NO kids.
So, I enjoyed a smoothie at Starbucks (free, thanks to a gift card) and blogged my heart out. I shared how God is challenging me to be BOLD and COURAGEOUS.
I posted about how we DEFINE courage.
Then, I shared how if we are going to be used of God, to LET Him work in our lives, we need to be willing to do things His way. And that more often than not means we have to DARE TO BE DIFFERENT.
Next, I talked about how God doesn't really care about our earthly qualifications. In fact, He tends to use those we LEAST expect, those who SEEM to be the LEAST equipped, the LEAST prepared, the LEAST qualified. But it's not about us anyway. It's ALL about HIM!
I have been swamped with life and didn't have a chance to continue my series on courageous living. Today, though, I decided to set some other responsibilities aside and focus on what God is speaking in my heart. I feel like He is nudging me to share NOW, not later. TODAY, not tomorrow.
So, here goes...
Do you ever doubt?
Hesitate about a decision you need to make?
Shrink back when you feel like you are supposed to stand up or say something?
Hide?
Make excuses?
Play it safe?
Yeah, me too.
If we are honest with ourselves, we ALL worry about what others will think if we live out our faith.
We FEAR what people's opinions about us, about our choices, about our lifestyle may be.
And so we try to fit in, go with the flow.
We don't want to stand out or draw attention to ourselves.
We don't want people to get the wrong idea about us.
We don't want to be misunderstood.
We don't want to be judged.
We don't want people to think we are radical or crazy or weird.
We don't want to be different.
Instead, we try to blend in.
We HIDE our lights rather than letting them shine (know that little kid song? still applies for us as adults! So no more putting your light under a bushel...)
When we do this, we THINK we are playing it safe.
We are GRAVELY mistaken.
In reality, we are MISSING OUT!
BIG TIME!
Remember that list of people we looked at the other day - those heros of faith?
Joseph
Joshua
Daniel
Elijah
Gideon
Esther
Rahab
Ruth
Moses
David
Peter
Paul
Jesus
If you want to read about MORE men and women who lived out their faith courageously and boldly, check out Hebrews 11!
What if they had played it safe?
What if they had tried to fit in?
What if they had worried about what people would think?
What if they had been too afraid to be different?
What if they had let FEAR keep them from BECOMING who God had created them to be?
Not only would THEY have missed out, but WE would have too.
BIG time!
You see, it's not just about US today.
Life is sooooo much bigger.
We get so caught up in the here and now that we far too often miss this reality.
We forget that there is a bigger picture.
We don't realize how God is working in and through us NOW to impact lives in hundreds or thousands of generations to come.
We MUST open our eyes, our hearts, our minds.
We MUST recognize we run a race.
A RELAY really.
I grew up running track, so I understand the relay concept perfectly well.
However, if you are not a track person, you may not have any idea of what I am about to say.
In a typical relay FOUR people will run on a team.
Depending on the race, the athletes run different distances before handing off the baton to their team mate, who then runs the same distance. Once all four people have completed their leg, the final person crosses the finish line to end the race.
EACH leg is equally important.
Each person is selected for his/her leg for a reason. Perhaps they run the straightaway well, or maybe they are better at the curve. They might be the fastest runner and able to make up any lost ground. They might have the best start out of the blocks. No matter what their skill, EACH leg is important and EACH leg must contribute and do his/her best if the TEAM is to win the race.
It's a GROUP effort.
I remember when I was a senior in high school. I was at the state track meet cheering on my team mates as they ran their races. I was SUPPOSED to compete that year, but tore up my knees the week prior and was on crutches instead :( BUT that is a different blog...
The time came for the guys' 4X100 relay race. Each guy would run 100 meters, then hand off the baton to their team mate. Together, they would complete one lap around the track. Our team was ranked #1 - we came in with the best time. BUT, it was going to be close, as many of the teams were just miliseconds behind us.
Everyone took their places. The starter called out, "Runners, take your mark!" Everyone got down in the blocks. "Get set!" Butts went up in the air, waiting for the gun to sound. BANG!!! And they were off!
