God is in Control (and Why That's a Really Good Thing) - #36
Words of encouragement to help with letting go of what's unnecessary to hold onto what's truly worthwhile
I am glad to be alive, and I am glad you’re alive as well. 😎
These are pivotal days of decision that must be lived with grace, poise, and clarity.
Last time I pumped out the newsletter in 30 minutes and it was the most viewed one so far! It’s humbling to see these numbers and see that this is truly helping people.
Thank you! Better days are ahead for sure. 🚀
This is your reminder that God is in control and you do not need to carry everything.
I have been guilty of wanting to carry other peoples’ weight for them or save them.
Now I just let go, knowing that God is in control.
I am blessed to be an instrument in His hands, and I am glad to be along for the ride.
We are all get to play a part in His divine orchestra, and He is in control of it - not us.
Here’s three reasons why that’s a really good thing:
You Can Focus on Showing Up
You Don’t Need to Force Anything
You Can Just Let it be What it Is
With these things in mind we are much more able to just enjoy this life.
God has a marvelous design in motion and we all get to be a part of it.
I hope that my thoughts and observations here are encouraging for you.
Also, two very quick things.
My second book, “Patience in These Pages” has been delayed to September 18, 2024. My two quick reasons for this are that I was stressing about it (stressing in these pages lol) and that nobody had pre-ordered it - figured it needed more time.
I appreciate you reading this. I’ve gotten messages from people asking if they can share the newsletter with their friends and people that they know and to that I say Absolutely! Please do that! Every little bit helps with giving this more traction.
With that taken care of
Let’s dive in. 🤿
1. You Can Focus on Showing Up
I won’t lie.
It’s Thursday.
It’s also 11:42 PM.
I slept a lot of the day today based on feelings of overwhelm.
I said I was going to not be up past 10 PM working on this.
Today has felt kinda out of alignment, not going to lie.
It’s a humbling feeling.
Not acting in line with systems that help you leads to a cacophony of the soul.
I am aware of this feeling quite intimately.
Yet, with a simple movement, we can be back on the path to clarity.
Reminding ourselves of what we committed to and doing brings clarity.
That’s what I am doing now, and I am owning my mistake.
I tell people that this newsletter comes out on Mondays.
What happened? Lack of prioritizing this and thinking it needed to be perfect.
I want SO badly for this to be as actionable, inspiring, and fun as possible that sometimes that desire gets me to start to throw my creativity out the door.
I just want to make and make and make and get to the result.
I want to rush the process and speed-run through each step, thinking of the time I am wasting by not already having something to go. I think of what I am missing out on.
It’s Okay to Feel This Way
I’ve felt this way before, and it probably won’t be the last time.
This doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be me.
I also need to make sure it is in line with my overall design for what I am building.
That’s all. Showing up is a win.
These are the early, early days, and I am grateful for them.
There have been a LOT of miracles that have gotten me to this exact moment.
I can learn a lot from this moment and just make space to celebrate it for what it is! 🥳
Yes, I have come a long way, and I know that this is all coming together, one day at a time.
Yes, today I was a bit more on the reactive side, yet I know this is not my general demeanor and way of living. Today, all things considered, was quite an outlier.
It was a version of me that was worried about the result and the work involved and was just letting things get all wound up.
It ended with Cold Stone and sharing some poetry with the awesome workers there but yeah… all of this reminds me to just really love what is taking place - a miracle.
When I focus on the result too much it makes the creation process muddied.
In those hurried moments it’s easy to forget that I chose this, I love this, and I have God’s help with this.
God has been showing up for me with this like CRAZY.
I just have to keep showing up for Him, and also for you.
The Cleansing Power of Commitment
As I keep the commitments I have made with Him and with you there is more joy.
Keeping a commitment is like taking your muddy car through a car wash.
I’m not talking about the basic one that you go through and it’s over in five seconds.
I’m talking about the one that thoroughly gets your tires, windows, everything.
These car washes take time and they seem to heal you as they are cleaning your car.
That is the power of sticking with a commitment that was made out of love.
