What holds you back?

What holds you back?

What is keeping you from living the fulfilling life that is promised you in God’s word?

Philippians 3:7-10 – But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.

Think of everything you own, every iPod, computer, TV, backpack, shirt, shoe, hat, everything. Are you willing to lose all of it in order to attain the life God has for you? Are you ready to let go of every selfish dream of riches, fame, and glory to gain a life that God has promised you as his child? What if God told you, “I want to give you the best possible life you can imagine? It will be so great that you cannot even dream it right now. All you have to do is part with every single possession you have.” Could you throw it all in a pile and watch it burn or be taken away by strangers?

The Bible doesn’t tell us that if we tell God he can have all of our possessions that he will just swoop down on a fiery chariot and take it all away from us. But we get too comfortable with what he have. Before we had an iPod we seemed to live alright. We didn’t just get by because we were waiting on the iPod to come feed us and clothe us, right? Most of us have been blessed with a lot of different and usually nice things. We collect these things and use them until they break or a new thing comes along that are newer, nicer, and better. We carry these around with us all the time. Some of us haven’t gone 30 minutes without our cell phone in over a year. We are so busy lugging all these things with us everywhere we go. We can’t go out of town without taking the Xbox with us.

At some point our arms get so full that nothing else will fit. That is when we make decisions on which things we can let go of. You know like every spring when mom wants to clean out your closet. All of these things provide some kind of joy, pride, entertainment, security, or pleasure. But these are only temporary. They do not last and before long you must go in search of something new and better.

What if God is standing right in front of you waiting to give you the biggest and best gift that you have ever received? He wants to give it to you. It is so big that you can’t hold it with one hand. He is waiting until both your hands are free so that you are able to grab hold of this gift, this thing.

The life of pure joy, of unadulterated pleasure, of amazing love, and marvelous grace is waiting for you. The only question is, are your hands full? If they are, are you willing to take the risk, the risk of being left empty handed? Do you have the faith to take that risk and know that no matter what, God will provide?

The Warrior of the Light is a believer.
Because he believes in miracles, miracles begin to happen. Because he is sure that his thoughts can change his life, his life begins to change. Because he is certain that he will find love, love appears.
Now and then, he is disappointed. Sometimes, he gets hurt.
Then he hears people say: “He’s so ingenuous!”
But the Warrior knows that it is worth it. For every defeat, he has two victories in his favor.
All believers know this.