photos by: JODIE BRIM CREATIVE
Have you ever felt in over your head? If you’re living and breathing, of course you have! We all face times when life throws us into the deep end just to see if we can swim.
We panic as we gurgle, completely sure we’re going under. But, if we keep fighting, we realize we are stronger than we recognized. We uncover deeper wells of capacity in ourselves.
I’ve been studying a fascinating leader who stepped in to lead a generation, though he feared he didn’t have what it would take. He shook in his boots so anxiously that God had to tell him THREE TIMES, almost back to back, “Be strong! Be courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9)
Do you know why this is one of the most popular verses in Scripture? Because it speaks to every one of us as our knees knock and our thoughts race, telling us we don’t have what it takes to accomplish the task before us.
Joshua carried the ginormous assignment of leading an entire people, who had wandered aimlessly for 40 years, to a place of victory. That’s no small feat!
When you stall for long periods of time, it’s easy to embody a sense of learned helplessness. You start believing that because you could not win the first time, you never will. (Someone just felt that!)
It’s like this. If you chain a baby elephant to a pole, he bucks to free himself but learns he cannot. As he grows, he assumes he can never break free, so he stops trying.
When fully grown, the elephant’s strength could topple the whole edifice. But, the helplessness instilled in him sticks with him. He perceives he is trapped forever…so he stays trapped!
THIS is the mentality Joshua had to overcome for himself and for those he led. Just because they failed the first time didn’t mean they would fail every time.
Until Joshua could break free from that defeated thinking, he didn’t stand a chance! But, as he wholeheartedly embraced God’s Word over his life, his perspective transformed into certainty that yes, indeed, he could conquer…AND HE DID!
What has you feeling like you’re in over your head? More importantly, in what area of your story are you convinced that because you once failed, you can never win? Friend, believe me when I tell you, that you are NOT who you once were. You’ve grown! You’ve developed muscles you did not possess previously.
Where you come from does NOT define you. What you do with where you come from defines you! If you can’t get past your past, your history will hold you hostage even AS you stand in freedom.
If I cling to a victim mentality, NOT EVEN GOD HIMSELF can make me a Victor! The problem is NOT what I have or what I’ve been through but what I think!
It’s time to get back up and try again! It’s time to be strong and courageous!
Hear this – God commanded Joshua to BE strong and courageous. He did not say, FEEL strong and courageous. Emotions are the language of our time. Faith is the language of our God. Don’t let emotions rob from you the Faith that gets you where God’s leading!
Did you know that courage is NOT having the strength to keep going? Courage is going forward even though you have (or feel) no strength!
The obstacle you face doesn’t have half the strength you think it has. But, your God has infinitely more strength than you realize He has!
Get up! If God is for you (AND HE IS), it doesn’t even matter what is against you! (Romans 8:31) It’s time to try again…THIS DAY! For comments or prayer, please contact Dr. Lanier at HopeCommunityChurch.tv.
