TAKE CHARGE

Today’s Focus: Once God has given you authority, it’s up to you to exercise it.

I never dreamed I’d consider myself a runner.

Considering how I dreaded running laps during gym class in middle school, you’d think I’d be opposed to running as an adult. Ironically, the ritual and challenge of long-distance running have become a cherished part of my weekly routine.

The crazy thing about running is how people like me get pleasure from something so insanely repetitive.

One foot in front of the other, over and over.

My wife likes to call it just “running around.” She cannot understand why a sensible person would run when no one is chasing them.

While there are many opinions about the value of running, there’s one obvious thing: everything revolves around the runner.

The shoes I run in, the sidewalks, trails, and roads I run on don't get to protest. They are passive tools for my fitness plans, and I’ll scuff them up and stomp on them as I wish.

The authority given to us by the Creator has a similar stamp of unbotheredness to it.

We don’t ask permission from our circumstances to move as God has commanded us to move.

When we move, they move - just like that.

I’m not going to imply any presumptive kind of “speaking things,” as if we are lords of nature or of the things that God has ordained as our natural limits.

Those are the boundaries He has set over creation, and as created beings, we don’t protest against Him any more than we protest gravity.

Just as we accept His authority, we accept that we have been given a certain measure of authority over the natural and spiritual world, and we don’t try to take more than we’ve been given.

But we certainly should exercise every bit of authority that we have.

The amazing thing is how often we choose not to take, or continuously ask for, things we already have.

“Lord, give me courage.”

Bible - “Take Courage.”

“Lord, I don’t have the heart for this.”

Bible - “Take heart.”

“Lord, I don’t know if I can serve you.”

Bible - “Take my yoke.”

We miss out on a lot because we ask for what we’re supposed to take.

Here’s a perspective-shifting thought -- there is precious little that God has placed over us.

Jesus is our King and High Priest.

He is over us.

He has given us leaders and pastors.

They are over us.

In a smaller sense, we serve authorities in our vocations and governments.

Temporarily, they are over us.

As for everything else, if it’s under Jesus, it’s under us.

So take less time today asking your sidewalks and shoes if you can be a little rough on them.

They can handle it, and so can your circumstances.

Act boldly in the roles and situations in which you have been given access and authority.

Take charge and expect God to empower you at every step.

ACTION STEP

What project, idea, or task have you put off because you lacked confidence in taking authority over it? Speak the words from the scripture verses over yourself, then imagine yourself overcoming your fears and doubts.

Finally, take one positive action toward your goal or project and refuse to let doubt or uncertainty stop you.