As of late, I'd been really convicted of doing just enough to scratch the surface of accomplishing my dream. I hadn't been "grinding" out like I used to...somewhere in the midst of life, I stopped being so demonstrative on my theatrical quest. It's not that I lost my fervor for acting...just for the level that I'm supposed to be acting on. I'd settled into my job and was comfortable traveling, acting, and eating and being merry in the interim. But the good Lord Almighty sent me a "lil sister" if you will, and she is everything that I was 10 years ago. So, I'd been thinking about making a power move...and in thinking of this, the Lord moved my pastor to give this message below on Sunday. I think everyone should live with this in their hearts...so if you will, have a gander!
"Keeping Your Head in the Game"- Nehemiah 4
-You can ALWAYS expect opposition.
1. The Timing of Opposition
-You ever notice that the devil doesn't try to stop you when you are already immobile?!
1. External Opposition vs. 1-3 (The Enemy)
a. tries to Diffuse our Morale
-he takes your passion (worst yet, you give it to him) you get complacent: don't let the devil in hell or ANYONE else rob you of what you were put here to do
b. he does this so he can Diminish Our Momentum
-if you've lost your passion, you will not have energy and will be apathetic in moving forward
c. he does this to Distort Our Motives
-This gift isn't about you...it's about the assignment the Lord gave to you (He can take it away)
d. all of this will ultimately Divert Us From Our Mission
ex. Your mission is never negative, you may go through things that may appear to be negative on your way, but you are never meant to STAY in that place. Some people normalize being broke, or having bad credit or being in an abusive or combative relationship...this was NOT God's plan for us.
2. Internal Opposition vs. 10-12 (also check out Psalm 55:12-14 to corroborate)
-Everyone with your jersey on is NOT playing for the team (whether they know it or not)
a. People on the inside can Promote Our Fatigue
ex. your friends may not be given the same gift as you and will wonder why and how you can go so hard without giving in to fatigue...will encourage you to give it up
b. They can Paralyze Us With Frustration ex. In the "The Purpose Driven Life", Rick Warren makes mention of surfers staying out in the ocean waiting tirelessly on waves to ride. They may come often and they may not, but it's the people watching from the shore who don't know understand why the surfers won't just return to shore. Meanwhile the surfers realize that they cannot create the waves, they can only ride them when they appear and they don't want to miss out on an opportunity for "that" wave to be the one to take them on a magical ride.
c. They try to Predict Our Failure ex. I think this one is self-explanatory...ex. That's too hard, You'll never make it. That's stupid. That's not for everyone.
