500+ for 50 – day 26: knock and the door will be opened
During the pursuit of my own personal growth transformation I’ve learned a lot about who I am as a person. One particular flaw that I’ve discovered to be easily identifiable within me is my analytically driven mind. There have been times when that aspect of my personality has served me well. But most often it can be quite the burden. I believe that its negative consequences far outweigh its benefits, so it’s certainly something that I’d like to restrain a bit as I move forward in my life. When I overanalyze things, I invite stress and anxiety back into the driver’s seat. And my faith in God’s plan diminishes as I scramble to find answers to the problems that He has already offered to handle for me. In moments when I’m overly consumed by my analytical mind, I allow my wisdom to supersede The Lord’s. And it becomes quite apparent to me that I’m in desperate need of a reality check.
Each and every time that it happens I state that this will be the last time that I allow myself to scrutinize things to death. But ultimately the sinner within me takes hold of my mind and causes me to slip back into the learned behaviors of my past. Thanks to God’s grace however I am forgiven and offered the opportunity to aim my sights back in His direction time and time again. And boy, am I thankful for those second chances. It’s certainly taken an abundance of them to help me understand the battle that’s been taking place in my mind throughout the course of my entire life.
I believe that the majority of human beings struggle with an analytical mindset from time to time. It seems to me to be very evident in the way that we tend to approach the pursuit of our most elusive dreams and goals in life. Often we spend so much time overthinking things and redirecting our minds “back to reality” that we never allow ourselves the opportunity to pick our feet up off the ground, let alone give ourselves the opportunity to fly and soar to unprecedented new heights. You see, the world has guided us to follow society’s system of beliefs with regards to what is possible in life. And we’re constantly evaluating ourselves and our performances against those standards, filling our minds with endless assurances of lack and failure before we ever even take one step in the direction of our dreams. So it’s no wonder why we fail…our visualization process has guaranteed it. But most people don’t even reach that stage, because they never take action. Their analytically driven, negative self-talk precludes their efforts to even begin.
Success can be intimidating. Everyone will encourage you to “dream BIG” but no one is really capable of offering you the blueprint to achieve your lofty pursuits. And that can be frustrating. You may find yourself intensely motivated yet still find that you can’t seem to get your feet moving because you don’t know how to effectively see yourself doing what the masses consider impossible. So your fire dwindles, and you put off taking action for yet another day. And before you know it, weeks and months pass until your dream is long forgotten. But that internal grinding you feel within remains. That feeling is your heart reminding you of how badly you want change as your mind works to slow you down and settle you back into comfort. It’s a tiresome battle. And it will go on forever unless you decide to empower your will and spirit and do something about it.
One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Matthew 7:7, in which Jesus states “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Wow, now that’s powerful. God has offered His assistance towards the realization of our dreams. This verse confirms one very, very important message that has guided me every step of the way along my own journey to personal transformation: I don’t need to have all of the answers. I don’t need to worry or overanalyze every step that I take. It’s not important for me to envision a road to success that fits within society’s comfort zone. I am guided by a limitless, miracle offering God who loves me – and He has offered to open doors for me that no man can ever shut. All I need to do is invite Him to take the reins and trust that He always has my best interests in mind. I simply need to die to my analytical self to empower my spiritual soul within. And then I will achieve things that even I could have never imagined.
A wise man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” You don’t need to know exactly how you’re going to arrive at your final destination. You just need to be willing to let go and believe that if you knock, He will answer, and the doors of prosperity will be opened to you. What may seem impossible to the masses can happen in a heartbeat at the hands of God. I’ve witnessed it myself many times.
May God Bless!
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