Have you ever heard the saying “You tend to create what you most fear”? Well, most of my life, I’ve been looking for trouble!
I don’t know about you, but it’s sometimes hard to understand why Murphy’s Law used to be the theme of my life. Over the years, I began to see a correlation with what I was seeking and what I was finding. Let me explain:
In Matthew 7:7 (NIV), it says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” I always viewed this with asking God for your desires, needs and wants. Lately, I’ve began to see a different perspective.
My pastor Orlando Juarez of The Bridge Church in Bixby told me a story. It went something like this:
There were two young boys who went to visit their grandfather. They loved to visit Grandpa because he had this awesome tractor they could play with in the back yard and a garden they could explore! When they arrived, they ran in and said, “Grandpa! Grandpa! Can we go play in your backyard?”
He answered, “Of course you can!” Then he added, “But don’t you spit on my bush!”
The boys just looked at each other in confusion and shrugged, and then they ran outside and shut the door behind them. The grandfather peeked out the window and watched as they walked out, looked at the bush, looked at each other, and spit on the bush before running to play! Why did they do that? Spitting on the bush would have never come to mind if Grandpa hadn’t brought it to attention. But when he brought it to attention, the kids gravitated to it. I now look at life the same way.
When we speak and think of the worst case scenario, we can tend to subconsciously set into motion things that will bring that scenario into existence! Most of the time, we don’t even realize it! It’s kind of like the guy that says, “I can do anything but that…anything but that and I’ll be alright!” And then he does that!
Whatever you seek you will gravitate to and find. This can also be seen in Job 4:7-8 (NLT). It says, “Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.” In my life, what I have concentrated on has generally come to pass. Not always in black and white, but in general, we reap what we sow. And the choice is ours.
Galatians 6:7 (NLT) says, “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” So why do we point out spitting on the bush? Why do we dwell on the negative – the rules – what not to do and who we should NOT be? Let us focus on who we are, what we truly want, and who we should be.
Don’t go looking for trouble; chances are you’ll find it!
Do you find it hard to trust people? Or maybe you even find it hard to trust yourself. Trust comes with practice – and it is a choice. Many people I’ve asked have told me, “I don’t trust someone unless I know them. It must be earned.” Is that the truth?
We trust every day of our lives. We trust people we don’t even know to stay on the opposite side of that double-yellow line separating traffic. We trust the food handlers in a restaurant when we order a meal. We trust a chair when we sit in it. And we trust a pilot to fly us in an airplane.
The following is a definition of trust from dictionary.com:
TRUST | confident expectation of something; hope.
Let’s explore this further.
A benefit of trust is relationship.
Without it, we miss out on one of the most fruitful things in life – relationships. Friendship, dating, marriage, and family all begin with trust. And if you choose not to trust someone, you can never experience the pleasure of these relationships to a deeper extent.
Another benefit of trust is freedom.
Do you try to do everything yourself? You may be missing out on opportunities by spending all of your time doing what you could trust others to do for you. Hey – this is biblical! In Exodus 18:13-27, Moses was trying to hear all of the disputes of the people himself. His father-in-law told him, “This is not good! You’re going to wear yourself out, and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle by yourself.” He told Moses to find elders who he could trust to settle the minor disputes among the people, leaving only the larger disputes for him. Do you need some freedom by appointing some of your too-heavy workload to some others? Yea, I know – it takes trust!
Possibly the biggest benefit of trust is realizing your dreams.
The Bible says “Hope deferred makes a heart grow weak.” When you lose your hope, your dreams become too far away to achieve. The first person you must trust when it comes to your dreams is you. You stand on a threshold. Behind you is the past, the threshold is where you are, and beyond the threshold is where you want to be – your hopes and dreams. The first step to achieving them is taking a leap of faith – on you.
One thing we teach at The Journey Training is that your hopes, goals, and dreams are possible. The first thing it takes is trust – trusting in others, and trusting in yourself. Can you get hurt? Of course you can. But you can also travel farther with trust than by going it alone. Can you fail? Yes. But with each failure you gain the wisdom and confidence to fail better next time – and you will eventually succeed.
Begin to trust and relationship, goals, and dreams will be a little closer to you. And who knows? You just might get exactly what you want!
When you’ve dug yourself into a hole the first thing you need to do is stop digging! But then what?
I’ve been in more than one hole in my life, as I’m sure you have. There are several keys to getting out of the hole you’ve dug for yourself. Hard work and dedication are two, and the most important of all is having the faith that you can do it.
I’ve seen victory after victory in my life, and it all had to begin with a belief that things could get better. If we have no hope that things can change, we will stay stuck. I’ll bet that most of you who are reading this can identify with what I am saying in some area of your life: finances, relationship, health, weight, or even an addiction.
I’ve got news for you. There is hope! There is a way out! And it begins with one step! Let me explain.
When I was 460 pounds, the idea of running was as foreign to me as standing on the moon. Then one day something happened. While walking around the Presidential Mile, Allen Smith, a co-star on Season 8 of The Biggest Loser said something to me. He said, “Let’s run.”
Then of course I said, “What are you, CRAZY?!” Allen replied, “Just to that light pole up ahead, let’s go!” And he took off. I followed, but after 10 steps my mind told me to quit. Allen cheered me on and I chose to keep going. I made it to the light pole, and the next day, Allen challenged me to run a little farther. I noticed after a week of this something was happening. The time from when I started to when I wanted to quit was getting longer and longer.
Nine months later I was running the 114th Boston Marathon, which was my second marathon in only 6 months! And each time I started running, the point where my mind would tell me to stop was getting farther and farther into my run! That day it was mile 13 before my mind said to stop! I’d gone from 10 steps to 13 miles before wanting to quit!
Since that day, the thoughts of taking on seemingly impossible tasks aren’t as scary. In fact, I have the faith that if I begin, stay the course, and slightly increase day by day, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. And not only the time from starting to wanting to quit gets longer and longer, but the time from when I fall down to when I get back up gets shorter and shorter.
That’s what life is all about. We’re going to be scared of the unknown, but we must be willing to take a step. We are going to fall down, but we must get back up. Faith will help you. And each time you accomplish something new, your faith gets bigger. So whatever you are struggling with today, ask God to give you the strength, then STAND UP AND BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY! Soon you may find yourself in the longest race of your life, and enjoying every minute of it!
