We all know life doesn’t always play fair. There should not be expectation for life to be fair. Even as a Christian, Jesus dying for MY sins is not fair at all. Why should another man die for the sins I have personally chosen? But at the same time, I am very grateful for life being unfair from that standpoint! Nevertheless, there are situations and circumstances in our lives that make us question; like a loved one dying, a friend that betrays you, financial hardships or even illness and disease. A common & perhaps unassuming one that can weasel its way into our hearts is just daily life; not even something catastrophic. Just the daily beating from the waves of life can wear down a soul into being a victim.

What is the “victim mentality”? It is a sense of thinking you have no control over what happens to you and how you respond to those things. This in turn develops a negative view of life. You become simply a product of whatever is currently happening to you instead of rising above it and determining what it means to you. I discovered traces of this within my walk with God a few years ago and have fought hard to eradicate it from my life. Examples for myself were just letting my mind and heart do its own thing, such allowing fear, insecurity, anxiousness, and/or pride to run its course. I lacked faith that I could actually change it by truly turning to God. Also in my leadership, I saw I lacked taking complete ownership of my group. A book that really changed my life in this area is “Extreme Ownership” by Jock Willink. A former Navy Seal commander who shows you exactly how to take complete ownership in your life, which allows for unbelievable changes. One of my favorite quotes from that book is “there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.” Ownership of your life allows for you to change any area of your life! Lacking ownership and assigning it to an outside force completely disables you from making changes in your life. If my spiritual life is weak, I must own it! If my ministry is weak, I must own it! If my relationship with my wife is rough, I must own it! This is allows for transformation. You combine ownership with the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, and that is one powerful concoction for the glory of God!

Here is an example from the Bible of what I have been speaking about:

John 5:2-9 “Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” 8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.”

As noted before, life is not fair! Being paralyzed is not fair…However, it is noted that for 38 years this man sat near the pools where he could have been healed. Jesus reveals his heart and the man begins to make excuses for why he is not well. Did he not have anyone to help him? Perhaps family, friends, or even a stranger? Too often we wait for the perfect opportunity. We wait until we “feel” like doing it. We wait until God shows us a “sign”. We wait till the stars align…But it will never happen. There will never be a “right” time to make every effort to follow Christ.

For 38 years this many sat in misery until Jesus came into his life and changed everything. Jesus asked him “Do you WANT to get well?” The fact is, sometimes we don’t really WANT it bad enough! To follow Jesus requires we give up everything (Luke 14:33) and carry our cross daily (Luke 9:23). Jesus even calls us to change our entire mission in life to become a fisher of men and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 1:17). This is NOT easy! Those who truly become Christians are those who really want it badly. When we are weak spiritually or simply not obeying Jesus, it is because we do not want it badly enough. We are content with being weak or not following Jesus. That is a scary place to be.

I remember in 2018 I had a dark year spiritually. After becoming a true Christian in 2016 (best decision of my life), I had experienced a lot of growth. However, in the year 2018 I had began to trust in myself and stopped seeking God. This led to a lot of sin and darkness (I can make a separate blog about all of this). I was in need of restoration in my relationship with God. That central question came back up again from the words of Jesus “Do you WANT to get well?” I had to ask myself how bad did I want it. Although it was a very challenging and convicting time, God restored me back to himself and his kingdom in early 2019 after many hours and days of prayer and refinement from the Word. I believe God will continue to ask us that very question throughout our journey…”How bad do you want it?” I pray we are all striving with everything we have to know God and make it through the narrow gates (Luke 13:24).

Thank you & much love!

Interested in purchasing “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink? Here is a link to Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GQ6OIN (Affiliate link – meaning I will receive a small amount of the proceeds for your purchase. Thank you!)