the space God assigned to you?
What’s one bold action you can take this week to revoke permission to play small?
After you have answered (or journaled) the questions, say the following out loud, right where you are:
“Today, I revoke every lie that told me I was too much. I revoke every fear that said I had to shrink to survive. I cancel every agreement I made with smallness, with insecurity, and with spiritual silence. I will not shrink. I will rise. I will speak. I will create. I will obey. And I will take up space with boldness, because the power of God is at work in me.”
Break the Cycle!
This is not just a blog. This is a breaking point—the place where one version of you dies, and the real, unapologetic, God-ordained version of you comes forth.
Stop apologizing for the fire inside of you.
Stop editing your greatness.
Stop playing small.
Because Cyclebreaker—your future needs the full you.
And so do we.
🖤 With fire and purpose,
Pastor C
Founder of Cyclebreakers4life
“A new life emerges when negative cycles are broken.”