Foot in the Door

It's time for some tough love today.

We can't follow forward if we keep our foot in the door of the past.

God is literally beckoning us forward.

And meanwhile, the enemy is luring us backward.

The enemy whispers that we don't have what it takes to go all the way.

His lies tell us that it's dangerous out there and that only failure and embarrassment lie ahead.

Yeah, pardon my language, bro, but we've heard that crap from you before, ya dumb devil.

And we spent way too many years stuck in the muck - dreaming and wishing for the life God planted in our souls - imprisoned by the shackles of stupid lies we believed.

I've said it many times - we have come so far on our journey from the ashes.

Once again, we find ourselves at one of these pivotal points (ahem) on our path forward.

I see you standing in front of the door you just walked through.

I'm so proud of you! You did it!

You worked with God to move out of the pits of despair and darkness and followed Him forward.

But as you stand here now, I see that you have your foot in the door, holding it open just a tiny bit so that you have an escape plan back into what you know, as mucky and junky as it was, just in case this whole moving forward thing doesn't work out.

But you know you can't move if you do that.

I mean what's the plan here, exactly?

You just gonna stand here awkwardly, developing a major cramp as your foot is wedged in the door of the past while the rest of you is trying to move forward?

Ain't gonna work, my friend.

Let me remind you of the good stuff God taught us on the journey we took together not so long ago:

You are enough

You are worthy

You are repurposed

Click on those links and reread those posts if you need reminders of the truths of God's assurances.

As you read some of it, aren't you glad you aren't where you used to be?

Remember all those years you were stuck, listening to the lies the stupid devil whispered in your ears?

We are not making a sequel of all that.

Absolutely not.  

No way.

You gotta get that foot out of the door, my cramped companion.

I know it's scary.

I know you feel unsure of where you are going and if you are making the right decision to leave the past behind and follow God forward into the unknown.

I wish I could promise you that it will be perfectly awesome, that only amazing things will happen, and that all life's troubles will remain behind that door you have your foot so awkwardly wedged in.

That is a promise I couldn't keep.

But here is a promise I can keep.

I promise you that there is something amazing up ahead.  

Something that will spark the spirit deep within you.

Something that will make a difference - doesn't matter for how many.

Something that God has placed within you before you arrived here.

And there will probably be twists and turns, trials and temptations, shocks and awes.

But forward is way better than backward.

God is with you every step of the way.

Okay, you ready?

Grab the door knob.

Take your foot out.

Shake it off a bit, it kind of fell asleep stuck in there for so long.

Here we go...

Shut

The

Door

YEAHOO!

Now, turn your whole body and all of your attention forward.

God, help us trust you and follow you ahead - even if we don't know where we are going, how we will get there, or when we will arrive.

We know you would never lead us to a place where you will not be.  

We trust you.

Let's go, one foot in front of the other.  

It should be easier now that all feet are free to move!

Isaiah 43: 18-19

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Philippians 3: 13-14

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!