Things were going well as the first runner rounded the curve and handed off the baton to the #2 man. Everything was great at the next exchange too. We were neck and neck with the other teams. As the #3 runner approached the final team mate, things went terribly wrong. Another runner tripped up our man, and he dropped the baton. He waited for the other teams to pass, then quickly grabbed the baton and handed it off the final runner. He raced down the track as fast as he could, but the other athletes had already crossed the finish line. We came in LAST.
Little did the guys know at the time that the runner who had tripped us up was DISQUALIFIED. His team was OUT of the race.
Also, another team had passed the baton outside of the allowed passing zone. They too were DISQUALIFIED. Instead of finishing 8th, we were now 6th. Still not what we had hoped for or expected. BUT, the guys earned ONE point for our team as a whole. May not seem like a big deal, but wait for the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey likes to say)
At the end of the track meet, all the points are accumulated to see which teams win the overall trophy. Winning state is a BIG deal. Our school had never done that before, I don't think. If they had, it had been a LONG time. When the time came to announce the final standings, we didn't place 5th. Or 4th. Or 3rd. Or even 2nd. We were heartbroken. Devastated.
THEN, they announced that we had WON!
By ONE point!
Had the final runner given up and not picked up the baton and crossed the finish line, we would not have received that ONE point. We would NOT have won the entire competition!
THAT is what our lives our like.
We may not think that we are making much of a difference.
We may think we are losing the race and there's no point of going on, let alone finishing.
We would be WRONG.
If we drop the baton, we MUST pick it back up.
If we fall, we MUST get back up.
Giving up, quitting - they are NOT options.
Our TEAM depends on us.
Hebrews 12 speaks of this:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnessed to the life of faith (all those heros listed in chapter 11 and ALL those who came after them and have gone before us), let US strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let US run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."
With this in mind, I choose NOT to listen to all the voices telling me I can't, that I will fail.
You know those voices?
The skeptics?
The doubters?
The haters?
No matter what you do, they question your motives. They come up with one scenario after another about why you won't succeed at whatever it is you are trying.
And their voices cause doubt to creep into your mind, your heart.
You begin to believe them.
You care more about what THEY think than what GOD says.
You worry more about THEIR opinion than GOD'S truth.
Stop it!
Right now.
Get some ear plugs.
Put your hands over your ears.
Tune them out.
Whatever it takes.
Just STOP listening to those voices.
They are LIES.
From the pit of hell.
And I am NOT exaggerating.
If Satan can keep us from becoming who God created us to be, he can keep us from the work God has called us to do. He can prevent us from fulfilling the amazing plans and purposes God has for us, GOOD things He has prepared in advance - before the beginning of the world - for us to do to bring glory to His name!
That is TRAGIC.
So stop listening to the WRONG voices.
Listen instead to ONE voice. The only one that matters.
I heard a song on the radio today that reminded me how important this is:
Casting Crown's VOICE OF TRUTH
Jesus Himself promised we would be able to recognize HIS voice:
"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one Shepherd.
My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, for my Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."
Love that we can hear God's voice.
Distinct from all the other voices bombarding us today.
Those are just NOISE.
God's voice is one of LOVE and truth and joy and peace and hope and strength and wisdom and so much more!
And did you catch that last part? God is more powerful that anyone else. Once in God's hand, we can NOT be taken out! Makes me think of another song - GREATER by MercyMe!
So, today I STAND.
Today I choose to be BOLD.
Courageous.
Yet, I am afraid
scared
nervous
anxious
But, I am also CONFIDENT
Expectant...
Today, I will RUN.
I may have to jog at times.
I might even have to walk.
I will crawl if I must.
But I will NOT stop or give up.
I will persevere.
I will press on.
My eyes are FIXED on the prize, on Jesus Himself (see Philippians 3:7-14 for Paul's encouraging words on this)
Will YOU run with me?
Remember, it takes a TEAM to finish the race...
Let's do this TOGETHER!
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