by Misty Phillip | May 26, 2016 | Christian Living, Faith, Featured
Have you ever wanted to try something new, or learn a new skill, but you were afraid to get started? Or is there a desire or dream within you to do something and you just don’t feel qualified to do it?
Many people today lack the courage they need to start new projects or follow their dreams.
The other day while buying a new computer at the Apple store, the sales associate and I were talking about what I would be using my new laptop for. I told her that I was an author and blogger and that I would be using my new laptop to write my first book. She was very excited for me, and thought that what I was doing was really neat. She told me that she also had a dream of being an author, and one day hoped to write a children’s story.
She was bursting with excitement as she shared with me that she already had a great book idea, but something was holding her back from acting on that dream. This young lady is currently going to school for her teaching degree and wants to be a kindergarten teacher. I don’t know if she was just afraid to get started, or she didn’t think she was qualified enough to write a children’s story until she had a degree, but I sensed her hesitation—something was holding her back. So I encouraged her to go ahead and get started on her book now.
Too often, I see people who are held back from pursuing their dreams because they don’t feel like they have what it takes to pursue them. But the Bible tells us a different story.
According to 2 Timothy 1:7:
“God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and of love and self-control.”
In 2 Peter 1:3 we learn that:
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”
I would have missed out on some of God’s greatest blessings for my life—like motherhood, homeschooling, or blogging—if I would have waited to start until I felt qualified. God equips those He calls.
God has given us everything we need for an abundant life.
If God has placed a dream or desire in our hearts, then we do not need to be afraid to proceed. Through His divine power He has given us everything we need, and through Christ who strengthens us, we can do all things!
So don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith: step out of your comfort zone, knowing that you are empowered by divine power, and follow your dreams.
Leave a comment below if God has recently empowered you to do something out of your comfort zone.
by Misty Phillip | May 19, 2016 | Christian Living, Faith
Last weekend, I cleaned out my closet. I don’t know why the prospect of cleaning it out is so hard for me, or why I waited so long to actually clean it! My closet was a disaster. I could barely hang anything in it, and there were clothes and shoes strewn all around.
Sometimes, I really have a hard time letting go of things that belong to me.
Maybe it has something to do with growing up with a post-depression era Mother. As a child growing up, we didn’t have a lot of excesses, and I can still hear my mom say, “Don’t throw that away. We may need it someday.” I think that is the attitude that I still have toward my clothing. Maybe I will wear it again, or if I just lose a few pounds that outfit will fit really nice. “Don’t get rid of it, you might want to wear that again someday,” I tell myself. And sometimes, that someday never comes, and so things are there taking up space, making it difficult for me to find things I really want to wear because I can’t see through the clutter.
How many times in life do we miss out on God’s best for our life, because we clench things so tightly with our fists that we don’t let go and make room for God to bless us?
I wonder what blessings that I have missed out along the way because I was holding on too tightly to things, or feelings and emotions, or sins like jealousy or envy.
Back to my closet: My husband and boys helped me clean out my closet. They would pick things up, and say “Mom, the 90’s called and they want their clothes back!” It was straightforward for them to see what was faded, stained, or things I no longer wear. It took us the entire day to clean out my closet. Wouldn’t it have been easier on the whole family if I would’ve just periodically cleaned out my closet along the way? Or take a hard look at what was cluttering my closet?
On a different level, what about the sin that is cluttering my heart and my life?
It’s easy for us to make judgments toward other people. It’s easy to compare ourselves and say “well, I am better than that person because I don’t _____.” But our own sin clouds our hearts and minds and keeps us from living the abundant life God has called us to live.
” Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” -Matthew 7:3-5
Just like cleaning out my closet, sometimes it is easier for other people to see what I don’t see. Lord, please help me to see what is obvious to others, help me to let go of whatever holds me back from living for You completely. Help me deal with the sin in my heart, before it gets so cluttered that I can’t contain the mess.
Cleaning out my closet was a very liberating experience. I can now walk in and find exactly what I am looking for, and I also have room left to add a few new pieces. The Bible is full of verses detailing God’s great blessings for our lives.
For example, in Philippians 4:19 (ESV), Paul writes, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
If God will take care of everything I need according to his riches, then why would I want to hold on so tightly to things, attitudes, behavior, sin, that keep me from God’s best in my life?
Lord, help me not to judge others but help me become a better judge of my own condition!
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