No Excuse For Excuses

Greetings, my friend,

Welcome to The Arsenal, your weekly newsletter designed to train and equip you for a set-apart lifestyle.

It probably goes without saying that you probably have hopes and dreams for the future. Many of us dream of different things: Some fantasize about visiting a particular place, meeting certain people, or owning their favorite sports car. Others may dream a bit loftier: working their dream job or starting their own business, having a large family, or becoming a millionaire to name some examples.

Or perhaps, after growing closer to The Father and diligently seeking His purpose for your life, you’ve found yourself having a renewed passion and desire toward something you already wanted to do, or maybe He’s called you to step out in faith and try something completely new in a particular area of your life. Both of these instances could be Spirit-led, and paying attention to what they could mean for you is important. But that’s a topic for another day.

Regardless of whatever bucket you fall into, it’s important to recognize one thing: Our hopes and dreams often stem from a deeper desire to change the situation that we’re currently in. And that’s a good thing, so long as you have the correct motivation. Wanting to change yourself and your life for the better so that you can live how Yeshua desires you to live is one of the greatest decisions you can make.

And the beauty of that process is that Yeshua desires exactly that for us too. Through His blood, He made a way for us to become a new creation and receive the Holy Spirit that will guide us in the right direction and give us a desire to do whatever His will looks like for us. And naturally, that will lead to a life of our dreams, one full of happiness and fulfillment, even if it looks a bit different than you initially pictured. So long as we play our part, of course. 

Interestingly, that last sentence is where difficulty arises for many people when it comes to making their dreams a reality. It begs the question: If everyone has desires they wish to make reality, why do only a select few people actually manage to do it? I’m sure we can all think of a few people in our lives that could blab for hours about their hopes and dreams and how great they would be if they became reality, but fast-forward months or years later and nothing has changed for them despite how passionately they seemed to feel and speak about it.

I want to remind you of a parable Yeshua told about the Kingdom of Heaven that can be quite applicable to this scenario. Specifically, there’s a portion of it I would like to home in on:

I don’t know about you, but reading this definitely stirs up some conviction within me. And when you ponder how these people could make excuses for neglecting what the Master Himself had prepared for them on a deeper level, you begin to see where the application lies: When we have a grandiose vision for how we want our lives to look like, or when we eventually discover what Yeshua’s role for us in advancing the Kingdom is, why do we often hesitate and procrastinate on pursuing those things? Let’s not be like Moses, who in the book of Exodus chapter 4 was given a clear, audible mission from Yahweh Himself via the burning bush and still kept trying to find reasons not to go back to Egypt, before Yahweh eventually rebuked him for it of course.

And as Yeshua’s parable demonstrates, there’s no excuse for excuses for not answering the call. When it comes to Spirit-led goals and desires, you must remember that you’re already equipped to do whatever it takes to transform yourself through the saving power of Yeshua and step out in faith to achieve those things through the guidance and spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. As long as your desires align with His, you have nothing to worry about. And Peter reminds us of this. As it is written:

So knowing all this, why do you still find yourself making excuses for not acting on the desires to serve Him and do His will for you according to the Spirit? Here are three questions who can ask yourself to help put you on the right track: 

· How badly do you want it, and why? – Sometimes when we find ourselves thinking it would be so nice to have or do something, we get attached to the idea of it without doing research or having any knowledge of what it takes to actually achieve that goal. And then when you start to realize that the path to get there may actually be pretty difficult, there’s a tendency to become discouraged and not actually work toward the goal. You must be careful of the entitlement mentality. So many people in our generation today expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter without having to do any work. And sadly, our society, government, and companies around the world are encouraging this behavior more and more. What they won’t tell you is that some of the best things in life are earned, and you have to ask yourself: How badly do you want to make that dream a reality?  And after you’ve answered that, ask yourself, Why or why not? This gives you a clearer picture of any issues surrounding your motivation and what might be hindering it. Do you really think success is given on a silver platter? Are you comparing yourself to your peers, celebrities, or the world around you and want what they have to fit in or assimilate to them? Or are your desires and drive to accomplish them from the Holy Spirit, and you want to fulfill Yeshua’s role for you in advancing the Kingdom?

