Do you have what it takes?

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

1 Samuel 17:45-47

What is standing between you and your destiny?  You and your purpose?  You and 'the good life'?  I used the story of David vs. Goliath in the opening verse because out of the all the prophets, disciples and heroes in the Bible, to me, David was the most courageous, determined and passionate.  Prior to his encounter with Goliath, he was told that he would be king.  In the midst of the field as he tended to sheep, David was told by a prophet that he would be king.  Imagine that.  He was anointed to do something that most people would scandal, plot ans kill to do.  But David was anointed.  And we all know that he made it regardless of his circumstances.  King David was a man after God's own heart.  Through his battles, confrontations, jealousy, trials and tribulations, David was anointed to be King and he died a King.

So, I ask you again... do you have what it takes?  All of us have a destiny burning inside of us but few of us will bring it to fruition.  The bible says "For many are called (invited and summoned), but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14 AMP) meaning that we all have it in us to be great.  But 'greatness' is rarely handed to us, or acknowledged, without adverse circumstances and/or a fight.  If you take the time to study the heroes of the bible, such as David, Daniel, Paul, Mary and (of course) Jesus, none of them reached their destiny without trials, tribulation and public rebuke.  They had to endure to overcome.  They knew their purpose was in Christ, they had a message to deliver or an action to perform to complete their destiny, and by knowing that they had to be determined against all odds.  They had to have drive.

When necessary, most of us will dig deep and 'do what we have to do'.  But when it comes to what we have been 'called' to do, our drive seems to be put on the back burner.  Why is that?  There are a few different reasons, the main reason being fear.  Something that I am learning, and trying to embrace, is that fact that the devil fights you the hardest when you have a great destiny.  The devil knows that once he starts messing with your mind, your circumstances, your relationships, your money and your security... fear will kick in.  And everything you have planned, dreamed about, envisioned and worked so hard for gets put aside.  And that's what he wants.  The key is to push past the feelings of fear, inadequacy, anxiety and doubt. ALL the 'greats' in the bible had trials and tribulations and none of the 'greats' travelled an easy road.  The world has us convinced that in order to have anything we want in life, it should be handed to us.  And if we have to fight for it, we're not supposed to have it.  But the truth is that the 'fight' isn't really a fight at all because the battle is already won.  The 'fight' is really a test to see if we have what it takes.  David knew that he was supposed to be king and through it all he never handed his crown over, he never forfeited his throne, he never threw in the towel.  Jesus knew what he was BORN to do.  And though he had to endure the worst of the worst, even though he might have preferred not to be beaten, tortured and murdered, he knew his destiny.

Do you have what it takes?  What is the devil using to try and get you to abort your destiny?  What is he using to try and make you feel that you will never be great?  Is it your health?  You finances?  Your children?  Your marriage?  Your circumstances?  What is he using to fool you?  All he's doing is calling your bluff, trying to convince you to fold.  Don't let him lie to you.  Don't believe the hype.  He's taunting you... 'IF you're so blessed, why are you in so much debt?' 'IF you're so anointed, why isn't anyone calling your back?' 'IF you have a purpose, why is your life so messed up?' 'IF you have the ability to speak to your storms, why can't you find peace in your home?'  Well, let me tell you something today, men and women of destiny... BECAUSE YOU DO have what it takes, you tell the devil and all of his "IF'S" to GO TO HELL.  You dig your heels in DEEP throughout the bill collectors, the poor health reports, unemployment, 'crazy' circumstances and doubt and you declare I HAVE A DESTINY!  Stand on His Word. Have no fear.  Throw all your cards on the table and God will take care of the rest.  You DO have what it takes... because God is with you.

Be Blessed in ENDURING THE TEST

31..If God is for us, who can be against us? 37...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:31b, 37-39 (READ ROMANS 8:18-39)

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What is TEMPTATION?

