God’s Waiting Room
The most difficult place to be in life is in God’s waiting room. When you’re in a hurry for something to happen and God isn’t – that’s God’s waiting room.

A lot of times we think we’re waiting on God for something to happen, like a prayer to be answered, but God’s saying you’re not waiting on me, I’m waiting on you. I’m testing you, but I’m also trying to grow you – because the blessing I want to give you is so much bigger than you can handle right now you’re not ready for it. A delay in life is not a denial from God, remember that.

There’s a big difference between no and not yet.

If you believe is that God has given up on you, and may even be feeling that way right now – allow me to remind you that what you’re contemplating is an impossibility.

God never gives up on you.

He never ceases to care about you and He will not abandon his work on you.

Just think of how amazing our lives would be if we could trust God all the time in EVERYTHING. Trusting Him doesn’t mean I’m going to get what I want when I want it, trusting him says I believe that when the timing is right God will provide what I’m asking Him for.
God may not be early, but he will never be late.. You will never waste time waiting on God, you will find out, and believe me this is true – his timing is always the right time.

He timing is perfect.

SESSION NOTES:

TBD

WOD:

Your Pain Has a Purpose

I was inspired to write this from recent experiences in my own life.

Its so easy to say “I give up” when you are hurting. The pain you’re experiencing could be coming from so many different places. Maybe you have a loved one who is sick, maybe you lost your job, maybe your relationship failed. There’s so many areas of our life where we experience pain.

Pain is so much a part of our lives. It is so prevalent, surely there has got to be a reason for it, right? Every human being on this planet is experiencing some form of pain, in some area of their life right now. I truly believe that.

Why does God allow this to happen, why would he do that? I can’t speak for God, I don’t know His thoughts, but If you have faith and you believe, then your pain has a purpose.

Sometimes its not easy to see that, but the pain you are experiencing is the most important part of God’s plan for you. You see, oftentimes God’s preparation for you comes packaged as pain.

God uses the pain we’re enduring to do something in us before he does something through us. The very thing that you’ve dreaded the most is what God might be using to develop you in a way that you can’t even imagine. In fact, the stronger the pain you are experiencing, the bigger the purpose is that God has for you on the other side..

Whatever it is in your life that you are going through, this thing you feel that is a betrayal – what if you just decided I’m not going see it as a betrayal anymore, but that God is preparing me.

Pain is an instrument in God’s hand to sow into you perseverance.

He puts you in pain but for a purpose – not to destroy you, but to build you. To sow into
you perseverance, and the ability to abide even under greater weight – there’s purpose in your pain

No matter what kind of pain you’re going to go through, it may be physical pain, it may be emotional pain, it may be spiritual pain, it may be financial pain, or relational pain. Its something we all go through.

God would not allow us to experience so much pain if there were not a purpose for it.

Seasons of pain do not last forever. All pain has an end. How the pain changes you is up to you – you can come out bitter or you can come out better.

You can come out with a chip on your shoulder blaming God or you can come out stronger with
a greater confidence in God. You can come out defeated, giving up on your dreams or you can
come out with a new passion, a new fire, excited about the new opportunities in front of you.

All of us experience pain. Our challenge is to not just go through it but to grow through it.
That difficulty is an opportunity to get stronger to develop character to gain new confidence.
Anybody can give up. Anybody can let it overwhelm you, but you do really want to be just anybody?

God doesn’t see you that way – you shouldn’t either.

Here is something you probably never thought of – God will leave things like pain in our lives to keep us grounded in His grace. He allows things to happen in our lives that can only be overcome by His glory & his grace. He does this to bring us back to Him, to bring us closer to Him. He did this very thing to Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:

“Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me — so that I would not become arrogant. I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. But He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

God will use the pain, the things that torment us, to transform us.

And through this pain we have a testimony. Every one of us has a testimony. Its why I am writing this today – because I have a testimony that others can relate to. God wants you to use your pain to become your ministry. In other words, when you share your pain it helps you to grow in Christ and when you use your pain to minister to others who’ve gone through the same thing or going through what you’ve already gone through, you are ministering to others and helping them grow in Christ.

So every area in your life where you’ve had pain, you have a testimony so don’t waste it. If you think you don’t have a testimony you do. If you’ve ever gone through bankruptcy then you have a financial testimony. If you have a failed marriage then you have a marriage testimony. If you’ve ever had a serious illness then you’ve got a physical testimony.

