What’s holding you back?
Where are you struggling?
What is keeping you from talking to that neighbor or coworker about what Jesus could do in their life?
What is keeping you from living in a way that truly honors God and shows others that you belong to Him?
What habit, routine, or sin is consistently causing you to pull back from giving your all to God?
What is keeping you from trying to make a difference in the lives of others?
I may not know what you are facing or what causes you to struggle, but I know that you have something. We all have something. We all have some area of our lives in which Satan knows the buttons to push to get us sidetracked from living the way God desires.
In Philippians 3:10 Paul said, “My goal is to know [Jesus] and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” And he then admitted that he has not reached that goal but is continually striving for it, and he encouraged others to follow that example. He pointed out that even though many people seem to not want to live lives that honor God, we must not follow their example. God is at work in His children, and if we are willing to follow and trust Him, He will enable us to overcome the things that hold us back. Paul even said in Philippians 3:21 that Jesus helps us do it “…by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.”
Read that again. Read it slowly. Think about what it means.
We all have something that holds us back, but that does not mean that we should ever give into it. We must strive for the goal knowing Jesus fully and allowing Him to change us. And the incredible thing about that is realizing that when we submit to Him, there is nothing that is able to stand against Him.
I do have a word of caution, though. Please do not wait to give Him your all. Instead, do it now because it is far easier to live for Him if we do it before we get ourselves into a mess.
Either way, trust and obey.
You may want to read Steve Poe’s book that deals with much of this…
DrJayCook 