Why do you say what you do about yourself? Why would you ever dismiss yourself from the best offerings of life because of a limitation you’ve accepted as your truth, but it quite simply doesn’t have to be? What you’re believing and what you’re saying MATTERS.

It matters what you believe about God.
It matters what you believe about you.
It matters what you say about God.
It matters what you say about you.

Yesterday at the BIG Life Texas Lake Retreat we created one of the funnest days of our lives. We went absolutely no where. We never left the retreat house. We simply played. We played like children again. We put zero limitations on our ability to play.

We literally hit a bouncy ball in the pool for 1 hour and 30 minutes, trying to get to 25 hits back and forth without it hitting the water. In the process, we laughed until we cried. We may have peed in the pool unintentionally from laughter. We collected 15 people on a 6 man floating island and played Red Rover. The laughter could probably be heard for a mile. But then the icing on the cake was late last night, we gathered in the yard and we had BIG Life Horse Olympics.

Now, to fully understand the levels of serious competition of which we were engaged, you must go to YouTube and watch videos of Hobby Horse Competitions. It’s legit. Grown adults compete against one another in riding stick horses. They prance, they gallop, they race. There are points for style and speed. The prancing we did on our stick horses was undeniably impressive. The relay race on our stick horses was a sight to behold. We cheered, we celebrated, and goodness gracious did we have a ridiculous amount of fun.

Why? Because we didn’t declare ourselves too old. We didn’t worry about what a single other person was thinking. We took off all the limitations and we lived.

Why don’t we do this every day, my sisters? I’m not saying ride a stick horse to work tomorrow, however I’m also not saying don’t. I’m saying listen to what you’re saying about yourself, and decide you will align your beliefs and your self-talk with the fullness of God’s offerings. It matters.

Do you remember the story of the Israelites being led by God to freedom and when they came to the border of the land God had promised them, they were afraid to enter. So what did they do? Moses, the leader of the Israelites, sent 12 spies into the land to check out their enemies. Numbers 13 & 14 tells us the 12 spies returned and gave their report. 10 of the spies said the people living in the land were giants and there’s no way they could conquer them. 2 of the spies, Joshua and Caleb said, “Let’s go at once and take the land. Don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

But of course, we know the Israelites listened to the negative news and believed it. They chose to live in fear and forfeit the promises of God. As a result, God declared none of them would ever live in the land he was prepared to give them, except for the 2 who returned and believed. For 40 years, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, short of their promised land, and only Joshua and Caleb survived to lead the way to promised victory.

Now, here’s what Caleb has to says as an old man after all that waiting. Listen close to what he says about God and about himself.

Joshua 14:10-12:
“Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise – even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me.”

The Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised. Say YES HE HAS!!!!!

I am as strong now as I was when I started on my journey. Say THAT’S ME!!!!!!

I can still travel and I can still fight. Say YES I CAN!!!!!!!

Now give me what the Lord promised me. Say I’M CLAIMING IT!!!!!!

We talk entirely too much about the perils of aging. Oh menopause. Oh my knees. Oh my memory. We believe we are just getting worse, we talk about getting worse, and boy do we ever act and feel worse. We stop playing and living because we believe the absolute nonsense that we’re too old, we’re too fat, or we’re too awkward.

As I read Caleb’s words in Numbers 14, God convicted me of my own beliefs and recent complaints. Am I getting older? Absolutely. Is my body changing? You betcha. But I don’t have to declare defeat and focus on the negative.

The Israelites’ negative beliefs and self-limiting declaration created an unnecessary forfeiture of their promise, and a delay of promise for their children. But not Joshua and Caleb. They never joined the crowd of complaint. They never gathered in the circles of critique. They never spoke the words of defeat. And they were kept in the waiting to be delivered to their promise. They were rewarded!

It matters what you believe about God.
It matters what you believe about you.
It matters what you say about God.
It matters what you say about you.

Ask God to check your beliefs and your self-proclaimed limits and dismissals.

There’s a great big beautiful life for you to live. This isn’t over. The best is yet to come. There’s more for you. But you could miss it if you join the crowd that’s always talking about how bad it is, how hard it is, and how much worse it’s getting.

It’s funny how you will start feeling the pains you focus on. It’s crazy how you are limited by the things you accept as your limitations.

Don’t dismiss yourself like that. Don’t limit your future like that.

Listen to Caleb’s words one more time and agree:

The Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised. Say YES HE HAS!!!!!

I am as strong now as I was when I started on my journey. Say THAT’S ME!!!!!!

I can still travel and I can still fight. Say YES I CAN!!!!!!!

Now give me what the Lord promised me. Say I’M CLAIMING IT!!!!!!

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