For those who live dangerous, it’s just another day with the enemy just off their wing.
Great confidence comes from being prepared and well aware. Fear is clearly absent in the eyes of these U.S. recognizant warriors on patrol. They recognize they are flying through dangerous air space but they are not afraid.
Every morning we face an enemy who seeks to hold us at bay. One misstep or sign of weakness and the enemy is prepared to shoot us down.
We can pull back or we can carry on gaining fuel from above as we step out in faith to fulfill the mission the divine Commander and Chief has set before us.
Have no fear. The Lord is near. The enemy flies around seeking whom he may devour but there is no need to fight a battle that has already been won by the Son! Nonetheless, we are prepared to take ground in an instant if given the command!
Be alert. Be aware. Be bold. Be courageous. BE DANGEROUS!
Am I a warrior or a worrier? It comes down to a matter of trust. It is a matter of faith.
The Jesus journey requires warriors to have trust and faith in the divine commander and chief. Worriers need not enlist.
The warrior’s journey with Jesus is one of leaps and bounds, mountains and valleys, highs and lows, challenges and triumphs. It is anything but boring. It is an adventure to be discovered, a life to be explored, not as a worrier but as warrior of the Lord.
Prayer: Lord, remind me that I am a warrior, a liberator and ambassador of truth; loving you and loving others as I love myself, even loving my enemies as I remain committed to advancing the revolution of love.
Great peace comes when we wake up each morning simply looking, with excitement, for how God wants to use us throughout the day.
When we are available, he makes our days full of meaning, purpose and adventure.
Our role is to simply explore and discover where he is at work and join him in the fun and adventure. We don’t have to make anything happen. There is already plenty to do.
The calling he makes on our lives is a daily expedition led by him. All we have to do is relax, see the opportunity, follow his footsteps and hold on for the ride that is often right before our very eyes, if only we will see it!
“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
Prayer:
Lord, today and every day, help us see and embrace your calling for our lives with wisdom, grace and humility.
Maybe you have thought about it for years. Maybe you started but got distracted or maybe life threw you a curveball, a setback, a tragedy, a health concern, a broken relationship or a bad decision has put you on the ropes.
Whatever it is, it’s an excuse and you need to let go and start taking hold of your calling. Your future is waiting to meet you!
Moses was assigned a huge task. God called him to lead his people out of slavery. He felt inadequate, ill-prepared and irresponsible. He had been miraculously rescued as a child, grew up in a palace but lived life on the run as a fugitive after a series of bad decisions. He felt certain God had the wrong guy. God thought otherwise.
“What if……..?”, was his response to God’s prompting. “I’ve never,” was his reply. “I’m slow, please send someone else,” was his reaction to God’s call.
Sound familiar? Have you sensed God is leading you in an area and have responded with every excuse under the sun? Have you looked away? Done your best to avoid thinking about it but are unable to shake that nagging reminder that you were meant for more?
God is not limited by our strengths, gifts, talents, circumstances, setbacks, hang ups, habits or weaknesses. He is not concerned with our ability but our availability.
He says, “What do you have? Take hold of it, start where you are and with what you have. Remember who I am, remember who you are and who created you. I will help you and I will teach you what to do. Take hold of what you’ve got. No more excuses. Now is the time. You need nothing else. I will take care of the rest. All I need is you.”
What is holding you back? No doubt you could come up with a thousand things but one thing is more likely than all the rest. What is most likely holding you back, is you!
Let go! Release the past and embrace your future. Step out. Start where you are. It’s not how you start but how you finish that matters most. But you do have to start.
Take life by the tail. Recognize you really don’t have what it takes. But what you do have is all he needs. And with that, you are ready to go!
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 serves as a great reminder that the Lord goes with us, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
God works through our weakness. If we can do it on our own, we don’t need him. He loves opportunities to step in and help us achieve more as we realize we are weak, but with him, we are strong!
Are you available to take the call? Don’t hang up! Hold on!
When troubles come, we often think we have made a bad decision, have been disobedient, are being disciplined or have fallen for the enemy’s temptation.
Could there possibly be something else at work? Could it be the Lord is giving us an opportunity to graduate and grow?
In order to graduate and grow we have to pass a test. The Lord’s testing is given in order to help us remember it is God himself who provides and is in control.
The story of Abraham’s test, found in Genesis 22:1-17, serves as a great example of a graduation ceremony. It was a test, not a temptation or a failing. It was an opportunity to grow to the next level with God!
When issues arise, like Abraham, we need to look up, not out, not around but look up. To not hold back. In so doing we will pass the test and can fully expect the Lord to respond by giving us the assurance he is with us, loves us and is our provider. He blesses our obedience. Obedience is its own reward!
Passing the test builds confidence, trust and faith in the Lord.
