So many people want to believe there is a whole other life waiting for them on the other side of stuck, and yet they remain stuck. Too often it is because of a very small but significant deficiency … that is what we want to talk about today. What is the deficiency? It is the lack of faith.
When you are stuck, you know several things: you are functioning below your potential; something about your life is not what it should be; you do not like where you are. You could be stuck in your career, your personal development, your relationship with God, in a relationship with a friend, in your marriage or your family. I want to talk with those of you who want to break through the walls that are around your stuck place. I want to help you break out and be free to pursue all that God has for you!
Before we begin, let’s talk about the key principles we talked about earlier that need to be mastered. Review is necessary so you don’t skip or miss steps you need.
Review
The first element is God is for you, not against you. God is not waiting for you to mess up; He is waiting for you to partner with Him so that He can show you all the ways that He is for you (Rom 8:31). The second element is to take responsibility for your life. You and I must use our six response-abilities. We must come to the place where we accept that our life is the way it is because of how we have responded to a previous situation or event. We have six super powers that are amazing. We can choose what we say, what we do, what we think about, why we do things, and what our attitudes and emotions will be. All of these abilities that we have to respond can change everything about our life (Gal 6:7). The third element is believing that God is real and is worth following (Heb 11:6). The fourth element of getting out of a stuck place is to find and fulfill our purpose (Eph 2:10). Each of us were designed to do certain things and not to do other things. We are the most fulfilled when we are doing the things we were designed for. Your unstuck place is built around your purpose. The fifth key element in busting loose from a stuck place in our lives is to ask God for a vision of the future outside of this stuck place (Eph 1:18–20; Matt 7:7; Eph 3:20). Without the clear picture of where we are going, we will have little chance of making our way to this great place. God can open our eyes to see what we could become, what we could be doing, and what impact we could be having if we will ask and listen.
This sixth element is the idea that is so often missed—the fact of faith. Let's talk about how to increase your faith to see beyond the walls of your present situation. In order to do this, we need to believe that God can do the impossible. We may have never seen what we are hoping happens, but with God it is possible. If I am going to get unstuck I must believe that a new future is possible. I must believe that I can be unstuck. I believe that God can do what is beyond me. Hebrews 11:6 says that those who come to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Matthew 19:26 says that with God all things are possible.
We must ask and answer the question: What is God asking you to believe could happen for you? It is easy to believe things for others, but many times we have a hard time believing that something wonderful and miraculous could happen to us.
Faith is crucial for being unstuck. Neuropsychologists say we get what we expect. It is called expectancy theory. We spend our whole lives being conditioned to expect certain results. Then we make sure that we get those results. This is why faith is so important. We can use faith to bridge over our expectations by expecting God to do beyond what we have seen. We can ask Him to do what we can only imagine.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” (Heb 11:1)
To go from stuck (where you are) to unstuck (where you want to be), you must have faith that God can you there. Jesus teaches us this in Luke 8:22–25—
Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?’ they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water and they obey Him?"
Notice Jesus did not say to the disciples “Let’s get in the boat and go to the middle and drown.” He said “Let’s go to the other side.” He gets on them about what they believe. They have just seen him multiply the fish and the loaves and yet they cannot believe that He can get them to the other side of the lake. We too often see God do great things in one area of life but cannot see faith translating over to another area.
The truth is this: GOD WANTS TO EXPAND YOUR LIFE BEYOND YOUR COMFORT ZONE.
As soon as you go beyond your comfort zone, three things will begin to appear in your mind:
FEAR—A feeling that keeps you from moving forward
REASONS—A legitimate reason for not doing a thing
ROADBLOCKS—A real obstacle or roadblock that keeps you from accomplishing something.
Your mind invents all of these issues why you shouldn’t do whatever it is that God is prompting you to do (2 Cor 10:3–5). If these go unchecked they become a permanent prison called your comfort zone.
Believe God for the impossible and see it come true.
Spiritual Exercises
What appears in your mind when you move beyond your comfort zone: Fear, Reasons, or Roadblocks?
How do you overcome these?
How have they stopped you from good things before?
Join me next week for affirmation #7.
Serving Him,
Gil Stieglitz
P.S. Missed the Transformed Series Introduction? Click HERE!
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