Welcome to Day 32 of our 40-day countdown to Easter 2019! Believe You Can Achieve. "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." Mark 11:22-23
Every now and then, we will achieve something great with little to no opposition but that's the exception to the rule. Anything worth achieving will require faith to finish! You must believe to achieve. Here's the reason why ~ that healing, promotion on the job, successful relationship or whatever it is that you desire, will require you to face and overcome a few mountains!
BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE WHAT YOU CAN DO
Have you heard the story of Erik Weihenmayer, the blind man who climbed to the top of Mount Everest in 2001? It's not enough that he accomplished what only about 150 people do each year, but he is the first blind person to actually succeed. He was born with a disease that rendered him completely blind by the age of 13. But the inability to see, didn't stop the rest of his body from functioning. Instead of focusing on what he could not do, he focused on what he could do. He believed that he could achieve his goal and went much further than anyone ever expected.
BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE REGARDLESS OF TROUBLE OR OPPOSITION
Faith is a clear reflection of how we think and what we believe about ourselves. Erik could've allowed his heart to fill up with self pity. I'm sure people who were around him were concerned and probably tried to talk him out of it. But he didn't allow his visual limitation or the well meaning, carefully considered opinions of others to stop him. This was about achieving what he believed he could accomplish. The result is self-evident ~ He climbed the tallest mountain in the world.
In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that this life will present trials and trouble. And when those mountains show up, Jesus encourages us to keep a cheerful disposition. That's what faith in God does for us! No matter how impossible the mission may seem, faith in God facilitates confidence and gives us the momentum we need to press forward.
It would be nice if following God meant things would always work out well and that people would always like us. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE
You have to make a choice. Either let the mountains that challenge you stop you, or keep pressing on regardless of what is in front of you. Choosing to do the right thing means that we must overcome obstacles. Sometimes, the mountain is a thought that prohibits us from moving forward on what we know we should be doing.
In our heart, we either lack the motivation to take action or we lack the confidence that we can do it. Whatever it is that you're facing today, have faith in God. Believe that you can achieve it and get moving.
Believe you can achieve and you will succeed!
Let's Pray...
Father, I have been faced with mountains that challenge my desire to live an honorable life before You. There are things that I want to accomplish but achieving them has not been smooth sailing. Help me to stop focusing on what I cannot do.
Instead, I ask for a new point of view. I yield the eyes of my understanding to Your will for my life. I want Your voice to lead me. When I look closely, I can see what I CAN do and today, I choose to focus on that.
Increase my faith! My choice is to follow You in spite of trials, tribulations, obstacles or any other thing that gets in my way. I choose to do the right thing by letting Jesus be my Lord and Savior in everything I put my hands on. By faith today, I believe that I can achieve exceedingly more than I or anyone else could ever ask or think, in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!
Inspiring hope and seasoning faith, Pastor Sean