Proverbs 16:3 says some good things on this too,
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
When you keep it you are renewing yourself, your mind, and are in a way better place.
On those days we show up in spite of feeling like a train wreck, we can see miracles.
Yes, there is a time to take a rest day and simply deliberate on next moves and reflect.
A lot of the decision there is up to you.
My encouragement is to choose which one that is going to be for you and go all-in.
Wishy-washyness tends to not lead to a really nice car wash of the soul.
For a commitment to really be solid it does need to cold-stone commitment (haha puns). These kinds of commitments can make a thousand choices for us at once.
We learn a lot about ourselves when we show up still on the days where we are feeling a lack in ourselves.
Again, I am reminded of Psalm 23:1
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
These are valuable words for me as in this moment I feel more like an imposter.
I said I would do one thing, and I am in a different boat.
Yet I am stopping the car in this moment and parking so I can course correct.
I am also accepting the fact that this is a long journey and crazy stuff will happen.
I’m pretty sure someone unsubscribed to the list who had just subscribed yesterday.
Perhaps they were thinking I would post something… I don’t really know what happened there.
All I know is that I committed to this path and it is one of high performance.
It is a path of high performance, high trust, and high preparation.
Whenever I have acted in line with this commitment my soul has truly felt cleansed, strengthened, and I know, without any doubt, that it is God leading me on this path.
These things will all speak very well for me in due time.
Staying in the Heat
I’ve had sales conversations, cold-approaches, etc. with people that didn’t seem to be going that great… but still, I stayed.
I trusted my instincts.
I listened.
I didn’t run away.
Then a few minutes later a miracle occurred.
I simply listen to what they have to say and when I do that I really don’t need to worry about what I say next.
They can often tell I am sincere and that helps things move more smoothly from the beginning. As the heat is getting turned up sometimes it’s best to stay in the heat.
You have no idea what that moment could become if you trust your instincts.
If you need to go, go.
If you need to stay, stay.
More often than not when I do not make a big deal about a moment it turns into a big moment.
I let the moments be whatever they would like to be.
This is why I think I have been seeing so many miracles lately.
I recognize that God is in control, and that is a VERY good thing.
I am simply an instrument to help bring His work forward and make His mighty name known. I just need to let go and let Him work.
Forcing things is completely unnecessary and shows a lack of trust in Him.
2. You Don’t Need to Force Anything
When I have tried to force something, it tends to fall flat.
When I just let it flow and see what happens - I am often very surprised.
It’s much better to give things space to grow rather than judge them away so quickly.
Hebrews 13:2 provides some timely counsel for when we desire to do this -
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
I know how much I keep pushing this point - but I want to make this really clear,
There is no limit to what something can become when we simply help it along, rather than force it.
No limits.
By our actions, inactions, and reactions we can limit something before anything has even happened. That person could be a messenger for you sent by God. It could be.
I have had too many timely, sweeter-than-honey interactions to say otherwise.
Proverbs 16:24 shares this timeless wisdom on conversations,
Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
If someone is not used to hearing such encouraging language, it may surprise them.
A 30-second conversation is often enough to lift a person and help them feel heard.
I made a podcast episode more on this if you’re interested.
Speaking up and encouraging people is a superpower in today’s world.
So many are suffering at work, at home, and are desperate for a kind word.
The more accepted answer is to just move along and blend into the background.
I have programmed this option completely out of my system.
My default now is to talk to that person and see how they are doing.
Yes, there are times where I need to be where I need to be and I let the moment pass.
More and more though I am making space for these things and seeing miracles.
I may only have 5 minutes to spare, but that 30 seconds could change someone’s life.
A 30-Second Conversation Can Change a Life
A few weeks ago I believe I had one such like this.
I was doing some sprints up and down a hill that is close to a cemetery.
I saw a youth riding his bike up there, and I wanted to talk to him.
There were of course many thoughts I had, most of all that I needed to finish my run.
Soon though I looked at the time and realized that if I wanted to talk to him I had to cut my workout short.
