What is it about us, about us as people, that keeps us always wanting more, striving for the next great thing, seeking something bigger, better, grander, higher? What is it that keeps us from focusing on the here and now? What is it that holds our attention in what may come or what has been?
When is enough, enough?
For whatever reason people feel free to share their hurts and struggles with me. I love it. I love knowing people find comfort in being open and honest…of being vulnerable. I love seeing people be real. But (hate that word…BUT I’m using it anyways) I allow myself to grow frustrated, maybe even annoyed at it sometimes. I hear people share about the same struggles over and over, time and time again. I want to ask…
When is enough, enough?
I believe the reason we’re constantly looking forward or backwards, I believe the reason we’re always searching for the next big thing, I believe the reason we desire to have more, is simply because IT’S EASIER THAN APPRECIATING WHO YOU ARE, WHERE YOU ARE, AND WHAT YOU HAVE.
Here’s what I want to know…
#1 When Will Your Desires Become More Than Dreams?—As people we sure do like to talk, don’t we? We like to paint pictures of what we’d like to do or where we’d like to go or what we’d like to have, but rarely do we acknowledge where we’re at. We remain stuck behind the veil of talk and chatter. It’s as if we’re frozen from any sort of forward moment. We identify ourselves with past hurts, failures, addictions, and so on. We SAY we want to be different and LIVE like we’re content where we are. I want to be FREE…can I get a cigarette from you? I want to FREE…want me to grab you a drink from the bar? I want to be FREE…I just need a new boyfriend. Why don’t you just be honest and say, “I want to be FREE, but I’m unwilling to do anything about it.” THAT makes more sense to me. THAT’S being honest. Jesus said if you have the faith of a mustard seed, a teeny, tiny mustard seed, you could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Stop dreaming and start DOING! Do you believe God CAN set you free? Do you believe God WILL set you free?
#2 When Will Your Desire To Live Be Greater Than Your Desire To Die?—Wallowing in the crap of your past is the equivalent of climbing into the coffin and shutting it all by yourself. You’ve got to CHOOSE TO LIVE. Saying you want peace, saying you want rest, saying you want freedom is not the same was doing something to affect some sort of change in your life. You’ve got to WANT it and you’ve got to want it enough to LET GO OF THE CRAP. I will never downplay your pain. I will never downplay the hurts you’ve experienced. I will never tell you to simply get over it. I will tell you to WORK THROUGH IT. I serve a God who is GREATER than your circumstance and more than ABLE to bring you through it. How bad do you want it? Do you want to live?
#3 When Will You Stop Playing The Victim And Start Claiming The Victor?—Jesus is my everything. Jesus could be your everything…if you’d just let him. He conquered the grave. He trampled death to give you life. He suffered death so you could experience life. I’m not the pain of my past. I’m not the physical or sexual abuse. I’m no longer cowering in the corner of a prison of mistrust and anger. Jesus took the burden of my past pain, hurts, and mistakes and in exchange he gave me NEW LIFE, he gave me REST, he gave me PEACE, he gave me VICTORY (Matthew 11:28-30)!
#4 My question for you today is when will enough, be enough?
When is enough, enough?
For whatever reason people feel free to share their hurts and struggles with me. I love it. I love knowing people find comfort in being open and honest…of being vulnerable. I love seeing people be real. But (hate that word…BUT I’m using it anyways) I allow myself to grow frustrated, maybe even annoyed at it sometimes. I hear people share about the same struggles over and over, time and time again. I want to ask…
When is enough, enough?
I believe the reason we’re constantly looking forward or backwards, I believe the reason we’re always searching for the next big thing, I believe the reason we desire to have more, is simply because IT’S EASIER THAN APPRECIATING WHO YOU ARE, WHERE YOU ARE, AND WHAT YOU HAVE.
Here’s what I want to know…
#1 When Will Your Desires Become More Than Dreams?—As people we sure do like to talk, don’t we? We like to paint pictures of what we’d like to do or where we’d like to go or what we’d like to have, but rarely do we acknowledge where we’re at. We remain stuck behind the veil of talk and chatter. It’s as if we’re frozen from any sort of forward moment. We identify ourselves with past hurts, failures, addictions, and so on. We SAY we want to be different and LIVE like we’re content where we are. I want to be FREE…can I get a cigarette from you? I want to FREE…want me to grab you a drink from the bar? I want to be FREE…I just need a new boyfriend. Why don’t you just be honest and say, “I want to be FREE, but I’m unwilling to do anything about it.” THAT makes more sense to me. THAT’S being honest. Jesus said if you have the faith of a mustard seed, a teeny, tiny mustard seed, you could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Stop dreaming and start DOING! Do you believe God CAN set you free? Do you believe God WILL set you free?
#2 When Will Your Desire To Live Be Greater Than Your Desire To Die?—Wallowing in the crap of your past is the equivalent of climbing into the coffin and shutting it all by yourself. You’ve got to CHOOSE TO LIVE. Saying you want peace, saying you want rest, saying you want freedom is not the same was doing something to affect some sort of change in your life. You’ve got to WANT it and you’ve got to want it enough to LET GO OF THE CRAP. I will never downplay your pain. I will never downplay the hurts you’ve experienced. I will never tell you to simply get over it. I will tell you to WORK THROUGH IT. I serve a God who is GREATER than your circumstance and more than ABLE to bring you through it. How bad do you want it? Do you want to live?
#3 When Will You Stop Playing The Victim And Start Claiming The Victor?—Jesus is my everything. Jesus could be your everything…if you’d just let him. He conquered the grave. He trampled death to give you life. He suffered death so you could experience life. I’m not the pain of my past. I’m not the physical or sexual abuse. I’m no longer cowering in the corner of a prison of mistrust and anger. Jesus took the burden of my past pain, hurts, and mistakes and in exchange he gave me NEW LIFE, he gave me REST, he gave me PEACE, he gave me VICTORY (Matthew 11:28-30)!
#4 My question for you today is when will enough, be enough?
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