Unleashed

 “If you knew you wouldn’t fail, what would you attempt to the glory of God?”  

In other words, if success were a given, what would you attempt?  This question haunts me.  I HATE it.  Simply because everyone I know--me included--lives bound by the chains of fear. We walk underneath the grey, overcast skies of mediocrity.  And God wants us unleashed from fear.

One of my favorite stories about our kids comes from my son’s adventures in soccer.  As a totally non-biased dad (wink:), I could tell he was probably the best player on the team (Some of you may relate to my “non-bias”); he had a strong kick, good footwork, and excellent field awareness.  This season was gonna be fun!...

But the first game wasn’t.  I stood on the sidelines, with feelings of anger and embarrassment as my son...acted like a child.  Yes, yes, he was only eight, but “For goodness sake, Caleb, get your head in the game and stop acting like a...boy!”  Now, to the uninitiated, we parent types can often discern what is going on in the heart of a child, mainly because that’s what I used to do...that’s what I still do! 

And my son was scared.  I could tell.  I’ve been there many times.

He was covering it up pretty well, but he was afraid to fail, and consequently, wasn’t putting out all that much on the soccer field.  Listen up: the battles that are won or lost on the soccer field, gym class or baseball diamonds of childhood are absolutely vital to the development of a healthy confidence in the rest of life.  I wasn’t about to let my son’s fear control him the way my fears have controlled me.  He needed help.  He needed Dad.

Over the next few weeks, we worked hard!  We focused on dribbling, shooting, and passing, but mostly on him simply believing he could do it.  I asked him, time and time again, to “man up,”  to play without fear of what could go wrong.  We even developed a secret signal, a fist pump to the chest that meant “I’m going for it!” Game time finally arrived, and he got his first goal of the season.  The next game, he scored twice, then three times in the next.  His confidence was soaring.

It was half-time of the next game and his team was getting shut out, 1-0.  I went over to him, and looked down into his eight-year old eyes.  I asked, “Son, do you know what your team needs?...For you to go crazy out there! For you to leave it all on the field, no fear, no holding back.”  He looked up at me with eyes of faith that his father was telling him the truth and just nodded.  Then, as he lined up for the start of the second half, get this...he looked over at me...and gave me the secret signal.  With the whistle about to blow to start the second half, he looked at his dad and gave a fist pump to the chest.   It was awesome!  Then the explosion happened.  He scored with his right foot.  Then with his left.  He scored off of a throw-in from the sidelines and on a break away.  He scored six times in 20 minutes.  Parents were looking at me and asking, “What did you feed that boy this morning for breakfast?”

I walked off the field with my arm around my son, telling him how proud I was of him, and then I heard it--the whisper of God.  “This is what I am doing in YOUR life, too,”  the Voice said.  “I want YOU to live...UNLEASHED.”

They call Him “The Comforter,” the Paracletos, One who draws alongside to encourage, to coach, to call out what is there, to ask us to “man up.”  For many of us, our fears have followed us into adulthood, lying there like a mighty barrier between what we are and all that we could become...if we would just leave it all out on the field.  If we could just get unleashed.

Ephesians 3:20–21 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”  To HIM WHO IS ABLE.  It’s most definitely not about us; it never has been. 

So what are YOU afraid of?  What would it look like, today, to live all out, without fear of what people thought of you, fear of failing, fear of not having what it takes?  What would that look like?  What do you want out of this day, today, right now?

It’s half time, and you’re the one lined up at midfield...

“If you knew you wouldn’t fail, what would you attempt to the glory of God?” 

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Blog writing ®John Hever. Unless otherwise stated, photos are not the original creative works of John Hever. To access the website of h2o church, go to www.h2ochurch.org.