I let go of my desire to finish the workout.
I yielded to the moment and gave it to God.
The 30-second conversation led to a longer conversation.
I was late to my next plans by over 15 minutes, and I really couldn’t care less.
I was there for this hurting soul, and I made sure his soul was heard.
In the process of that, my soul also felt heard - it was a healing moment.
There were things the youth told me that made it absolutely clear to me that God was aware of me, my prayers, and what I was thinking.
The youth is not aware of these things, he was just saying what was on his mind.
Yet I know that God was in the details of that conversation.
I shared my poem “Patience in These Pages” with this youth and he was inspired by it.
He shared with me some of his struggles and I listened.
I expressed my confidence in him and thanked him for his honesty and vulnerability.
It’s possible he had been wanting to get these things out and had no place to go.
Later he shared that he was on the way to somewhere else and then had just ended up at the cemetery. He was on the way to picking up some food and got redirected.
He may not have explained the phenomenon that way, but it’s what happened.😂
Yep.
He wasn’t planning on being at the cemetery at all.
That was when I knew for sure that God had sent this moment to us so we could both be lifted. I am SO glad I didn’t force myself to finish the workout.
God is REALLY good, and He knows what we need to hear and when we need to hear it. Even though this youth told me he doesn’t really believe in God, he said that this conversation was “really good”. Surely it planted a seed for future miracles to flow.
We are not here to fit in, but to stand out and be different - letting our faith show.
Case in point - it’s always good to wave, say “hi”, and be open to what may come up.
God is aware of what these things can become before they are even in our vicinity.
Before that new neighbor moves in - the potential is already known of what it can be.
It is our great opportunity and potential joy to embark in that mystery…
And say “hello”, and see where things can go.
No, we cannot guarantee that such openness will lead to an amazing friendship, but the magic of interaction can lead to some amazing things we couldn’t have imagined.
These lines from my poem, “The Magic of Interaction” say it well,
“Forever unknown, unless we say hi.
Forever uncharted, unless we face our sky
Forever undiscovered, unless we courageously dig
Forever bacon-less, if the pig stays a pig.”
“The Magic of Interaction” is just one of the 64 poems included with my upcoming book, “Patience in These Pages”.
I am confident that it’s going to help a TON of people who are hurting right now.
Surely working on it has been an immense boost and blessing for my life.
I look forward to its official launch on September 18, 2024.
Preorders are open now for receiving the book through Kindle.
Consuming of the book through other channels will come in due time.
And if you are on this email list the week before launch day, you’ll be sent the pdf for free. This is part of my strategy to get this on the Amazon bestseller list asap.
This content needs to be spread everywhere in lifting up this world.
I ask for your help with accomplishing that.
Also, if you haven’t subscribed to YIELD Deeply, now is a great time to do that.
Thanks a ton! It’s going to be great! 🥳
Let Go and Let God
God is able to turn your ashes into beauty (Isaiah 61:3).
He is able to turn your massive defeat into massive victory (Exodus 14:14, Joshua 3:5)
Sometimes all we need to do is give Him (and ourselves) more time.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Great lives take great patience, care, and effort to mold.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 is a comfort to me on this point,
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
It’s important to get into a habit of talking to God frequently.
Tell Him everything.
He is able to take you to brand-new heights that Present You cannot imagine.
Here’s the million-dollar secret:
You do not know how good your life can get.
If you could share even a snippet of the life I’m living now to Dallin two years ago he’d be mindblown.
He was stressing.
He was looking for jobs, leads, and a career path… and coming up empty.
He felt extremely limited in what he could do with his life.
Yet I was writing poems that are now going to be in “Patience in These Pages”.
Yet I was seeking to cherish my journey for what it was, and not what it wasn’t.
Yet I was still recording episodes of my podcast to help me work through it all.
I made time for healing.
Now I am in a completely different room, with a much higher ceiling.
Certainly I made mistakes along the way.
I learned from these though, and that gradually let in a much, much brighter day.
God Doesn’t Force Things
God could have just told me everything He was going to do in my life.
