Impasses: life is full of them. Order grilled or the much yummier deep fried. Go to bed early, stay up late. Delay gratification for eternal gain.
Impasses all throughout the day. But the greatest impasse stared me in the face this week. This great impasse that I am referring to today is operating out of faith or fear.
Impasse: Defense or Offense
Often the differentiating factor in this impasse is operating from defense or offense. In other words are we responding to what life throws at us (defensively)or are we creating our own kingdom (offensively)? The first group often gets their teeth kicked in, whilst the second group are pioneering forward. Which group are you?
Impasse: Fear or Faith?
These two groups are often separated by fear and faith. Fear responds. It is the accronym
F – alse
E – vidence
A -ppearing
R – eal.
Or we can say:
F – focused only on the problem
E – Expects defeat
A – Attitude of self-protection
R – Runs the problem
It spirals downward in defeat. Who wants to live like that? Fear keeps us small. A life like this seems more of a nightmare to me.
This group keeps their hands clinched in tension. Their demeanor is watching for what will go wrong. No offense, but I do not find living like this enjoyable.
The impasse:
I joined a training this week. Much of it wrapped around AI and learning how to implement it daily. But the biggest take away I found, was living from faith.
Instead of preserving on what may go wrong. It has me expecting what will go right! Faith is a whole different way of living.
The choice of faith always spirals upward into action and victory! See this accronym that helps me much more than the affomentioned did.
F – focused on God
A – anticipates God’s help
I – Insists on being involved
T – Takes Time to prepare
H – Has an impact on everyone
Great Impasse
The Impasse For Us
So I thought about my life. I believe I’m living by faith in most areas. But there is one glaring one that I have been completely clinched in fear.
Fear has gripped me in personal church attendance. I admit it. After being married to two pastors (at different times to be clear). My trust in the American Church has been slim to nil.
However, God still commands His people throughout scripture to attend church. (Psalm 122:1, Hebrews 10:24-25, etc).
To walk out my faith, this Wednesday, I went to small church in person. I still watched online this Sunday morning, but it is baby steps forward.
I share this to be vulnerable and own my fear. My focus wants to be on my perfect God, not his imperfect people.
Impasse:
What area do you need to switch into faith mode? A very good thermometer, to test the temperature of what kingdom we are living out of is to look at our words. Matthew 12: 34 says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Proverbs 18: 21 says life and death are in the power of the tongue.
It is my belief that death = fear. However, life = faith. Speak life and watch our world be formed according to the words of our mouth.
It’s never too late. Start operating by faith today. Share some faith stories in the comments below. #strongertogether #bettertogether
For more on this subject, check out this post: https://womenencouragement.com/the-daily-christian-affirmations-for-women/
I host a small cohort. I’d like to share the mantra that we speak over our lives in this group. It is definitely an anthem of faith. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bxil-vG-I27tnOXj-sTlFdEjhqNrZ4rbn4LSdOhUO6g/edit?usp=sharing
Share this with someone who needs reminded there is more than living with clinched hands. Let’s spread our faith and soar! It’s harvest time.
