In a world where so many obstacles stand in the way of our happiness, we can develop a finely tuned sense of our own inadequacy. How could we not, when we seem set up to fail from the word go? It’s a shame that people feel the need to belittle others…to remind them of the occasions when they’ve fallen short. It’s not like we don’t see it ourselves, after all. We’re our own worst critics. Our own worst enemies. Other people just rub it in.
Imagine that, someone telling you that you’re your own worst enemy? Effectively, that’s someone helpfully informing you that you’re the bad guy, and that they’re going to stand by and watch as you beat yourself up. That’s not just negativity, that’s negativity squared. That’s negativity to the power of apathy!
The fact is, being put down affects us deeply, often without our fully realizing it— especially when it’s ourselves delivering the put-down. Get told often enough that you can’t do something, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. A perceived lack of ability knocks the confidence back a notch or two, increasing the chances of failure, which in turn affects your perception of your ability—and around we go again.And all this is going to affect how we approach the next decision we have to make, or the next obstacle in our path to overcome. Lack of confidence is the mother of procrastination, the father of hesitation.
That kind of downward spiral is antithetical to the Spirit of God. He doesn’t believe in it. He doesn’t acknowledge it. Frankly…He thinks it’s silly, and a waste of our time. Ever since humanity had training wheels, God’s been telling us to trust Him, and that He loves us. For thousands of years, the essential message has been that we can accomplish great things if only we rely upon Him. He called it “faith.”
Faith is a living, breathing thing. It’s entirely active and dynamic; mirroring the relationship that God wants us to have with Him. We’re privileged to have a Father that, by his very nature, can be trusted absolutely, that is always there for us to fall back upon. God has never let us down, never put us down, and He never will. When the human heart inside of us quails at the thought of stepping out onto shaky ground, the Spirit inside us calls upon faith, and steps forward without hesitation.
Faith doesn’t hang back. Faith doesn’t need to be asked twice. Faith is eager, a go-getter! Faith is constantly urging us on, delighted to be picked to deliver the goods, grateful for the opportunity to excel. That’s what faith does for us. It gives us the momentum, the urgency to shine. Twinned with patience—one of the most underrated gifts that the Father can bestow upon us—faith can accomplish fantastic things. Faith and patience can make us fantastic.
With faith, there’s no need to hesitate, to consider what we’re stepping into. What is permitted by God is supported by God. We have a delegated authority from Him to take that leap, provided it meets the instructions and permissions we already have. Unless you have instructions to the contrary…go for it! That’s an overwhelming level of support—God trusts us to manage ourselves.
Don’t wait until the circumstances are perfect to believe in yourself and strike out for what God wants for you, because they’re never going to be perfect, and you’ll be waiting forever. Take a step back into the grace of God, and experience His trust and belief in you. Then spring forward in Him. That impetus, that momentum, will stay with you wherever you go and whatever you do, because faith is all about motion, about the confident step forward, the leap out into the dark with nothing held back. The quickening power of faith makes us powerful—to be ‘quick’ means to be swift, to be eager, but an older meaning is “to be alive.” We are most alive when we exist in faith. That’s the way God has always intended us to be, because it’s the way in which we are happiest and most efficient as people.
Ask yourself what there is in your life, in your spirit, that you need to rely upon God for right now. What prophecies or promises have already been spoken out over you? What instructions and permissions exist in your life already? That’s your delegated authority. That’s the power that your faith can give you to stride out into the unknown with a spring in your step. Still thinking about it? What are you waiting for? Go!