In my brokenness, He could have FILLED me with the insane vision I have now.
This would be forcing me into it though - I had to come to it myself.
He let me stay in my temporary ruins or trust in His mighty redemption.
I got to make that decision myself; it wasn’t made for me.
In my agony I learned to finally stop listening to other peoples’ judgments of my life.
I learned to completely trust God’s voice and let go of everything else.
In making moves based on that I found the clarity and sense of purpose I was seeking.
God does not force things.
I repeat, He does not force things.
Isaiah 60:22 makes this very clear,
A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.
The work will be hastened when it is time.
Until then, preparation is likely to consume most of your time sheet so to speak.
I’ve learned to just be thankful for this.
After all, God has a MUCH better understanding of what’s coming than I do.
Intense Preparation Leads to Insane Performance
Intense preparation is good and prepares you for the insane performances ahead.
You cannot possibly be prepared for everything that is going to happen in your life.
Being acquainted with many possibilities in training helps you to be resilient.
As Jocko Willink, Navy Seal and one of the authors of “Extreme Ownership” shared,
“It’s better to tap out in training than to tap out on the street.”
That’s the truth. Cherish these days of preparation.
Enjoy your time in the waiting room. It’s only temporary.
At some point you will get the call that will demand ALL of your soul and preparation.
Preparation is seldom comfortable, and rightly so.
The NFL Combine, NBA Summer League, “Hell Week” for the Navy Seals…
What do these all have in common?
They are intense preparation to make the way for insane levels of performance.
If you are not able to handle the training, you are not going to be fit for the real thing.
Surely this has been the case in my life.
The training I have gone through has been thorough, personal, and intense.
My heart strings have been yanked, stretched, and played to their absolute limits.
It is preparation for a future that is more grand and sublime than my wildest dreams.
It has come as a price though.
I have learned to trust Him with everything.
God has asked me to let go of TONS of things I was letting hold me back.
The biggest weight I let go of was trusting another human to direct my path in life.
I am forever done with that.
I had to completely shut out every single voice and listen solely to Him.
I still have some people who think I am nuts for doing this, and I don’t care.
I have never felt closer to God in my entire life.
I know He is helping me every single day.
I have let go of everything so far He needed me to so I could hear His voice better.
There’s still tons and tons of work to do.
I know it’s all out of love and it’s to help me prepare for what’s coming soon.
Insane Blessings for our Faithfulness
I know God has some insanely amazing blessings right around the corner for me.
I refuse to believe, entertain, or listen to what anyone says in the contrary.
That includes the increasing amount of temptations and distractions that have been placed on my path by the enemy. I have never felt more opposition in my life.
I have never needed God’s help more in my life. Never.
I have never prayed more for God’s help in my life. Never.
I have never received more of God’s help in my life. Never.
These last 6 months of my being full-time have been some of the most important in my life.
I have been laying down the foundation for my life’s work for years to come.
It’s only going to get crazier, I just need to stay focused on God and that’s it.
I know God is sending a TIDAL WAVE of mercies with my name on them very soon.
I still need to be tested to the -nth degree in preparation for them so that’s happening.
My soul is being seared in the Refiner’s fire so I can truly receive what’s coming.
I know that the end of this season of my preparation is near.
My NBA Summer League, NFL Combine, and “Hell Week” is coming to a close soon.
I have been extremely faithful and true in these tests.
I have discovered new gifts and abilities in myself that’d blow the teenage version of me completely away.
I have heard, engaged in, and started conversations with people that have completely changed the game for how I see myself and this wonderful world.
Surely the enemy put thorns on my path to prevent me from making it to these things.
Whenever I have failed the Lord always sent a mercy whale - He has delivered me.
I have learned to accept the truth - that I am useful to the Lord and He’s got BIG plans.
I know with the Lord I am truly limitless and can do anything He needs me to.
I have never been more joyful in my life.
I have never felt more clarity in my life.
I have never experienced more peace in my life.
I am certain Satan is really, really unhappy with me.
