Cultivate Life

Obstacles 

There are moments in your life when you feel like time slows down and it’s almost at a crawl. The minutes turn into hours, the hours turn into days, and days into weeks. The moment you say yes to a dream, and the roadblocks and obstacles get in the way.

You either began to think about how crazy this idea was or remind yourself that at the end of this the mountain you will have climbed will be worth the struggle. So, you make every inch count.

Action
When the start of the year began, my family and I wrote a family vision for the year. A simple declaration of things we want to pursue as a family as a whole or as an individual. All year we had placed one word on our chalkboard in the kitchen. Words like… breakthrough, soar, believe…. Something to represent the kind of year we wanted. I had a contribution too. My word was action.

“Action” is the word I have believed for all year. I am tired of feeling like I was sitting on the sideline. I don’t want to wait for someone to tell me its okay to go after the big dreams I wanted, its just time to go ahead to take action. Movement. Even if it’s an inch at a time.

The Promise
When Joshua was going to take the land the Lord had promised it seemed like a crazy idea. However, God had promised Moses and Moses gave the instructions to the Israelites children. Joshua and Caleb were the two who believed it. They knew There were giants that occupied the land and it was not going to be without confrontation. Yet, Joshua remembered the Word of the Lord. Be Strong and Courageous! (Read Joshua 1).

It wasn’t as if they were taking the land on their own accord. No, they were taking the land that was promised. They had to first believe God that He told them to do it, and then they had to take action and actually take it.

Joshua 1:9 has to be one of my favorite verses of the bible. (And I have many.) But here it is.

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

#1– I love the word STUDY. It tells us that we are to pay close attention. There may be a test, but study and you will know the answer when it comes. There was an instruction book and maybe there is valuable information that is needed to continue on this journey. Educate yourself and make sure you follow the directions.
#2 – Keep it before you continually and follow all the instructions. In other words, “Don’t think you can go at this with following the plan, Joshua. Get it down and don’t deviate. ”
#3– If you do this and you take action as I instructed, you will prosper and have success. Translation- the land is yours!!!
Giants
Often times we can see the end result, and may even know it, but the obstacles in the way are large and sometimes difficult. It may bring naysayers who say it can’t be done. It may bring those who turn against you and simply walk away.

Well, it would be easy to give up mid-journey and go back to the way things used to be. Take a second and think back, can you go back? What is back there to go back to? Security, familiarity, and maybe normalcy.

Risk and adventure shake you to the core, it stirs things inside of you to say, “I may not know or see where the road is leading, but I know where I can not stay.”

Honestly, I hate this feeling. Uncertainty and fear push against my inside. But in my core, in my innermost hub of my being, I know this is where I am supposed to be. On my way to a promised land.

You may be going through some similar transition. Scary, unsure, and perhaps even met resistance. Adventure is sometimes intimidating. You, my friend, are not alone.

You’ve studied the instructions, you have kept it before you, and you are following what it says to do. You set yourself in a place that there is no turning back now, and you must either advance or stay still. Hint: Don’t stay still!

The word Action implies just that. You can not go anywhere unless you take action. You can not advance unless you take a move. You can not succeed unless you take a step. All movement requires action.

It may seem like a crawl or a slow climb, but keep steady you are still gaining ground.

Joshua was a warrior. He scouted the land and saw prosperity and health. He saw new vision and promise. He heard all the stories of slavery and lived in the wilderness for his whole life. The promised land was ripe with new beginnings and hope.

So, you look at your land, your dream, and see hope on the other side. No obstacles in your way can stop you. You can reach it if you just continue to keep going and advance.

There may be resistance, or seem like you are right on the edge of your breakthrough, just know that even the smallest movement, is still advancement. Go can do this! Go take your land!

~Cultivate your life