Submit your ways to God, resist the devil and he will flee

James 4:7

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I believe temptation is the single ingredient that is added to your life to either keep you from or propel you into your destiny.  Faith, obedience, wisdom and love are necessary to reach your full potential but I believe temptation is the devil's antidote to either make or break you.  If you take the time to think about it, we all have 'things' that cause us to make decisions based on our desires, our feelings and our will.  For example, you could be in a relationship that is going well but then you feel something boiling up in you to wreck havoc over something 'insignificant'.  You are tempted to 'rock the boat' for no other reason but to be right or be heard.  And you know that you should keep your mouth shut or let it go.  But that feeling or desire is overwhelming.  So you give in.  And before you know it, you have wasted valuable time, instigated getting your feelings and your partners feelings hurt and more than likely still didn't get your point across as you would have like.  Another example - you are trying very hard to lose weight and you have been invited to an event and you know that all of your favourite and (fattening) foods will be there.  Of course you're going to go, you wouldn't miss it for the world, but do you indulge yourself and completely sabotage your diet in one night or do you decide to be proactive and eat before you go to the evet or use self control and PLAN to eat only one of your favorites as oppose to all five.

Being proactive when dealing with temptation is one of the only ways to keep yourself from making poor choices and regretting it later.  In any situation, we can 'mess up' and then suffer the consequences.  But, tomorrow is never guaranteed and I believe that part of spiritual and physical maturity is learning to plan to succeed as oppose to accept the fail.  The devil will put every type of temptation in your way to keep you stuck or in a position of dissatisfaction.  Therefore, when you make choices based on temptation KNOWING that whatever is tempting you is playing on your weaknesses, you can not blame the devil or whatever trap you fell into.  You failed to plan, therefore you planned to fail.

I'm going to give a couple more practical examples... for the ladies, you are in a relationship and you know that your anniversary is coming up.  You know Mr. Man is not good at dates, you know that finances might be tight, you may even know that he's not very good at gift giving.  So, with this knowledge, does it make sense to get upset/start a fight/stress yourself out/ruin the day when the anniversary comes and he has confirmed all of your prior knowledge?  You fell into the temptation of letting anger, bitterness and unforgiveness ruin a day/moment that you can NEVER get back.  For the men, you know yourself well enough to know that you 'enjoy' looking at pretty faces and fit bodies.  Now you have a choice... either choose to remain single or train yourself to ONLY 'enjoy' looking at your significant other.  According to the Word, lust in the mind is equivalent to adultery.  One more example for everyone... we all have financial responsibilities.  Again, you have choices.  You can spend your rent/mortgage on a all-inclusive vacation and then stress about it when you return, you can spend your hydro bill money on a pair of shoes and cook over candle light until you have more money to pay the bill off OR you can take care of your responsibilities and wait until you have a surplus to spend your money without any adverse repercussions.

I know my definition of temptation may seem 'simple' and far fetched as temptation is often regarded as BIG, DEVIL-DESIGNED occurences but in reality, temptation is all around us, everyday.  And if we can't handle the small temptations in our mind and everyday life, how are we supposed to handle the big temptations that face us and act as a catalyst for our destruction or success.  It all starts within us.  When Jesus was in the wilderness, the devil tried to play on Jesus' weaknesses to cause him to fail in His mission.  The devil tried to get Jesus to turn rocks into bread because he knew Jesus was physical hungry.  The devil tried to get Jesus to trade in His purpose for things of the world.  But Jesus knew temptation would come and He planned to succeed and He knew exactly what to say when temptation came (Matthew 4:1-11)  Plan to succeed.  Plan to overcome.  Be proactive and stop letting the devil catch you in the same trap over and over and over again.  The desires of the heart will only come to those who can control the desires of their heart.

Be Blessed in RESISTING TEMPTATION

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. - Matthew 6:13

God is Love. Love is Life. Life is in The Word.

Death to Flesh

You were running well—who stopped you from obeying the truth?

Galatians 5:7 CEB

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Some days I wake up and feel like "Dear God, what you have called us to do is ridiculous.  There is NO way we can follow you and do as Christ did in this world that is so full of corruption, deceit and pain."  And then God reminds me what Jesus had to endure leading up to his death.  Then my rebuttal is "Jesus knew where he was going after, what He had to look forward to AND He knew WHO He was therefore, It made it easier for Him to endure."  Then God asks me "So, I guess you figure it was easy for Him?  Like, sweating blood comes natural?  You have been promised all that My Son has received.  You just need to embrace WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST."  I usually don't have much to say after that but my mind is often determined to take over and convince me that there is no truth in the Word and His promises and that all God has called me to do is impossible.  The battlefield of the mind continues.

