Humans were the only creature God made that He endowed with the ability to choose. Its close companion is courage. When the two operate in sync there isn’t much that one cannot accomplish. Disappointment is the enemy’s answer to it. As a result many have abandoned, or grossly limited, their ability to choose and have thereby found themselves having surrendered to misery.
As a consequence, a number of voices have risen in the church who are against “following your dream or pursuing your passion” feeling that it causes young people to adopt a narcissistic life style. Actually, this is a function of their own cowardice brought on by disappointment. They fail to see that the underlying motivation for having God make the decision regarding what you are to give your life to is essentially an attempt to avoid failure; if this doesn’t succeed, it’s not my fault. So tell me what to do. Religion has a way of appearing to be something it’s not.
One of the prime reasons for “following your dream or pursuing your passion” is to find out what you’re made of and what God is capable of when things go sideways. If those who are telling you “let God choose your way” are your mentors, you will find that they will not be by your side when stiff resistance shows its ugly head. They will simply sit back and tell you “I told you so” because they have given in to the ministry of disappointment, and have surrendered their own ability to choose as a means of self-protection. They will not be there to encourage you not to quit and to help you put all the pieces back together if indeed things do fall apart. Those who have been defeated by disappointment are worthless as mentors because they will not teach you how, nor encourage you to choose to fight. If you will not choose to fight then you will have surrendered one of the greatest gifts God has given to mankind – choice.
If you have allowed the depression of disappointment to minister to you, how do you get back the courage to choose again? How do you un-surrender?
That’s easy! Do the opposite of what got you into that hole to begin with – choose. The enemy is always going to make the odds against you look overwhelmingly huge – to give up hope – that’s his job. But if you choose the right thing and refuse to give up, that’s when the grace of God is activated making it possible to do all things through Him whose grace is sufficient for you. But you have to understand that God’s grace is only available to those who choose to try, and then choose not to give up at the first sign of opposition to their choice. As you continue to make the necessary choice(s), and refuse to give up, the ability to choose becomes the norm of the way you react, because you will have come to see that God’s grace is a constant companion for those who don’t give up.
People have thought that God was one who simply stands around as an observer until someone calls out in desperation. What kind of a father does that? His heart’s desire is for you to succeed, but true success is only a success if you have to overcome an obstacle to achieve it. Otherwise, it’s just something you did and doesn’t qualify as a victory – only an activity. A parent who removes all obstacles for their child while they are at home will have to repeatedly run to their emotional rescue once they leave home because neither the parent nor the child learned to choose wisely and to persevere in the choice. That’s something everyone has to learn. There is no growth when there are no challenges.
Our society has one foot in the toilet because it has refused to allow children to struggle. It has become a “right” not to be disappointed – to not have to face difficult circumstances – to not have to overcome the resistance put up by the enemy. So our culture has birthed a bunch of whining sissies, whose voice cries “Why me? and Where is my safe room?” rather than battle-tested men and women who can be counted on.
As a consequence, a number of voices have risen in the church who are against “following your dream or pursuing your passion” feeling that it causes young people to adopt a narcissistic life style. Actually, this is a function of their own cowardice brought on by disappointment. They fail to see that the underlying motivation for having God make the decision regarding what you are to give your life to is essentially an attempt to avoid failure; if this doesn’t succeed, it’s not my fault. So tell me what to do. Religion has a way of appearing to be something it’s not.
One of the prime reasons for “following your dream or pursuing your passion” is to find out what you’re made of and what God is capable of when things go sideways. If those who are telling you “let God choose your way” are your mentors, you will find that they will not be by your side when stiff resistance shows its ugly head. They will simply sit back and tell you “I told you so” because they have given in to the ministry of disappointment, and have surrendered their own ability to choose as a means of self-protection. They will not be there to encourage you not to quit and to help you put all the pieces back together if indeed things do fall apart. Those who have been defeated by disappointment are worthless as mentors because they will not teach you how, nor encourage you to choose to fight. If you will not choose to fight then you will have surrendered one of the greatest gifts God has given to mankind – choice.
If you have allowed the depression of disappointment to minister to you, how do you get back the courage to choose again? How do you un-surrender?
That’s easy! Do the opposite of what got you into that hole to begin with – choose. The enemy is always going to make the odds against you look overwhelmingly huge – to give up hope – that’s his job. But if you choose the right thing and refuse to give up, that’s when the grace of God is activated making it possible to do all things through Him whose grace is sufficient for you. But you have to understand that God’s grace is only available to those who choose to try, and then choose not to give up at the first sign of opposition to their choice. As you continue to make the necessary choice(s), and refuse to give up, the ability to choose becomes the norm of the way you react, because you will have come to see that God’s grace is a constant companion for those who don’t give up.
People have thought that God was one who simply stands around as an observer until someone calls out in desperation. What kind of a father does that? His heart’s desire is for you to succeed, but true success is only a success if you have to overcome an obstacle to achieve it. Otherwise, it’s just something you did and doesn’t qualify as a victory – only an activity. A parent who removes all obstacles for their child while they are at home will have to repeatedly run to their emotional rescue once they leave home because neither the parent nor the child learned to choose wisely and to persevere in the choice. That’s something everyone has to learn. There is no growth when there are no challenges.
Our society has one foot in the toilet because it has refused to allow children to struggle. It has become a “right” not to be disappointed – to not have to face difficult circumstances – to not have to overcome the resistance put up by the enemy. So our culture has birthed a bunch of whining sissies, whose voice cries “Why me? and Where is my safe room?” rather than battle-tested men and women who can be counted on.
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