I faced the new year with a mix of hope and fear.  Hope that I could figure out ways to accomplish my goals.  (What are worthy goals, anyway?). And fear that I’m too old, too stuck in old ruts, too lacking in courage and resources to move past the roadblocks.  Do you ever wonder why you’re not seeing the success you long for?  I don’t know what your less-than-stellar accomplishments are.  But it’s sobering to reach my age and still feel that you haven’t gotten to where you could be.  Some important areas of my life feel unfulfilled.  Should I keep striving when it feels like I just can’t get through the blocks?  Will the new year see progress or more frustration?   Maybe you’re feeling the same way.  You’re not where you’d hoped to be by this time in your life.  

I’ve been mulling over what the Bible has to say about falling short of goals.  Am I left alone to try to figure out how to get unstuck and quit flailing in the mud?  Actually, there’s so much in Scripture about the men and women who struggled and often failed, that one blog article isn’t enough to even mention them.  Let’s look at just three examples of wrong attitudes limiting the abundant blessing of God.  

Limiting Belief #1

I limit God’s blessing because I’ve been given a job, but I don’t think I can do it, so I won’t move forward unless someone affirms me and offers moral support.  I don’t have the courage to take a stand and believe that with God’s help I can do the job before me.

“The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go,..’”
Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.”  Judges 4:6,8-9

The good part is I’m willing to do it.  The bad part is that I lack enough courage to stand up for myself and do the hard thing I know I should do even if it means doing it alone.  I insist on having someone bolster my confidence.  Don’t hear me saying I think all jobs are one man jobs.  Most jobs take cooperation.  In fact, Barak in this story raised an army in order to defeat their enemy.  What I am saying is that I need to own the job I’ve been given and not whine if I don’t have moral support.  In this story, God did give Barak victory, but Barak didn’t have the satisfaction of completing the job on his own.  In spite of this, Barak is mentioned in the Hall of Fame for faithful heroes in the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 11.

Limiting Belief #2

I limit God’s blessing because I do the right things in the wrong way because I let pressure determine my decisions.  I base my decisions on reactions to circumstances and others instead of obeying God and remaining faithful to my commitments.  I overstep the bounds of my authority and take on myself jobs that aren’t intended for me.  

Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”
Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are ready for battle.  So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”
 “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.  But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. 1Samuel 13:11-14

In this story, King Saul found himself in a very scary situation.  A bigger enemy army was threatening to attack his own small forces.  His soldiers were so afraid, they were going AWOL.  He had already waited a week for the prophet Samuel to come to call on God on behalf of Saul’s army and ask God for victory. Since the prophet was so late, the king took it upon himself to make the sacrifice and the prayer.  But this was not what God had established as the right way to please him.  Saul wanted God’s blessing immediately, but he went about it in his own way and missed God’s bigger long term blessing.

Limiting Belief #3

I limit God’s blessing because I think God is withholding something good from me. I’m afraid I’m missing out.  (FOMO) I don’t have what I want, so I’ll use any means to get it instead of asking God for it and being patient.  Maybe your family isn’t all you’d hoped it would be.  Maybe your marriage isn’t all you’d hoped for.  Maybe you don’t have the things you’d hoped for.  Maybe you don’t have the success you’d hoped for.  Instead of looking for satisfaction elsewhere, ask God to give you fulfillment in his way.  Trust that he will give us more.

“The God of Israel says, …’And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.  Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?’”  2 Samuel 12:8-9

In this story, otherwise good King David allowed his desire to supersede his faith.  He saw a beautiful woman and took her by wrong means.  He wanted someone God didn’t give him.  What he didn’t realize was that God would have given him many more blessings and would have fulfilled his longing with good things.  Instead, David greedily snatched what he wanted and it resulted in heartache for the rest of his life.  

Self-Check

Do I harbor any of these attitudes that prevent God from fully blessing me?

1.  I’ve been given a job, but I don’t think I can do it, so I won’t move forward unless someone affirms me and offers moral support.  I don’t have the courage to take a stand and believe that with God’s help I can do the job before me.

2.  I do the right things in the wrong way because I let pressure determine my decisions.  I base my decisions on reactions to circumstances and others instead of obeying God and remaining faithful to my commitments.  I overstep the bounds of my authority and take on myself jobs that aren’t intended for me.

3.  I think God is withholding something good from me.  I don’t have what I want, so I’ll use any means to get it instead of asking God for it and being patient.  

I was surprised to see a common thread through these wrong attitudes. Did you catch it?  I see Fear in each one.  I’ve been given a job, but I’m afraid I can’t do.  I do the right thing the wrong way because circumstances or people make me feel fearful.  I use the wrong means to get what I want because I’m afraid I’m missing out.

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. . . Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.  1 John 4:17-18

P.S.  Last week’s blog dealt with this verse in more detail.  https://heartmindsoulandstrength.com/2019/01/afterwards-theres-cookies/