I have been focusing a lot on renewing of the mind, restoring the soul and killing the flesh because it is all that stands between our death, burial and resurrection.  When we succumb to the desires and feelings of our mind and flesh we put ourselves in the position to remain stagnant, unhappy and miserable.  I know it is hard to rise above and see past our current circumstances.  I completely understand.  But I also understand that in order for me to reach my full potential and all God has in store for me, I HAVE to see past it all, which includes the past, and press forward.  Easier said than done.  Sometimes, it is EXTREMELY difficult for me to look past all that is facing me when my circumstances appear hopeless and my vision seems far-fetched.  I can literally FEEL my 'flesh' creeping up inside of me as it has resolved to self-destruct and destroy EVERYTHING I have worked so hard to accomplish.  The simple fact that I am writing this now is waging war against my 'flesh' as my 'flesh' would rather be non-productive, angry, bitter, wallow in self-pity and subject myself to ways that I know will bury me and KEEP me buried.

We will all have our moments of peace and chaos, joy and grief, happiness and anger.  It is natural - "in this life we will have trials and tribulation".  Where this becomes 'mind over matter' is how we CHOOSE to deal with it.  Although comparing myself to Jesus seems soooo ridiculous at times, it is important for me to embrace the concept in order to press forward.  We all have over 'cross' to bear, just as Jesus did.  However, the difference is that Jesus already set the precedent for victory.  In other words, although we will have "trials and tribulation", frustrations, disappointments, chaos, sickness, unrest and discontentment... we should "be of good cheer" - be at peace, grin and bear it, laugh at it, be excited - "because He has overcome the world" - He has died WITH our 'cross', was buried WITH it, left it in hell and rose from the dead FREE and CLEAR.

Because we all have an innate sense of justice - what is fair and unfair, what is right from wrong, what we deserve from what we don't deserve - we tend to 'go to far' in this mentality as we often allow ourselves to wallow in it.  And when we choose to wallow in the injustice around us, we don't give God the chance to bring us through and/or fix it.  Let's bring it back to Jesus - if He chose to stay in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood, calling out to God and begging Him to 'take this cup' from Him, would He have made it to the cross?  The fact of the matter is this... there is NOTHING that we are asked to endure that Jesus has not already taken on and buried for us.  It is our choice to resurrect ourselves without holding onto what was lost, could have been, should have been and what WE THINK should be.

This is as much a Word for me as it is for most of you.    The battlefield of the mind continues as the 'flesh' is waging war against all that God has promised me.  The devil is determined to test my faith and cause me to doubt God's promises.  BUT the Word is and will forever have the last word.  The battles is already won.  I continue to challenge myself not to be like the Israelite's - grumbling and complaining about everything that seems to be going wrong as oppose to thanking God for blessing me with everything that is going well.  God is in control of all things and His timing is perfect.  BUT if we remain stuck, feeling wronged and/or shafted in our circumstances, it is probably because our 'flesh'/mind has us convinced that we are Israelite's (taking 40 years to make a 11 day journey) and that we would be better off being miserable and focusing on all that is not according to OUR plan.

God can change your circumstance with ONE thought... but you will never know what it is if your 'flesh' is ruling you and your mind is cluttered with complaints.  Thank God for getting you out of Egypt (the old you and your old life), thank God for taking you through the Red Sea (giving you grace to get through what seemed impossible), thank God for giving you Manna every morning (for waking you up, giving you a job to go to, providing all your needs).  Let's just thank God for all He has done and BRING DEATH to your fleshy, selfish, dissatisfied, discontented, complaining, nagging, critical, fault-finding, miserable, unruly, depressed self.  And I will be doing the same.   

Be Blessed in RESURRECTING OUR SPIRIT

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] - John16:33 AMP

God is Love. Love is Life. Life is in The Word.