Last year, on New Year’s Day, my pastor preached a sermon titled, “On the Edge of Greatness.” With so much lately about going over the edge of a fiscal cliff, feeling like I am on the edge of something great from a ministry standpoint, and a couple of personal situations, this sermon came to mind. The spiritual nugget that I took from the sermon was a football analogy that pastor used (how apropos since I am a HUGE fan of the pigskin). He talked about how when a team is on their fourth down with one yard to go. (Wait, let me stop here, if you don’t understand football, this might not make sense, but I would be happy to explain the game to you, just drop me a line). Anyway, when a team has fourth down and one yard to gain for a first down, many times they pitch the ball to the running back about three to five yards back. What this does is allow the blocking to be set up and allow the running back to gain momentum, so that he can get through the defenders.
As a spectator, this play always looks wrong, but it is so awesome when it works. My pastor explained that sometimes, when we are on the edge of greatness, God has to take us back, so that we can move forward with momentum. On New Year’s Eve, I performed three of my songs during our service. I was surrounded by love and support from the congregation and I truly felt, for the first time, that I was on the edge of greatness. I felt like people finally understood what God is doing in my life and how I pray He uses it for the uplifting of His Kingdom. When I got home, I found out that my ex had been fired from his job. For a minute, in my loneliness, I thought I should reach out to him. I felt awful for him because I know that this job is his dream job and that, as I was wishing others a happy new year, he was probably not having a great day. Then, I took a step back mentally and emotionally. I remembered what our relationship was like and I remembered that although, we are both good people, we do not have the best time communicating with one another. So, what would be a nice sentiment from me might not be well-received. If it was well-received, and if he appreciated my concern, it might lead to more than just a step back. I might take my focus off of my goal completely and try to help and support him. Taking that step back, gave time for my defenses to be set up. I realized that I cannot afford to turn back, not when I am on the edge of greatness. So, I prayed for him and every time I think about him, I pray for him that he is able to continue to live his dream. I also prayed for me that nothing would slow down my momentum. I would hate to get to heaven and see that I was one step away from my dream when I turned my attention to something else. It is not easy to stay focused because I have more than one dream, but it is necessary to keep moving forward. And, when I come up against a tough situation, I have to take the time to allow God to take me back, so He can set up my blocks and propel me forward. Sometimes the things that stop us from being where God wants us to be are not bad things (or people). In fact, I think that good tasks, people, projects are far more dangerous to our paths than bad ones. With bad things, you know you should turn around and run the other way, but with seemingly good things, it makes you question if you should gun it up the middle or pop outside to the edge (another football reference). Then, as you hesitate, you might miss the opportunity that God has in place to move you forward into greatness. So, whatever path God has you on in your life, even if you haven’t reached your goal, stay the course. He will work it out for your good if you love, trust and obey Him. Ms. EV
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