“Don’t get your hopes up – you’d hate to be disappointed.”

It’s an axiom we seem to learn in childhood. However, it is NOT our natural God given approach. Look at young children. Do they get their hopes up? You bet they do!

We all had a beginning where we chased life with abandon.

Remember when you had no limits?

You didn’t make decisions based on what anybody was thinking or not thinking of you. You didn’t plan for failure.

You just chased life!

And then it happened. You either faced disappointment, or someone older and wiser warned you about the risk of failure.

“You’d hate to be disappointed.”

“Watch out.”

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

The words echo in our psyche. They haunt us like the ghost of Christmas failed.

And now, here I am, a professional motivator. Yet at times I find myself considering decisions based in doubt. I feel a momentary need to protect my kids.

As we drive along the country roads I wonder…

What if they don’t make the team there?

What if she doesn’t get that scholarship?

What if the project flops?

“Mom, I can play with those guys!”

The words of my 14 year old interrupt my thoughts.

He senses my doubts that he is “good enough.”

We just came from a visit to a school with a very well known baseball program and we are looking at homes in that school district.

The coach seemed ambivalent to him trying out. He was even more stumped as to where the boy might play summer ball.

A different coach in the adjacent district was thrilled at the thought of him playing for him – both in the summer and in the school years.

Choices.

And then there are the home prices. One district is considerably more expensive than the other.

What if we’re not rich enough, good enough, popular enough..?

How weird. They questions are fleeting and irrational but they come up all the same.

What to do?

What if instead of worrying, we take accurate assessments and ask for Divine Guidance? What if we really are His sheep, and we really can hear His voice? What if God really does lead us in the way we should go and teach us how to profit?

 

We are either in faith or in fear. We are either being led by the spirit or charging forth in the flesh.

 

Here’s great news: We can always step back and make an adjustment.

What happens when we seek first the Kingdom? All the other stuff is added.

It’s okay to have moments of doubt and fear. But just because a bird flies through the air doesn’t mean it can build a nest in your hair.

 

Take a deep breath. Get clear on what you truly want.

 

Then make a decision. Successful people don’t always make the right decision. But they do find ways to make the decision right. You can hear Truth in your ear saying, “Go this way.”

 

You can do this! I believe in you and I’m right there with you.