Don't Let The Lions Win

This morning my life changed. And prayerfully by the end of this read, yours will to. While in prayer, I saw why my life (struggle with weight, ministry and business) hasn’t been successful and it’s because I had no resistance. It can be analogous to the game of football. The enemy played for the Lions and his defensive line was against me, trying to hold me back and prevent me from scoring or being successful. His lineman (unemployment, depression, mental fatigue, homelessness, etc.) came at me with great speed and power; hoping to force me to no longer believe in God. His goal was to intercept the ball (God’s plan for my life), carry me away and take me captive so that I could be on his team; serve him by doing what I use to do; cuss, get lit, and have illicit sex or simply, not live for God. But because he knows he cannot take me captive and that I will never serve him, he continues to send his linebackers against me.

Unlike the offense, whose goal is to bypass the defense and get into the in zone, I had no visible or inward in zone to get to. In other words, I had no goals, vision, or plan for my life to hold him off. Which meant every time he pushed, I’d go back a few yards. I’d lose one job. Start another business. It wouldn’t be successful. Get evicted. And then I’d lose a few more yards. Go to school, lose a family member, start another business and he’d block those clients. Then I’d recover. Get shot. Then he’d block my income, forcing me to move to a shelter. And as soon as I’d get the ball back, here he’d come again. All the while, block after block, I’m not advancing, not prospering, or getting ahead. And it’s not because he’s the devil and got it like that. It’s because I didn’t resist him by way of having a vision, a game plan for my life.

No Game Plan

I was living haphazardly by just letting life happen. I didn’t have a plan or any goals. It’s kinda like a 100-yard football field. Each yard represents a goal; something you have to do in order to get ahead.

By executing and working towards that goal, you gain a yard. The more goals you complete, the more yards you gain which will eventually get you into the in zone, score, and get you to where you need to be. Even if you didn’t get a touchdown with that goal, you’d still have the ability to use another down; have the opportunity to go about completing the goal another way. But I didn’t have any goals and thereby continued to lose. Though I managed to stay in the game, I still lost. Not because I didn’t have the skills or talent, but because I wasn’t resisting; byway of executing the plays God had given me out of His playbook. He’d given me play after play after play of strategies on how to get out debt, out of homelessness, out of being an unsuccessful entrepreneur but I failed to execute them because I had no vision; no written plan for my life. I couldn’t see that far in the future because I was too busy worrying about today, looking at now and watching the Lions come against me…yet again.

‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour...‘resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ - 1 Peter 5:8

Down, Set...Let's Get It!

Now I have a written plan and a Vision Board, complete with step-by-step instructions that I am working on daily. And though I haven’t sold a lot of books (yet), gotten a speaking engagement (yet) and altthough Oprah hasn’t called me to be on 'Super Soul Sunday' (yet), I’ll still continue to write and do what the Lord is leading me to do because by taking small steps and doing something daily, I’m resisting the Lions lineman. And though his team will continue to attack, each attack has made me mentally tough, spiritually strong, and biblically astute. Yes, they’re still blocking my view, but I still can see the vision God has given me - by faith - and now I have the mind of a champion because I am more than a conqueror. I’ve decided I ain’t takin’ no more L’s. Won’t you join me?

Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, I need help. I don’t have any written goals and I don’t know where to start. Please give me a play Lord. Show me in Your Word and by Your Spirit what to do next and thank You for teaching me how to resist the lions in my life. In Jesus’ name.

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