Have you ever been lured into bad
behaviors? Like a carrot being dangled in front of your face, constantly
reaching for it but never quite attaining it. Your carrot could be the love of
others, a quota at work, an expectation of positive circumstances or just a
feeling from a desired object. Whatever your carrot is, you can either us
it as motivation or just an overlying of barriers you can not overcome. We are
constantly seeking the pleasures of life and always trying to do them by
limiting as much pain as possible.
This is hardwired into us by our creator,
its instinctual and you can us it to help you overcome fears and thoughts of
dissatisfaction in your life. In the book of Psalm 23:4
it says, “Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are
with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.” Understand that
your lord wants you to trust in Him to overcome your own limiting
characteristics, no need to fear in the unknown if you have the lord on your
side. This is because like God has with many other figures in the bible, he can also enable you to attain those "carrots" by overcome fears and excuses you may have.
Many of times God uses people that
lack in certain virtues, and leverages them to make great change in many hundreds
of thousands lives. This is apparent because we still look to theses figures for inspiration on how to overcome limiting factors. Look
at Moses, he was 80 years old when God used him to free the people of Egypt.
Many of us are under that age and we have plenty of reasons for why we can’t
have the “carrots” in our lives. Is it your age keeping you from something you
want? With God using Moses it proves that age doesn’t matter and is merely an excuse
some of use.
What if you are someone that has done
horrible things in their past? Well lets look at Saul in the New Testament.
Saul in the years following the death of Jesus was a man that would mercilessly interrogate
and torcher individuals into proclaiming that Jesus was not the son of God.
Picture in your mind being a follower of Jesus, and Saul finds you praying to in Jesus's name. Now Saul's job was to take you
and mutilate your body till you confessed Jesus was not lord. Have you ever
tortured someone, have you ever killed someone, have you? Most of us would say
no, but even if you had God to can cleanse you of your sins. From their God spoke to Saul and then made him as one of His disciples, and changed his name from Saul to the
Apostle Paul. Paul would then write more than half of the New Testament and would do more
for the modern church then any other figure in the bible, still think you have
sin that can not be overcome?
God can cleanse all sin, that excuse is gone with the evidence of the Apostle Paul.
Being a Christian has taught me a lot on how to let go of past sins and
mistakes I’ve made, because having a relationship with my heavenly father gives me the permission to forgive yourself and move on. We are told in the book of
1 John 1:9 that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is immensely
soothing to me, because I’m me and I know I’m a sinner, but over time as I’ve
walked with Him I’ve learned that trusting in God will help me not to
perpetually sin on a constant basis with the same things. That is the trust in Him can give me the strength to overcome those sinful obstacles, because if we like it or not every time we sin it is because be do not believe He will give us the will to overcome.
My personality is one that values having certainty above all else in the present and future, so please believe this whole "trust" thing is not easy for me also. But being in a relationship with God I’ve
learned that it is alright to not always know what my next move will be. This
doesn’t mean I do not take the necessary precautions for the future, but that
if I do all the things I’m suppose to do like fighting that lazy feeling or not
committing that sinful act. I will become closer to what it is God wants me to
be. I’ve traded my certainty in myself into a certainty in God, and that trust
has furthered my faith in my ability to seek my purpose to help others move
closer to their Lord and saver because doing that will only help create
happiness in myself and in the others I help influence. For if I give out positively then I will get positive in return, and that will help me to overcome those barriers in life.
“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell
in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give
you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in
him and he will do this.” Psalm 3-5
The carrots of your life are here to
motivate you into action, and the excuses can be overcome with your trust in
the Lord. But as I learned a while ago, change is hard, change is difficult,
but trust in His will and you will become an instrument of God. This will make it
incredibly easier when you are leaning on God because He will fill in those spots of
weakness within your personal characteristics. “Lean not
on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make
your paths straight” Proverbs 5-6. Moreover, just like he did with Moses and the Apostle Paul be can turn your weaknesses and sins into strengths to positively affect others you come into contact with.
Till later take one step out of your
comfort zone today and everyday, because this will help grow your faith and
help you attain those God given “carrots” in life. His will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Live, love and have faith in God, because you are
magnificent and its about time you start living as if you are.
