Baby Steps vs. Effortless Victories

Is it an indication of your level of faith? The fact that sometimes you can move forward only by the sheer will of trusting God for the very next step, and other times you can soar effortlessly right through the center of every challenge that presents itself? Is it your faith? Is it your frame of mind? Are those two things so closely intertwined that one can't be defined without taking the other into account?


I read in one of my sales magazines something that rang true to me not only in relation to sales, but for life in general:


"When in top form, we can do no wrong, and every sale closed, every meeting attended and every project completed is like finding the sweet spot on a golf ball: The connection is effortless. But if self-doubt creeps in, all of a sudden every connection feels strained and any risk feels too great." (Nichole Stella, PPAI)


She goes on to list some questions you should ask yourself to help you reconnect with your confidence and self-worth, and says sometimes what it takes to find belief in your skills and purpose is to remember the details of you.

There seem to be times that we can soar through life with that assurance, ready to tackle any obstacle, to face any challenge, to achieve any goal. But other times . . . it just seems hard to believe we can make a difference. We're unmotivated or afraid to even try. All we can see is our limitations, our shortcomings. And suddenly, any risk feels too great.

It's an age-old problem. Remember the story of Joshua, Caleb and the other spies? When they went to spy out the Promised Land, they all saw the same exact thing, and yet they saw it so differently. Joshua and Caleb saw it as an opportunity for God to do great things. They believed in His power. They believed that whatever He said He would do, He would do. The other spies? They wanted to run. In fact, they wanted to run all the way back to captivity. They wanted to forget about the Promised Land and go back to Egypt to live as slaves!! Can you imagine? They thought that whatever happened there could wind up being WORSE than living as slaves in Egypt. At least in Egypt they knew what to expect. It was familiar. This was new and uncertain. And the risk seemed to great.

Now, don't get all smug on me, thinking, "Those fools! Why would they do such a thing?" Because we all know we have the same problem more often than we'd like to admit. Even though we aren't necessarily happy with the way things are, we'd rather stay with what's familiar than risk something new. Instead of the promises of God, all we can see are the giants.

In John 11:40, it says If you believe, you will see the glory of God. Can you feel that twinge of excitement in your heart when you read that verse? We all want that! We want to see the glory of God in our lives! We want to have faith like Caleb and say, "Bring on those giants! Let's just see how they stand up against the glory of God!!"

And I go back to the statement Nichole made in her article... sometimes what it takes to find belief in your skills and purpose is to remember the details of you. I think as a Christian, as someone who was so lost and confused until God took my empty life and filled it with all that He is, that statement is off a little bit. I think our greatest help is to remember the details of Him. Remember how much He loves you. Remember the promises He's made. Remember all the ways He has been right beside you through all the good and the bad. Remember that what He says takes precedence over any appearances.

I think every day we are faced with opportunities to choose between the Promised Land and Egypt. To choose whether we wander around in the wilderness or defeat the giants. Every time we are faced with a challenge or an obstacle, we have choices. And I think we need to pay close attention to what we've chosen. We need to go back and ask ourselves the hard question: Did I take the land, or did I run back to captivity? Did I believe God, or did I run from the giants?

If you don't like answers, just remember.... it's never too late to start believing God! And once you do, those giants don't stand a chance.