Face the Facts, Keep the Faith
How do you stay confident when what you desire seems impossible?
What do you do when your dreams cost more than what you have in your bank account? How do you stay hopeful when the opportunity you want seems out of reach? What do you do when it seems like you’re either too young or too old to pursue a big idea that has gripped your heart?
I think it’s important that we live in reality. I don’t actually believe that anything is possible for my life or for your life. It often takes a ton of money to make your dreams come true. It usually takes knowing the right people to gain access to the opportunities you want to pursue. And there are required skills that will be needed if you want to step into a new role or even a new industry.
While having one foot in reality is helpful, I want to encourage you to plant your other foot in a place I’ll simply call vision beyond what currently seems possible.
I think about the story of Abraham from the Bible. God placed a significant calling on his life and God promised that Abraham would be a father to many nations. This promise came at a time when Abraham didn’t have any offspring whatsoever. In fact, they were still childless when he was almost 100 years old and his wife (Sarah) was almost 90 years old. I love this description on how they stayed hopeful:
Romans 4:18-19 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.
4 Ways You Can Face the Facts and Keep the Faith
1. Remind yourself that pursuing what you don’t have yet is an invitation to rely on God and not just yourself. There is a gap in our lives when we’re going after something that we don’t have yet. That gap opens up the possibility for the existence of doubt, faith, or some combination of the two. Here’s what I know – God loves it when we trust Him to provide something that we don’t have the resources for on our own.
2. Remind yourself of all the impossible things God has provided for you so far in your life. God’s past activity in your life is intended to fuel your faith in His future activity. It’s easy for me to forget all the heavy lifting God has already done in my life. He created a church that didn’t exist yet in San Francisco. He allowed us to bring our daughter home from India, even though the courts had denied us 3 times. He has brought people into my life that I never could have imagined meeting. What has he done for you that you need to remember today?
3. Remind yourself that your confidence doesn’t have to be limited by only what you can do. You can place your full confidence in what God can do. Sometimes it feels like we have to muster enough self-confidence in whatever we’re trying to accomplish. I don’t think self-confidence is a bad thing; I just don’t want to limit my life to what I can do on my own.
4. Remind yourself that your breakthrough could be right around the corner. Whatever is ahead for you, developing perseverance in this current season will build a certain kind of strength for your future. Don’t give up too soon. Stay with the dream. Keep praying the bold prayers. Keep asking God to intervene in your situation.
One of the reasons I wrote Bring It Out is to help you pursue what might not seem possible today. While I write in a way that will inspire you, I also provide the practical framework so you can live this out in real time.
Keeping the Faith,