· Who or what is really holding you back? – This is another big one not considered enough. When you begin to realize everything that chasing after your dreams and vision for your life entails, perhaps a sense of laziness and entitlement aren’t the only things stopping you. Perhaps you’re afraid of the unknown, or maybe you’re scared of what others will think of you in the process. While it’s important to consider certain factors before making huge decisions, don’t prioritize personal fears over your personal goals. This is especially true when pursuing what the Spirit is leading you to do. That should triumph any roadblocks man will put up, whether it’s your own or someone else’s. Find out what those roadblocks are for you and ways to overcome them.

· What’s your plan to get there? – Once you’ve set yourself straight, create a plan to meet your life goals and act on it. Sometimes creating a plan can seem overwhelming and that there’s so much to do before you can get to where you want to be. And while that may be true, finding a way to work toward those dreams every single day is essential. I recommend starting simple with taking just an hour each day to research what you have to research, learn what you have to learn, buy what you have to buy, and give up what you have to give up to make sure you see your goals through to the end. And you begin to see progress toward your end goal(s), you can ramp up from there. Set a goal, get organized, and don’t overthink it.

Behind the Screen: My Weekly Learnings

I just wrapped a 14-day dopamine detox this past Sunday, and I’m happy to report that I found it quite beneficial, albeit in a different way than I intended. For those who have never heard of a dopamine detox, its primary purpose is to help individuals really lock in and focus on getting stuff done and working toward your goals. This is done by eliminating as many sources of cheap dopamine triggers like TV, social media, video games, and junk food to name as realistically possible. These things often become distractions or coping mechanisms for the guilt we feel surrounding laziness, so by temporarily (or even permanently) removing these sorts of things, it helps reset your brain and puts you in a much better position to succeed in whatever you’re putting your time and energy into.

While trying to lock in on my goals and get myself in a more focused mindset before summer’s end was definitely my primary motivation for the detox, I found that it also did something else I haven’t noticed as much during previous detoxes: Through cutting out the noise of many of the world’s pleasures I had immersed myself in, it left much more room for the Spirit to operate. And as such, I felt like He was asking me one question through it all: Is everything you’re doing with your life TRULY aligned with the man you hope to become?

This question is incredibly deep and had me reevaluating how I spend my time on a much deeper level. But this included not just my weekends and evening hours after the 9-5, I also mean my career goals, personal goals, relationships, and my own hopes and dreams for the future. And truth be told, I found some things within each one of those areas that needed to be changed or rededicated to be more aligned with my calling, what I’m good at, and the person I want to become.

Changing some of those things certainly won’t be an overnight fix, and through these past couple weeks the Spirit has also revealed that I still have a lot to learn. But at the same time, I found myself looking back at how far I’ve already come in the process of improving myself to become more set-apart and aligned with His purpose for me. It’s been about a year since I was delivered from my old life and was called onto this path, and I can’t help but be so grateful for how He’s blessed me, cared for me, disciplined me, and guided me in this new path He’s set me on. He really is the Good Shepherd.

I hope the Spirit has been moving just as powerfully in your life through my content and otherwise, and that He’s also shown you how and why to ask yourself these hard questions. As uncomfortable as they are to think about sometimes, it’s critical to do this for our growth, ensuring we’re truly walking in our calling and living a life with no regrets. And if you humble yourself, choose Yeshua, repent daily, and diligently seek after what the Spirit is saying to you, you’ve already won so much of the battle. 

So keep going, soldier. We have multiple forces fighting over control of our lives, and it’s up to put yourself in the right position to stay on the winning side.

Shalom, my brothers and sisters.