Don’t waste your pain, don’t waste your hurt, your pain has a purpose, not only in your life but in others – There are people all around you who are going through what you’ve already gone through and they will listen to your story.

Remember, the greatest demonstration of God’s love was not Jesus’s perfect life. It was not Jesus’ sermons. It was not the miracles He performed.

The greatest witness of God’s love was the suffering that Jesus went through on the cross.

SESSION NOTES:

We had a great workout today. First cold weather of the season! We did our trail run, leapfrog’s in the velodrome, push-ups, and core work.

WOD:

Dangerous Prayers

When we pray, even though our prayers vary, I would imagine that most of our prayers revolve around one simple request:

God, do something for me.

Now there’s nothing wrong at all with those prayers. Everyone should pray to God for miracles in our lives, for healing, for God’s peace. We should seek the Lord for ALL our needs.

But if we stop there, we are missing out on A LOT.

You see, the content of our prayers tells us a lot about our relationship with God. What we pray reflects what we believe about God. For example, if most of our prayers are for ourselves or what matters to us then that is pretty much saying that God exists primarily for US.

Let me give some perspective on it – You have access to the creator of the universe, the beginning & end, the all-powerful and ever-present God of creation and you’re pretty much asking him to help keep you safe and have a good day.

I hate to say it, but God wants more from us than that.

Think about what could be different if you prayed bolder. If you dreamed bigger. If you risked more. If you were more open to what God might do in you rather than what He would do for you.

What if instead of asking God to do something for us, like we do 99% of the time we asked God something dangerous? What if we prayed a self-denying prayer to our heavenly Father?

What if we prayed the most dangerous prayer in the bible?

“HERE I AM LORD, SEND ME.”

Isaiah prayed such a prayer to God:

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am Lord! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8).

He didn’t ask for any details. He didn’t know God’s plan. He didn’t know where or when. He simply said “God, USE ME”.

That’s stunning, life changing prayer. And it is dangerous. Its like writing an open check to God.

I know this firsthand, because I prayed that prayer in July of this year. That prayer is tattooed on my bicep. I didn’t ask God any details, we didn’t work out an agreement first. I simply said, “Here I am Lord, I hear your voice.. USE ME FOR WHATEVER PURPOSE AND LET YOUR WILL BE DONE.

I don’t need to know the benefits, or if it will be easy (its not), or if I will enjoy it (its the most pain I’ve ever experienced in life). I surrender my will to You, God, and I trust You.

That is how dangerous prayer works.

If you are tired of living for things that don’t matter, tired of safe, predictable lukewarm prayers, then its time to change the way we pray.

Its time for you to abandon the safe, comfortable, easy to pray prayers. Its time to pray with courage, to risk and to open yourself up to different path to a better destination. If you want to make a difference on this earth, if you want your life to matter then its time to leave those safe, comfortable prayers and pray big, bold, audacious prayers. Dangerous prayers. Seek God and dare to dream big.

Its time to leave that safety and venture out, to trust God and believe. Your life will not always feel safe, mine sure doesn’t. But you can do it, if you have faith. Becuase without faith its impossible to please God.

So go out there and pray for God to send you, take that risk, and pray the dangerous prayer..

Here I am, Lord.

Send me.

Making connections

The idea for this came to me while mountain biking in the park last Sunday. Coming up around a corner I had to ride in-between a lady walking towards me and also a man walking with his two dogs. I slowed down enough to navigate thu the middle space between them and as I passed I made eye contact with them and we all smiled at each other. It was a nice moment, and felt good. I suppose I could have handled it with aggravation that there was a people jam in my way but it turned into a nice moment of connection with a couple of strangers. That got me thinking about how important it is that we make connections in life.

I’ve spent many a Word of the Day talking about making spiritual connections and the importance of talking to God, not just in prayer, but on a daily basis throughout the day. I’ve written on how to pray, what to pray about, when to pray, and so forth but I’ve never touched on how important it is that we make human connections.

Its true that a spiritual connection with our Heavenly Father is our ultimate goal, and in doing so “streams of living water shall flow from within..” (John 7:38). However, its also true that God made man to have connections with other humans as well.

