Do you ever talk yourself out of something that may very well be awesome?
You have an opportunity to go somewhere or do something, but the little voice within pipes up and starts telling you all the reasons why you can’t, so you don’t. You make plans, but you cancel the plans. You have good intentions, but you don’t follow through with the intentions. You say yes, then you regret your yes and decline. You felt that stir in your spirit, but you quieted it the next day.
This is the absolute truth for the majority of us, myself included. It leaves me to wonder how many awesome opportunities we miss out on because our yes turns into no before we even give it a chance.
I host women’s adventure retreats. It happens most every time, a few days or weeks prior to the retreat, a ticket holder will contact me with a request to cancel. The reasons vary, but I know for many, at the root of it is that little voice that tells them this is too scary, too uncomfortable, too much, and they’re looking for the first available reasoning to justify not coming.
Each time this happens, it breaks my heart for them. Why? Because I know that little voice won. Their opportunity was stolen because they talked themselves out of it.
Girls, what if we stopped dismissing ourselves from opportunities to experience more life?
What if we said yes to life, then refused to move from our yes, and force ourselves to show up? What if God could count on us to be ever ready to embrace every opportunity for living he brings our way? Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it’s unsure. Even if we show up shaking in our boots.
I wonder what he could and would do? I wonder how much bigger our lives could be if opportunities were embraced and we had the confidence to keep showing up?
Will you have the confidence to say YES TO LIFE? Or will you excuse yourself again?
Will you buy into the lies of the enemy that tell you you’re not good enough or not strong enough, that you’re too old, too fat, too awkward, and always too busy? How many opportunities have his lies stolen from you and how many more will you allow now?
Jesus says in Matthew 5:37 “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
I believe Jesus is telling us to stop being wishy washy. In one day, and out the next … talking ourselves out of what we said we would do, and into what we said we wouldn’t do. Where does that come from? From the evil one. The evil one is getting in your head and turning your good yeses into settled nos, and your healthy nos into negotiated yeses beyond the boundaries.
Let your yes be yes. Show up. Follow through. Do it.
Let your no be no. You said this won’t happen, then don’t let it happen. You said that was the last time, then hold that boundary.
How does this apply to you this week? Think about that now.
When you say yes to life, life says yes to you. There’s a great big world of opportunity waiting on the other side of your yes. I wonder what your amazing creator has designed for you if you’ll trust him enough to show up for it now?
You must learn to trust there is a future waiting for you that is beyond anything you can grasp at this moment. Today you cannot fathom what your future can be. Your mind cannot comprehend what is truly possible with the spirit of God living in you, guiding you. But oh sweet child, if you will only lean into him, surrender your will fully to his, trust him with your everything, seek him with your all, then you will taste the buffet of life before you.
Do you want that future you cannot imagine over the today you can control? Are you willing to loosen your grip on the reigns so God can take over the direction?
Do you have that level of trust with God? Hey, it’s okay if you’re not there yet. It’s a process and our shepherd is so patient with his wandering sheep to teach us his ways. Certain seasons of life are required for us to truly grasp his sovereign power and divine love over our lives. How can you fully understand his healing touch until you’ve been sick? How can you fully trust his provision until you’ve seen him make a way when there was no other way? How can you fully know his power until he has rescued you? All your days God has simply been proving his love, his power, and his plan for your life to bring you to today where you will trust the future he has available for you. All of this has brought you to a place where you can now say yes.
Today we say “YES, God, I want what you have for me!” We boldly rise up, brush the dirt off our knees and claim what our Father is offering. He is offering life to the full, life in abundance, life bigger than you could have ever imagined before.
Our answer? YES … and thank you!
Thank you for not giving up on me when I was foolish. Thank you for not walking away when I was in my jackwagon years. Thank you for not turning away from me when I turned away from you. Thank you for the potential you’ve placed within me from the beginning, now I’m ready to partner with you God to use it!
I wonder how many opportunity to experience something beautiful were right in front of us, but we dismissed ourselves because it required a step outside of our comfort zone. I wonder how many times we have missed the very opportunity we were seeking because we got knocked down, and failed to realize while we were down, God was up, and he was working. The way was being made for the next time we got up … but we never got back up. So we missed it.
Oh what if we were to be so bold to pray today and ask God for what we missed before. God, will you bring those opportunities back around to us? What part of our future has passed us by because we failed to try … will you bring it back around for us now? Will you give us another chance to make you proud?
I believe his answer is yes.
Why? Because check this out:
Psalm 32:8 says “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
His LOVING eye on us. Not a judgmental eye. Not an eye that watches and tallies up our failures. Not an eye that sees every single thing we do wrong and holds it against us. Not an eye that’s already counted us out or given up hope. No … a loving eye. Don’t you know God looks at you with pure and perfect love?
If we can fully grasp that, our world changes. He loves you. He wants nothing more than to guide you to fully step into the good plans he has for your life. He doesn’t want to punish you because you missed it the first time around. He’s not dwelling on the 10 years you wasted being an idiot … he’s dwelling on the time you have left to live up to your potential.
God says he will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. That’s good news, right? Yes, because if we’re being completely honest, we really don’t know what the heck we’re doing here, do we?
Our bright ideas get us in trouble sometimes. Our way often leads us to a dead end. But when we are seeking God, he will instruct us. He will teach us the way we should go.
God, please guide us. Guide us along the paths you have prepared for us. Guide us back to the opportunities we have missed before. Guide us into the future we can’t even begin to imagine at this moment. Keep your loving eye on us.
The New Living Translation of Psalm 32:8 says “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.”
Yes, that’s what we want, we want the BEST pathway for our lives. We’ve been settling for kinda good, or a little good, or just good enough, when God has the BEST available to us. No more settling for good, we want the BEST. We want God’s BEST.
And there’s only one way to discover God’s BEST … a full surrender to him. An all-in life for him. A leaning in to him that says, God if you don’t catch me, I’m face-planting here, but I KNOW you’ve got me, so I lean! I say yes, and I won’t talk myself out of that yes!
His loving eye is on you today. He sees where you are and he knows where you can go, so he’s making a way for the BEST path to get you there. And remember, in order to get on the BEST path, there are often a lot of good paths that don’t work out. Good plans that fall apart. But don’t lose heart. It’s all a part of the BEST plans coming together!
Let your yes be yes, and don’t talk yourself out of it!
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