Ask yourself, is what I am experiencing a test? Work through the other options for sure and determine if in fact the Lord is trying to conduct a graduation ceremony, if so, you will need to pass the test!
Is there an issue, a stronghold or an area of growth where the Lord is trying to mature you?
Are you ready to take the test? Perhaps the Lord believes so and wants you to graduate with confidence as you move on with him at new levels and with Him forever at your side.
Winning on and off the field requires life and work harmony.
Sadly, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have announced they are divorcing after 13 years of marriage.
Brady, 45, had retired from the NFL in February, only to later reverse that decision.
Based on comments from his podcast below, it becomes pretty clear that work has a way of affecting life.
Given Brady’s recent series of loses with his NFL team, one has to recognize the impact life has on work.
Life and work require harmony to do well. Winning at home is just as important as winning at work. Neither is easy but both are worth it.
In a recent conversation on his podcast, Brady talked about some of the personal costs of playing in the NFL for two decades.
“I haven’t had a Christmas in 23 years and I haven’t had a Thanksgiving in 23 years, I haven’t celebrated birthdays with people that I care about that are born from August to late January. And I’m not able to be at funerals and I’m not able to be at weddings,” Brady said. “I think there comes a point in your life where you say: ‘You know what? I’ve had my fill and it’s enough and time to go on, to move into other parts of life.'”
It is hard to imagine that any job would be worth the sacrifice that the Brady family has endured. We can only hope that somehow reconciliation for the family can be found.
It may not be Monday night football that keeps us from our family but long hours at work, cold dinners, cell phone interruptions and the inability to not be distracted by work obligations has the same net effect that the Brady family is suffering. We have to unplug and choose to be in the moment with those we are working so hard to care for.
No one ever says on their death bed that they wish they could have spent more time at the office. Something tells me Tom Brady is starting to wonder if coming out of retirement was really worth it.
We may never know the full story but we can learn from it either way.
Set some boundaries between life and work. It may not show up in your paycheck, but quality time with those you love will be worth it!
If ever a picture was worth 1,000 words, this one sums up my story. So thankful I was spared the addiction. I could have easily found myself in the bottom of a bottle. The Lord had mercy and I was rescued by no effort of my own. Sadly, it breaks my heart, I have plenty of family and friends that the bottle bit hard, destroying all that they could have been.
How many more times will you watch the sunrise, the sunset and stars fill the western sky?
How many more times will you celebrate holidays, birthdays and anniversaries surrounded by those you love?
How many more times will you go on vacation, do something new or visit a favorite place?
How many more times will you talk with an old friend, make a new one and laugh until you cry?
How many more times will you wake up to the smell of bacon and enjoy a stack of buttermilk pancakes as you push your fork into a perfectly fried egg?
How many more times will you go to work, play in a park or attend one of your favorite pastimes?
How many more times will you hear a sparrow sing, a cricket chirp and a baby burp?
How many more times will you hear you mother’s voice, your daddy snore or your siblings’ latest news?
How many more times will you wish you would’ve, known you could’ve and felt you should’ve?
How many more times is hard to determine. So, dance when you can, laugh without reserve and live without regrets, for it is then that how many times will be just almost, more than enough times.
Fear is a great motivator. It is the cousin of pain. Pain too has been known to motivate. But there is a better motivator.
Despite these tendencies in our hearts to yield to fear and pain, within us is a sense that there is something stronger, more enduring and accepting. That longing is love. The greatest motivator in all of life is love. Oh what a soul will do to find it, even more to keep it.
Love inspires, encourages and motivates in ways we deeply desire and long for.
There is no fear in true love. Love is the perfect motivator. No wonder Jesus clarified which of the 613 commandments was the greatest. In summary, he said, love God and love others as you love yourself. He also reminds us to fear not, for he is with us.
Fear comes easy. Pain is an unwelcomed adversary. But love is greeted with open arms, gladly accepted and deeply desired.
What are you afraid of? Fear loses its power when wrapped in the arms of love.
Fear is a strong motivator but it is like a sugar high. It is like downing an energy drink. A shot of adrenaline only lasts so long. Lasting and sustaining drive is rooted in love.
We have to be careful not to allow ourselves to be influenced by fear’s ability to drive us. The signs are clear worry, doubt and anxiety are all indicators that the fear factor is at play and often works, if only for a while. Fear has a short shelf life.
Lasting, positive and endearing motivation comes from knowing we are loved, accepted and adored.
God loves us and is for us. He is in our corner cheering us on.
The enemy relies on fear. The Lord recognizes love as the greatest motivator of all.
What role is fear playing in your life? From where does your drive and motivation come from?
Love conquers all. When you realize how much you are loved, fear begins to be recognized as a cheap substitute for lasting motivation.
The more you give love, the more you receive it. Don’t be afraid to give love away! Fear not. Give and receive love today.