And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18)

Its so important that we make human connections and share our lives with others. We all have basic needs for human touch, intimacy, etc. So many people in today’s world seem to forego these needs and focus instead on a life of superficial interactions without ever having that connection to others, especially that special connection to “their person”. I can always relate to what I write because the words come from personal experience. I know in my own life I have been very alone and at times felt desperately in need of those connections. Starting over in life for me has meant having to build those connections all over again, almost starting from scratch.

What I’ve found however, is that one of the spiritual gifts I was given was the ability to approach and talk to anyone. Its been surprising to me, and I often do it even without thinking. Looking back I am so fortunate to have that gift, because its let me make those connections all over again and begin to fill my life with others who share my outlook, and who love & respect me for who I am.

Society seems to say to us that it is ok to be alone, that being alone is normal.

It is not OK.

The reality is it is misreable and it is spiritually and emotionally damaging to be alone. If it is extreme enough it can even be physically damaging. There is such a thing as ‘broken heart’ syndrome and the symptoms mimic those of a heart attack.

Every one of us needs those connections. We need human touch. We need intimacy. Sometimes, a lot of times actually, that means putting yourself out there, making yourself vulnerable, taking a chance that you will get hurt. And if you do, which is likely – picking yourself back up and trying again. Over and over until you succeed.

I’ve been there, and the process left me broken & feeling worthless, but I took the time I needed to get myself back together and start over again. You have to have that attitude. You have to be able to put the pain aside and try again. And again. And again. As many times as it takes until you succeed.

One of the other reasons I take making human connections so seriously is because it is one of the primary ways the devil can gain power over us is through isolation. His goal is to isolate us. By isolating us from others we lose those connections and that support we need. When that happens depression, anxiety, fear, doubt, anger – all of these things start to creep into our lives and fill that empty space.

Especially today in our post COVID world it is so important that we do everything we can to make connections with others. Not just for our sake but for others as well. To help others who may be sinking into despair and loneliness. I read a very sobering statistic recently that three out of every five adults, or 61%, report that they sometimes or always feel lonely. Its even greater for young adults, 18-22 with 73% reporting the same. The study found an interesting link between social media usage and feelings of loneliness. Seven out of 10 heavy social media users, or 71%, reported feelings of loneliness.

There are so many pitfalls and traps in today’s world that prevent us from making connections – its almost like we are being setup to fail. And we pretty much are. The power of the enemy is far greater than we give credit and there are many ways, like social media, that stack the odds in favor of us losing those personal connections. I know this, again from my own personal experience losing something amazing and wonderful in my life that God set in motion – only to have the enemy gain control and destroy it, breaking it apart.

If you are out there and you are alone, start making those connections. Start anywhere. Talk to the checkout person. Ask them how their day is going. Say hello to that person in line when they make eye contact with you. Ask them what they are ordering. Every single one of those connections will bring a smile to both of you I can guarantee that. It will make that persons day and yours a little brighter, even if just for a moment. If we al did this think of what a better place the world would be. We often assume so much about others that is negative and if we just talked and communicated we would find exactly the opposite.

So, go out there and talk to strangers, start communicating with the people in your life, really communicating. Put yourself out there and remember why you are doing it – to make your life and this world a better place, one word, one connection at a time.

SESSION NOTES:

For today’s workout we added some new exercises and we utilized our gear to do station work. We did battle ropes, incline wall / crab walk, core work, sledgehammers/tire, and air squats plus our trail run. We had a new interval timer and it took a bit to figure out how to get it timing correctly, we ended up doing some pretty fast rounds since I didn’t set a rest period between rounds!

WOD:

You Have a Purpose

God calls everyone to a higher purpose. He calls us to do his will in our own unique way. And God made & equipped each of us with unique gifts for that purpose.

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:14)

Its up to each of us to discover what that purpose is by establishing a relationship with God, having faith, asking questions and listening to God’s response.

Today more than ever its so important that we find our purpose – I saw an article the other day about ‘witchtok’ a trending theme on TikTok. Its videos where kids explore practicing witchcraft and magic. Can you guess how many views the hashtag #witchtok has?

20 Billon Views

These aren’t kids exploring their relationship with God or the bible. They’re learning and practicing to put their faith and trust in false gods & idols. This world is in trouble. I personally believe we are living in the beginning of the end of times. If there was ever a time for you to start asking God what you can do its NOW.

That said, I think the one thing we’re probably asking ourselves is “How do I know what the Lord wants me to do”, or when I have so many options “Which way does He want me to go?”

