I remember when I played in the NFL under Coach Bill Parcells. One of the first things he did when we came to training camp was adjust our stance. The stance for a football player is the starting point. It’s how you get ready before you go. But Coach wanted to fiddle with it. He wanted to address it, even though my stance was a position I had gone to for more than eight years by then. He didn’t care. He didn’t want us to rely on what had gotten us to that point. Because what had gotten us to that point may have worked in college and in high school, but this new level wasn’t either of those. The plays were different in the NFL. The players were different too. This was a whole other level and our stance needed to reflect that.
For some of us in our Christian walk, we need to change our stance. We need to change how we roll. We need to address how we make our decisions, talk to our spouse, or relate to our friends and family. We need to change our stance on how we serve in the church. We need to change our stance on how we deal with our money. We need to change our stance on how we spend time with God, in His Word, or aligning our thoughts under His. We need to change our stance in all of these areas because this is our shot in a whole new league—it’s called the Kingdom of God.
The spiritual warfare is different than the physical troubles we have known for so long. The warriors we battle are different. The weapons are different. The approach is different. In order to make it in this spiritual league, you’ve got to be willing to let go and leave all that you know if it is preventing you from experiencing the journey of greatness God has called you to live out. You may need to:
- Leave your thoughts behind.
- Leave your will at the door.
- Leave your history.
- Leave your hopes.
- Leave your perspective and your patterns.
Adjust your stance. Sometimes you have to leave the things you think you need in order to get the greatness you know you want. If it goes against what God says, leave it. Drop it. Walk away. Just put it down. Because anything that disagrees with biblical truth needs to go in order for you to get up, go, and get what God has given you.
When you feel the Spirit prodding you to do something different, to be different, to go to a different place—and you’re uncomfortable with it—that’s a sign that you need to pack your bags and go. If you start to feel comfortable in a shackled situation, that’s a dangerous place to be. You’ll never get all that God has for you if you stay stuck to what you know.
Too many of us want assurance from God that the grass on the other side of the fence is as green as that which we are standing on right now, or greener. But the truth is that you must go before God will show. Yes, it’s an uncomfortable feeling. Yes, it’s a stretching experience. No, there are no guarantees. But isn’t that what faith is all about? Faith is being sure of what you can’t see, not what you can. There are not those kinds of guarantees in faith, or it wouldn’t be faith.
Jonathan Evans appears this Monday on LIFE Today. This is an excerpt from Your Time Is Now by Jonathan Evans. Copyright ©2021 by Jonathan Evans. Published by Bethany House Publishing, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Used by permission.
