"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." Mark Twain
Recently, I read Jon Acuff’s book Start which is a New York Times Best Seller that tackles the issue of staying average and moving into awesome. It’s easy for us to stay average as fathers. When we get up in the morning, it is much easier to pop something in the toaster and run out the door than to sit down and spend time in the Word. It is easier to run through the day living mediocre and never changing than to try to become a better father, husband, employee, etc. Right now, I am at that place. I looked at myself in the mirror recently and said that I don’t want to be that parent that sits on the couch and watches television all day. I don’t want to be the man who says, “maybe tomorrow.” I don’t want to ever stop growing as a father, as a husband, as a leader, etc.
Right now, I am at a place where I am seeing our dreams potentially come to pass. It is here I am reminded of what Paul said in I Corinthians 16:9, Paul had arrived in Corinth and was teaching the word of God. He made a bold statement that forever changed the paradigm of my thinking. Has anyone ever told you that if God is in it then it will be easy? Paul found this to be untrue. “For a wide door of opportunity for effectual (service) has opened to me (there, a great promising one), and (there are) many adversaries.” Paul was getting ready to unleash some great things from God and it was not going to be easy for him.
I am there. I see great things that are great opportunities for my family. However, there are days of great opposition whether it be people or finances or whatever the case may be, there is a great opposition to you bringing your family higher. Jon’s subtitle for his book is “punching fear in the face.” In that, he talks about the different voices that we hear as people of vision. Fathers hear the same voices when leading their families. His suggestion, which I agree with, is to write those voices down. His theory is that fear is an invisible foe and once it is brought to sight, it isn’t as big as it seems to be. Often, we find that those voices are lies and we have to debunk those lies. We have to question those lies. As fathers, we are facing a great challenge in coming up higher with our families, in our careers, and in our dreams. Let me encourage you today to keep your eye on the prize, debunk the lies, and get ready to see God move on your wildest dreams!
Jon Acuff is a New York Times Best Selling Author, Speaker, father of two, and a husband of one. Jon is currently working on a new chapter in his life. You can follow him at www.jonacuff.me
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