Especially in that time of waiting for an outcome these are the questions we desperately want to know the answer to..right?

If you look through the Bible there are many strong individuals who endured years of waiting, endured years of trials because – they knew their purpose and what God’s will was in their life.

King David was able to endure through all adversity because he understood that it was the Lord’s plan for him to be king of Israel. Abraham was able to be patient because God had promised him he’d have many descendants and become a great nation.

Through all the delays, trials, and adversity these men were able to endure because they had faith and could hold on to God’s assurances about their eventual blessings.

They had something to hold on to.

Those long intervals and anxious anticipation can be especially difficult when you’re not sure of where God is taking you or what His plan is for your life.

Knowing your purpose and what God is going to do can make all the difference in the world.

Here’s the thing – I truly believe that if you genuinely desire to follow God, He will move Heaven and earth to show you His will, because in order for you to accomplish the goals and do the good God has ordained for you to achieve, you HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HE’S CALLED YOU FOR.

In other words, You have to know what you are going to do and what you are doing in order to do it.

I borrowed this example from a great man, Pastor Charles Stanley – think about it like this, if you had a son who needed help with the dishes, would you wait for him to figure out what to do on his own? Of course not. You’d teach him how to properly wash the dishes. Then you’d let him know how often you want him to do them. You’d directly him carefully. And if he forgot your instructions, you’d be sure to remind him.

What a great analogy.

Well the same is true with our Heavenly Father. He prepares you to do his will. He equips you with what you need to carry it out, and then He leads you in accomplishing it.

“I will instruct you & teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:8)

I know this to be true, and that this is how God works because – I’ve lived it.

When God knew my surrender to Him was genuine He stepped into my life with INTENTION. He told me exactly what He wanted me to do. Recently, after I completed a vow I took for someone (to lift a burden off of their heart) that was 45 days of prayer, fasting, cold showers, and abstinence, God unexpectedly told me exactly what will happen in my life – So I know. Its pretty unbelievable trust me. I know God knew I needed this – I was at the lowest point of my faith just weeks ago, and something had to happen for me to survive, literally.

But by God’s grace this has given me a resolve in life I’ve never known before, so I understand at a very personal level that this sermon is truth. I hope that you can believe in it as well and know that God’s grace will be there for you too.

So if you are living in uncertainty right now – please, don’t be afraid that there is only heartbreak ahead. Know that God’s purpose for you will bring you contentment, satisfaction, and success. You’ll most certainly face times of adversity – I will, we all do – but you can be sure that in those seasons He will “cause all things to work together for good to those who love God, and who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

You can be certain that in those seasons of pain, in those seasons of waiting, that *God is leading you* and engineering all circumstances *to your benefit.*

Those seasons are necessary, and vital to God’s plan. Its in the waiting that He teaches us how to grow, to develop our spiritual muscles – our faith, our understanding, our hope, and our perseverance.

During these seasons of pain, and of waiting is when you have the opportunity presented to you by God to discover who you are and what your purpose is.

We can do this by making the deliberate decision to incorporate Scripture into our lives and having faith that God is working on our behalf. We persevere, we trust. No matter what the current circumstances are because we believe in God’s sovereign power over all of creation and he has never faltered in fulfilling His word. Its my personal belief that making vows to God and having the faith and perseverance to remain true to those vows will get you Spiritual gifts you never dreamed possible. I can assure you this again, from my personal experience – the more you can give to God, the greater He will give back to you.

God will always pay you back with more than you gave to Him.

So take courage and remain faithful there’s a limit to the delays and sufferings in your life. They will only continue for as long as is necessary for God to accomplish his purpose in you.

Remember:

• God is with you – He knows exactly where you are and what you’re facing – and He is there walking with YOU.
• There is a reason for every season of adversity you face – Because God knows there is no better way to train you in His will than the fire of adversity. Amen to that!
• During this time you are in a spiritual battle – I know this too well, the enemy is well aware of your situation and the reward you will receive. He will strike at you when you are at your weakest, in the moments of despair when you are waiting on God. Resist the devil with courage and faith and he will flee!
• Regardless of the outcome, be thankful – Always remember, no matter what happens or how unfair it seems, God always has your best interest at heart.

My closing prayer is this:

Father in Heaven, you made us, you know us. I pray that you give all of us the understanding to know who we are called to be, and what our purpose is. Give us the strength to accomplish your will. Give us the courage to persevere. Give us the faith to believe. May we forever be your humble servants, serving a purpose greater than ourselves, while we accomplish a Heavenly plan greater than this world.