I really don’t blame him.
If I was him I would be scared as heck of me.
The biggest reason for this of course is that I am trusting God.
I’ve already seen what happens when I lean on my flesh over God’s mighty arm.
Now I am choosing to just let Him lift me up over everything I face.
I am also just letting Him love me and help me through this and not stress about it.
It’s been quite the experience.
I just need to keep on trusting God’s will, and I’m chilling.
No worries, no stress - just taking it a day at a time.
I know that God is working this all out together for my good (Romans 8:28)
I know what I am feeling, and I just need to keep following God’s instructions.
That’s it.
He knows my story perfectly, and with Him I cannot lose.
Romans 8:31 makes the truth of this plain,
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
I am open to making more changes as they come up.
God is very aware of what branches you and I need to be let go of.
John 15:2 illuminates this truth well,
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
He will never force you to do this though.
Forcing something undermines its ability to become what it would like to be (and what it could be).
It’s like that quote about not judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree.
Why?
It’ll live its whole life thinking its stupid.
If you ask me, I think there are a lot of fish trying to climb trees…
And it’s not working.
3. You Can Just Let it Be What it Is
If someone doesn’t want to talk to me, I don’t force them.
My goal is to encourage and be a blessing on their journey, whatever that may look like.
Yes, I am a writer, podcaster, speaker and YouTuber.
Before all that though I am a disciple of Jesus Christ who is preparing to lead a family.
I know that the Lord will take care of my future family and I.
That is NEVER the question.
The real question is if I will take care of my faith.
I must have faith to let something be what it is.
I must have faith to let something grow without my intervention.
I must have faith that God is able to do what I cannot do.
These are wonderful things, friends, that can surely help ease our burdens today.
James 1:4 is one I keep coming back to these days so let’s jump into it real quick.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
There is immense peace in just letting something be what it is.
God is able to do His mighty works in time as we are faithful.
Jude 1:22 shares how with compassion we make a great difference.
As we keep on watering those seeds they can grow and perhaps make a bigger impact.
No reason to stress about what isn’t in its time and season though (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
There is a time to keep silent, and a time to speak. (Ecclesiastes 3:7)
When we try to force someone to our point of view it’s taxing to our time and energy.
I’ve found it’s much better to just live in your joy and be open to questions as they come up.
It’s much better to just let people come to you.
Influence and trust are gained over time and surely cannot be forced.
As I shared in this podcast episode, the best things in life (the truly worthwhile things) come naturally - when we do not force them but instead work towards their completion and trust in God's timing. God always comes on time.
Yep.
God is in control.
And today we talked about just three reasons why that’s a really good thing.
God is in Control. So…
You Can Focus on Showing Up
You Don’t Need to Force Anything
You Can Just Let it Be What it is
Now here are
3 Empire-Building Thoughts on Peace😊
Peace seems fleeting, but with the Lord it is always nearby. I have felt a LOT of peace as I have been working on this newsletter and sought to build my life more in preparation for what is coming. One day at a time. I hope today’s thoughts help! 🏰
Take it a day at a time. We talked earlier about this but it’s worth repeating. Keep working to improve the you from yesterday. Celebrate each day and what you’re learning. These days are never coming again so it’s good to make the most of each.
Let go of what’s outside your control. This is also implied from the thoughts above. Tell God about what you are looking to do and let Him take care of the rest. He may inspire you with ideas - act on these and watch miracles flow.
Express gratitude for what’s been accomplished. Notice that these all include taking some kind of constructive action. I believe that this is crucial to experiencing a resilient peace. Thanking God in prayer always goes a long way.
The Last Thought 💭
Psalm 61:3
3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
I know that God is merciful.
I know that God has WAY bigger plans than we can imagine.
I know that true safety comes in spending time with God.
I know that when we follow God’s instructions we can be brought to new heights.
I know these things are true, through my life experiences and most importantly, the witness of the Holy Ghost, who bears witness of all truth.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
P.S.: In case you were wondering, yes, God’s love is greater than all of your fears.
