Life.Simple.Perspective

I feel like I’m in a perpetual state of frustration lately.  I feel stuck and in a terrible rut.  I don’t have the courage to take risks like I used to; to step out in faith, to sail into deeper waters.  I’m putting my faith in man and what I can see instead of in God and His plan and it pains me deeply to live this way.

There once was a king who built a fleet of trading ships with the good intention of leaving the harbor in search of gold.  But unfortunately after all of his hard work, the king never set sail. Eventually a powerful storm came along and dashed his ships upon the rocks destroying them all right in the harbor where they were built.  Yes, the stories in the Bible are still relevant today; even the ones found in the “antiquated” Old Testament.  I have listened to this podcast at least a dozen times because the message is so powerful.  It’s powerful because it speaks to so many of us who will leave this world with our hopes and dreams still buried deep within our hearts. According to the message there are three different types of people; excusers, accusers and choosers.  Excusers make plenty of excuses as to why they can’t do something.  Accusers blame other people or their circumstances for getting in the way of pursuing their hopes and dreams.  Choosers accept responsibility for the direction of their lives; they make wise choices and are willing to take risks.  Some of us are waiting for our ship to come in but God is waiting for us to get our ship out of the harbor.  He is waiting for us to take those risks and to set sail into deeper waters.  To build a ship and never set sail is a terrible tragedy.  Frequently we hear of people who are a lot less fortunate than we are and whose circumstances are a lot tougher than ours that go on to do great things with their lives.  God expects us to do great things with our lives too.  He expects us to make the most out of every opportunity we have been given to use our gifts, talents and resources.

Below are the five (5) things that we must do if we want to get our ship out of the harbor.

1. We must stop accusing and excusing and start choosing.
2. We must surrender our hopes and dreams to God.
3. We must set some individual, measurable and attainable faith goals.
4. We must start NOW! (there’s no “perfect” time; we need to quit procrastinating)
5. We must select a partner to help us (someone to motivate us, encourage us and to be accountable to).

Confession is good for the soul and my challenges with the above manifest come from #1 and #5.  I tend to make excuses as to why I can’t do something…I’m too tired, I’m too busy, I’m too stressed, I don’t have enough money.  I don’t always make wise choices either… especially when it comes to diet and exercise and that makes it difficult to achieve my goals.  No sooner do I get a healthy momentum going than I make an unwise decision not to exercise or to eat unhealthy food and it sets off a downward spiral back to square one. Positive thinking and affirmations can only get us so far.  We need divine intervention.   The sails of our ship need wind power and that can only come from #2 above.

So as you leave the harbor and set sail towards your hopes and dreams, may the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face.