AMEN!

SESSION NOTES:

We had a great workout today. Weather was fantastic.

WOD:

Absolute Faith

If you live your life believing in God and believe that His will is guiding your life then I think its a good reminder for us to know that God alone is in charge. There’s no part-time to his involvement in your life. He is your security and He’s absolutely sovereign over everything. Every aspect of your life – every breath, every moment.

I say that because its easy to start thinking, especially in times of great pain or the trials that we go through that he’s forgotten about us or He’s off doing something else. Maybe he’s doing his laundry or just busy with the 8 billion other people on this planet How many times have we said:

“Where are you God?”

There’s a passage in Luke that comes to mind when I ask myself that:

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)

That verse from the gospel says it perfectly and I hope you can find comfort in that verse, because it is true. God has never been out of control of your life for even a fraction of a second. Since the day you were born. In fact, he’s never been out of control over his creation since the beginning of time. Again;

He’s never been out of control over his creation since the beginning of time.

The key to believing this truth begins with faith.

But why is faith so hard?

Faith is difficult because we have an expectation of what we want God to do for us rather than trusting in what God is going to do for us Does that make sense?

When we don’t get what we want, or its taking too long, we have a crisis in faith.

I struggle with this often. Knowing that God is going to do for me more than I could ever imagine, yet I am still lacking in faith and still have so far to go…

We all do though. We all strive to be better believers, to trust God with all our heart, to have absolute faith.

I’m not ashamed to admit that. I can imagine what absolute faith looks like in my life but at this stage I struggle to live in it.

The reason for that I’ve found, is because faith is a PROCESS. I use that word a lot in my sermons because it applies to so much of our spiritual life. Faith is something you BUILD. Its something you have to work on everyday. Pastor JT refers to it as doing your spiritual pushups – I think that’s a good analogy. You can’t expect to just drop down and do 100 pushups. You’ve got work your butt off for it, day in and day out, and trust me, its gonna hurt in the process.

Well, that’s how faith works..

Its a PROCESS of building & believing, and trusting & accepting that no matter what, God’s will is absolute in your life. Every day is one step closer. Sometimes its a couple steps forward, sometimes a few backwards, but always forward towards that goal.

So what does this absolute faith look like? In my mind this is what I think of:

Absolute faith is the kind of faith that rejects all doubt, contradictions, and uncertainty and refuses to acknowledge any other reality than what God has spoken.

Absolute faith is not knowing what God’s going to do yet trusting Him completely.

Absolute faith is accepting that God will always answer your prayers according to His will and not necessarily yours.

Absolute faith is hanging in there, even when it seems all hope is lost.

John the Baptist is who comes to mind for me when I think of absolute faith – He trusted in God up to and including the point he gave his life for his faith in God. Jesus did the same. So did Andrew. And Bartholomew. And James. And Peter. And Paul. And Phillip. And Thomas. All of them gave their lives because of their absolute faith. Its very humbling to reflect on having faith that strong isn’t it..?

The benefit of absolute faith is when we exercise it, we choose to remove any obstacles that prevent God’s saving grace and power from working in our lives and situation, whatever it is. We also receive the comfort and security of God’s Holy Spirit descending upon us.

Absolute faith is also the gateway to peace in your life!

Just that alone makes it worth every penny.

After I wrote this sermon, I went for a bike ride down to the park and did what I usually do, take out my bible and open it randomly to whatever page / chapter it happened to fall open to. If you’ve never done this before I highly recommend it. I can’t explain why but just know that oftentimes God will speak to you in that moment regarding whatever is on your heart. Anyway, the bible fell open to Acts chapter 3. The story in this chapter illustrates absolute faith perfectly. This is what absolute faith is capable of. Thank you God for this.

The Lame Man Healed

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.

And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

That’s what its about. That’s what absolute faith can do.

I’ll leave us today with this prayer:

Thank You, Father, for Your grace, mercy, and your Spirits intervention in every situation. Help us, Lord, to look continually to You rather than lean on our own wisdom or abilities. Teach us to listen and to hear, and to be obedient when You speak, even when – and especially when – it doesn’t seem to make any sense. Stir up a love in our hearts for others. Make us willing vessels for absolute faith so that Your will may be done and others reached and blessed in the work of Your kingdom.

