Chin Up
"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the things he planned for us long ago."
Ephesians 2:10
Just stay in bed today.
It’s okay.
You don’t need to do anything today.
Maybe it would be okay if you didn’t finish your degree.
Maybe you don’t need to accomplish all the things you thought of yesterday.
Have you ever heard this voice? I hear it a lot. I hear it in the quiet morning hours when I’m trying to wake up and face the day. I hear it when I am knee deep in a paper for school. I hear it when I am in the middle of a work out… on a Monday morning.
It tells me it’s okay to be lazy.
It would be fine if you just gave up. Just quit now. It will all be just fine.
True…everything might be just fine if I gave up. It might all actually work out and be okay.
But what if instead of giving up, I gave it everything I had? What if I got enough gumption and vision in me to actually accomplish something amazing?
There was a day this week when I was just flat-out stressed. I was thinking that it might be okay to not accomplish everything I intended to in the future. I almost had myself convinced to give up my dreams. That voice (of the enemy) whispered…it would be a lot easier. You could do something else instead. Or you could do nothing.
Then it hit me.
I shook my head and smiled.
When people look back on my life, what are they going to say? Would it be that I talked big and had great dreams but decided not to pursue them? Yeah, no. That’s not going to work for me. God has brought me too far to give up or turn around now.
But those whispers can sound pretty convincing. They can be very confusing, which is what they are meant to be. Sometimes I can even get them confused with God’s voice. I think to myself, “Maybe He doesn’t want me to do that. Maybe I should just fly under the radar.”
Then I ran across this passage, Isaiah 45:18-19, during my daily reading time…
For the Lord is God,
and He created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” He says,
“and there is no other.
I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.
Wow. I love this passage. Just reflect on it for a moment. Read it again.
Who did He say He was?
The Lord who created the heavens and the earth. (verse 18)
He is in control of the entire universe…He’s got our back.
What did He create the world to be?
A place to LIVE, not a place of empty chaos and confusion. (verse 18)
He has created a place for us to flourish and live. We don’t have to wander around in doubt. We have beautiful purpose.
What does he do?
He PROCLAIMS BOLD promises, not whispers of obscurity in the dark. (verse 19)
We can feel confident that every time we hear the whispers of doubt and obscurity, tempting us to be lazy or quit…they do NOT come from him. I don’t know about you, but that kind of fires me up! Knowing that the enemy wants to make me feel like it’s okay to be lazy, to confuse me, and to try to convince it’s okay to not pursue my dreams. It makes me want to get up in the morning on a mission to shut him up and give God some glory.
Yes, there are times when we are ridiculously tired. When panic floods us for a moment. When we seriously doubt that we have anything good to offer.
But remember…
He is the source of all our righteousness and strength. (Isaiah 45: 24)
But he has given us everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3)
The spirit of God is in you…you cannot fail. (Psalm 46:5)
He also promises in verse 19 that He can be found. During those times of confusion, we can seek Him and know that He will encourage us by speaking “only what is true” and “only what is right.” (verse 19) But we must choose to seek His voice and ignore the enemy’s.
Can you imagine what it would be like if we all decided to stop listening to that obscure whisper in the morning? If we all decided to silence that voice by being all God has called us to be?
To be confident in who we are.
To lift our eyes when we walk. Chin up.
To have dreams, goals, and visions and pursue them.
We are the kingdom of God on earth.
Where do you think your bold ambitions come from?
What is holding you back?
Get up earlier.
Work harder.
Study longer.
Let’s live boldly, wildly chasing after the dreams the Father has given us.
"Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you."
Proverbs 4:25