Alright, folks. We are now 3 weeks into the New Year, and it is my hope that the thing you said was going to happen in 2012 is truly in full swing. This is usually when it’s at its easiest stage of progression. But what happens when you start to see results 3 months down the line? You are either encouraged and want to keep on keeping on or you start to doubt that you can keep up the momentum and decide it’s too much to continue. Now that I think about it, that doubt thing is an attitude that isn’t just contained within the New Year’s Resolution realm. Sometimes, in our walk with God, we adopt that same kind of “stinkin’ thinkin’. Why is that, you ask? 2 things: “For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:16) and “Why do ye not understand my speech even because ye cannot hear my word Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:43-44).
Now, please make no mistake concerning the last Scripture reference. No one is being accused of being a demon child by any stretch, but I am sure you know what I am referring to with the quoting of that Scripture. In fact, both of them talk about the 2 greatest enemies of long-lasting success: our flesh and the old sleuth foot, the devil. Take a look at the first thing Jesus said: “Why do ye not understand my speech even because ye cannot hear my word.” And that is the goal of Satan, to make it impossible to hear His word. I am sure you know the good reason why the devil NEEDS to do that, right? “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). As long as we are unable to hear the truth of God’s Word, we won’t be able to hear the encouragement that comes from him through it. When it comes to the 2012 goals we have set, The Word says to come up with the plan to achieve those goals (Habakkuk 2:2), set the course and stay on it (Ecclesiastes 9:11), remember you have a coach (Zech. 4:6) a partner who is with you all the way (Deuteronomy 31:6-8), who knows that the going can get tough (Isaiah 40:29-31) and that you just might want to give up and quit because of the journey being “too hard” (Galatians 6:8-10; 2 Thessalonians 3:1) and reminds you that your follow-through and persistence will bring about the reward (Ruth 2:12, 1 Corinthians 3:8).
But then we go back to the other kind of man, the man who believes his own self-defeating thoughts and the lies and deceit of Satan. I have always believed that the “flesh” (the carnal nature) tries to wrap you up in a “blanket” so that you do its bidding (Romans 8:5-6a). Your carnal nature does not want to get up right at the time it needs to in the morning, it doesn’t want to go to bed on time, it wants to continually eat and drink the fattening stuff, it doesn’t want to exercise or drink water, it doesn’t want to get to that project you said you were going to begin this year, it doesn’t want to be nice to the person “you can’t stand”, the list goes on and on. Guess what? We just described the “man of faith”. This is the kind of man who doesn’t believe he or she will never lose weight, never get that six-pack, never get promoted, or will never find that “perfect” person to spend the rest of their life with (Proverbs 23:7). They are the kind of people who are negative, always give advice laced with bitterness, and don’t take care of themselves. They walk around with a “doomed” expression and have nothing better to do than to spout “doom and gloom” (Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45) Believe it or not, that IS a person of faith who is the embodiment of the first part of Romans 10:17, that faith cometh by hearing. If they had a lot of non-nurturing people in their lives who had nothing encouraging or uplifting to say to or about them, that might be the solidifier of many a pessimistic, fatalistic mind set. But then here comes the rest of the Scripture, “…and hearing by THE WORD OF GOD”. When you get into the Word, all those negative things said about you in the past should start to lose their grip. The only problem is that many of us haven’t come to realize that we can break the bad habit of berating ourselves or downing other people (1Peter 3:10). The devil would have us to believe that there is no other way to live but the lifeless, aimless, defeatist way of thinking. What he doesn’t want you to know is the truth of the Word that says your mind can be changed (Romans 12:2), your heart can be changed (Ezekiel 11:19), your life can be changed (Job 33:28; Psalm 16:11; John 5:24). Hey, even your health can be changed through God (Proverbs 3:7-9, 16:24; Jeremiah 30:16-18, 3 John 1:2) because Jesus DID SAY in John 10:10 that he came so we could have life and have it more abundantly, right? Can you have abundant life in bad health with a bad attitude to boot? But I digress.
Decide today and for the rest of 2012 that you are not going to fink out on yourself. You are going to stay the course and make happen what you said you wanted to make happen, knowing it is going to take hard work to make it so. Keep the end game in mind just like your LORD God already has (Isaiah 46:10).
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