SESSION NOTES:

We had a great workout today, weather was nice. We are using more equipment lately, as I purchase what we need for the group so we are slowly accumulating some nice gear that is helping us be more effective in the work we’re putting in. We had our yoga blocks for core work and a truck tire out today and I feel like we got in some solid work. I also have a new, lighter battle rope and am constructing 5-15lb sandbags for the group.

WOD:

Spiritual Survival

Sometimes when everything around you is spinning and you feel lost not knowing which way to turn, the best thing you can do is just STOP.

“Be STILL and know that I am GOD.” (Psalm 46:10)

Folks, whatever it is that you’re going through – God’s got this. Let him take the reigns. He will handle it, I promise!

You may wonder if you’re even making the right decisions, maybe you feel like you made a wrong choice recently and you’re suffering the consequences now.

Just know that every decision you make doesn’t hang in the balance. God knows every step of your life already, but He gives us the FREEDOM to make our own choices. If you’re obsessing over the choices you make in life – STOP. Just know that whatever choice is kind, just, and compassionate is the right one.

It will feel right – its as simple as that.

Maybe your going through trials right now or through something very painful. God is there. He is with you through the storm you are going through in life. It is all part of a PROCESS that he has outlined for your life, and know that the PROCESS is not working against you it’s working FOR YOU.. to prepare you for God’s gifts.. Don’t get discouraged.

I know in my own life that whatever God has planned for me in my future is better than my past – better than my former life, better than my last relationship, etc. and that says a LOT. God never gives you anything that was less than what he took away from you in life.. EVER. Remember that!

I’ll say that again –

God never gives you anything that was less than what he took away from you in life EVER.

The biggest challenge you will face in surviving the PROCESS will be not giving up.

One thing you should be very aware of during this is that there are powers and principalities set against you. We don’t often think about that.

I don’t think we give the devil credit enough for how powerful he is on this earth.

The devil is not Al Pacino in a fancy suit, in fact the idea of that was most certainly planted the father of lies himself. It gives us the impression he is a likeable guy.

“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

I think that is a more accurate description of him. Who do you trust? Hollywood or the bible?

The reason I bring him up is he is going to come after you during this PROCESS. His ultimate goal is to see you fail and not receive those gifts. They are the ultimate prize to steal from you. Know too that the enemy is going to come at you the hardest right before your success…I’ve seen it firsthand in my own life.

The devil will come to you as a thief to steal what is most valuable:

YOUR FAITH IN GOD

We can all learn to recognize when he attacks because his weapons are common, and they are weapons of this world. Its important too to recognize that the battleground is your mind and that his influence over your thoughts and emotions are how he attacks.

“Verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1)

When you are struggling to believe and to have faith, if you are feeling any of these thoughts or emotions and its causing you to falter then know that these are not from God. They are an attack on your faith.

Despair – This will never end…

Fear – What happens if I fail?

Anxiety – I don’t know what the outcome will be..

Impatience – Why am I still in this situation?

Guilt – I should give up, I’ve never been worthy…

Self-doubt – I should give up, I can’t do this…

Confusion – I can’t make sense of any of this…

Self-Pity – Look at me how miserable I am…

Anger – Why did you do this to me, God?

Unfairness – What did I do to deserve this, God?

Jealousy – Look at how happy they are…

Hopelessness – There’s no point…

Be strong and fight these feelings when they come up – pray to God for strength! He will always provide you with what you need, but you’ve got to turn to Him, you’ve got to pray for that strength.

Seasons do not last a lifetime, storms will pass. I’ve said this before that God does his best through our worst, and I believe that 100%.

Hang in there, you’ve got this!

SESSION NOTES: The workout turned out great. I think it was one of our best one’s yet. We hit just the right level of high-intensity and were able to spread that across working upper body, lower, and core with just a few bodyweight exercises. We did core work, lungs, squats, crab walks, etc. It wasn’t the original plan, due to the weather, but regardless it turned out to be one of our best workouts.

WOD:

Sit Down & Shut Up

“There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.”

– Rumi

Have you ever said, “I want to trust God, but I don’t hear Him.”

For me at least that’s a big struggle in my life, I need constant spiritual affirmation – some sort of small sign, some message from him, something, anything that says “Hey I’m here and everything is going to be alright!”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God worked in our lives that way? If he just spoke to us daily and told us the answers to our questions. Gave us advice on what road to take, gave us strength in times of weakness, peace in times of chaos, and so forth.

