Look Ahead

Heb.12:² “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.”

We have established that the barriers to moving from seeing to doing, the barriers to taking bold steps are real. The first barrier to taking bold steps is the barrier of complacency. The second is the barrier of loss or the unwillingness to bear loss. You must be willing to bear loss. A lot of times we pray that in our lives there will be no loss and I do not think it is a very good prayer. Why? The things that should be lost should be lost, so that the things that should be gained can be gained. And it is because until some things are lost, some things cannot be gained.

Not all loss is negative; imagine a woman insisting on giving birth without losing any blood. No woman worries about the blood she lost after seeing her new-born baby. That is why doctors give blood tonic so that fresh blood can come in. Let some things go! Some people walk out of your life, kiss them goodbye. There are things that you must be comfortable with looking them in the eye, loving them, hugging them, and kissing them goodbye. The reason many people are so bogged down is that they are unwilling to bear certain losses. What are you willing to leave behind? What are you willing to walk away from?

Phil.3:¹³ “Brothers and sisters, …one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind…” (NIV, emphasis added). In other words, Paul is saying I am willing to let them go. God says in Luke 17:³² “Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!”. What is there to remember about Lot’s wife? She was not willing to let the past go; she was probably thinking about all the gold in the house, the silver they were leaving behind, treasures. Just let it go because God has a greater plan, a bigger and brighter future for you. Guess what? What you are willing to let go of in obedience to God, shows us how great your future is. What you are willing to walk away from in obedience to God, shows your readiness for your future.

#3. The Barrier Of Pain. Pain or avoiding all pain keeps a lot of people from taking bold steps. You cannot take bold steps if your mission in life is to avoid pain because you do not want to get hurt or you do not want to cry. You have to hurt, and you have to cry, it is part of the package because your future is bright. Check, everyone in the Bible that was exceedingly great experienced enormous pain.

Prayer: Father, I pray that the picture of the glory ahead with my eyes fixed on Jesus will help me let go of the past and scale through every barrier of pain, in Jesus Name Amen!