Here’s the thing. He does.

He’s speaking to us daily, we’re just not listening and we’re not asking.. You don’t hear God when your mind is filled with a thousand other distractions. When am I going grocery shopping, what do I need from Wal-Mart, who’s going to pick my son up today, I have a project due, I need to plan my weekend. I need to call my friend, I need new clothes for the party, and on and on and on.

There’s no secret to communicating with God – To hear God, you’ve got to get near God.
You’ve got to get near Him to hear Him. You’ve got to get alone with God and be quiet.

The Bible says “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

In our modern lives, that means sit down & shut up!

That’s how you hear God and get near God. You have to sit down alone and just be quiet with your bible and say, “God, is there anything you want to say to me?”

You read God’s Word, and talk him about what’s on your heart.

Not what’s on your mind either. You’ll hear people say that all the time but I DISAGREE. Don’t do that… Don’t.

Talk to him about what’s on your heart. That’s the place you should be coming to God from.

That’s really important. When you can separate your heart from your mind you’ll find that they hold very different things. For example, In my mind I’m really upset & angry over something right now but in my heart I know that I feel compassion. I have a choice.. Who should I choose to listen to? My heart or my mind? Who do you think God wants you to listen to?

God doesn’t want to hear from your mind. Your mind is of this world, it serves its purpose but it is still a creation of this world. Your heart is from God.

That’s reason for the Rumi quote, it speaks perfectly about how the heart works.

Your heart does not speak with words. In a sense, you have to learn how to use it and listen to it. If you can it is one of the greatest gifts from God that we have.

Use your heart. Use it to talk to God. Use it to guide you. Use it to find peace. Use it to find happiness. Your heart will lead always lead you to greater things.

In this life do you act like a MAN or just a FAN?

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have
done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who
does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at
the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
neither know victory nor defeat.”
—Theodore Roosevelt

“Time is the ultimate currency..”

-Elon Musk

The reality is to go from where you are to where you want to be is going to take TIME. In order to accomplish really large goals and dreams in your life it can take decades or more.

We all share the same 24hrs in a day. There’s no shortcut to the process. In my life that is a big reason why health is so important. I want as much time as possible to accomplish my goals. I want to optimize that time too by taking good care of my body. At this stage of my life I know who I am and what I want in life. My TIME is focused on accomplishing what I want in this life and making my dreams a reality.

Part of this process right now is filling my life with QUALITY people who are attracted to me for who I am and what I want in life. These are people who share my vision in life & support me, love & respect me, value my opinions, and want to spend time with me. Anyone who doesn’t – that’s fine, perfectly OK but I’m not going to give them the gift of my time because it is my most valuable resource. Its simple and straightforward, and it works. By not giving your time to those who don’t share your visions & dreams in life you dramatically raise the QUALITY of the people in your life.

There’s a saying, “If you want to know someone’s future, look at their friends.” I think there is a lot of truth to that statement – the quality of the people you allow in your circle says a lot about who you are, how you value yourself, and where you are headed in life.

Its natural to want instant gratification, the perfect business, relationship, job, etc. The reality is it takes TIME. There is a PROCESS to get from where you are to where you want to be. Be Patient. Life moves incrementally! There are no shortcuts. I think that’s why a lot of people fail at accomplishing their dreams and goals in life. They can’t handle the waiting period, the time you have to go through, sometimes literally years where it seems like NOTHING is happening, day in and day out.

All of us, myself included are basically living lives that are way less than we are capable of living. If you just try a little bit harder than everybody else, and you work slightly harder than everybody else to develop yourself and become better – over time you will become exceptional and people will notice this and the right people will naturally want to associate with you.

A balanced, centered and successful person is mostly the result of an inner transformation. It has to start with YOU. It is only by putting yourself first and giving to yourself that you can get to a point in life where you can give to others. In the process you will stand out as a valuable person. After all, everyone loves a winner not a whiner!

We are all capable of being the person who walks in the room and lights it up but we have got to get to a place in our lives where we love our life and are enjoying our life and living it on our terms. Wherever you go you are hanging out with other people who have the same great vision in their lives and look to you for leadership. That is how it should work!

Happiness is the conscious effort of choosing to be happy no matter what happens in life or where life takes you.