COMMIT FIRST

FROM THE EDITOR

President Zolensky's photo contributed by www.president.gov.ua

President Volodymyr Zolensky demonstrated the idea of "commit first" when he refused the offer from the United States to flee his country when Russia first started their attack on Ukraine. It would have been impossible for Zolensky to have everything figured out at that moment. But he committed first and took immediate and massive action.

Have you ever desired to do something in your life—something you wanted to do? Something you knew would make a profound difference in every aspect of your life? And have you ever attempted to pursue that desire or goal, only to find yourself empty-handed weeks, months, or even years later?

Have you ever experienced setting a goal or fixing a desire in your mind and then falling short of achieving it? How has that made you feel? What has it done to your confidence or your level of faith in God? How has it made your family, friends, or significant others think and talk about you?

Well, I have. I've experienced the frustration of wanting something, only to never realize or achieve it. The non-accomplishment of these goals and desires in my life has continued to nag at me and my conscience. Why haven't I been able to achieve them? Is there something wrong with me? Do I not have what it takes? Is there something else I am missing? These and other deep, soul-probing questions are what I have been asking myself.

If you are like most Christians, you have heard the promise, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13, NKJV). I have found myself asking, "If this is true, then what gives?"

Notice the language there: "If."

There is a story in the Bible about a boy with an evil spirit (see Mark 9). His was a severe case. The evil spirit would throw this boy into convulsions. It would throw him to the ground; he would foam at the mouth, and his body would become rigid. It had gotten so bad that the father explained to Jesus that at times, the evil spirit would throw the child into the fire or water, trying to kill him.

And then the father said something. He said to Jesus, "But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." "If you can do anything, please help us." The underlying sentiment behind this particular father's question was wavering between doubt and belief. The father believed to some degree.

Otherwise, he wouldn't even have approached Jesus or requested His help. Nevertheless, there was this big question mark in this father's mind. ‘Can Jesus help my son? Nobody has been able to help my son yet. Am I just a wishful thinker? Am I expecting too much? Am I being unreasonable?’ Perhaps these questions were similar to the ones the father had asked himself.

Years of trial and despair, with no solution in sight. Years of trying this medicine, this procedure, or going to this physician or that one, only to no avail. All of that tends to wear a person down. It erodes hope and confidence.

No doubt, the father wanted Jesus to heal his son. No doubt, Jesus had awakened some level of hope and faith in this father's heart. Nevertheless, the evil seed of doubt, however subtle, remained. If you can do anything, Lord, please save my son. Please help him. Please!

Jesus picked up on that hint of doubt. He echoed to the man, "If you can believe, all things [are] possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23, emphasis added). "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ (v. 24). And Jesus healed the boy and cast out the evil spirit.

Recently, I attended a seminar where the speaker said if there is something in your life you desire, but you are not achieving it—you're wishing, hoping, maybe even praying for it, but you do not realize it—"You need to check your level of commitment."

You see, faith is a choice. Believing in something is an act of the will. It is a decision you must make. What makes decisions waver is a lack of trust. If you trust something will happen, it is pretty easy to decide, but, if you lack confidence or have an inkling that something could happen that would throw a wrench into the desired outcome, that is due to some level of a lack of trust.

One of my mentors, Grant Cardone, said, "Commit first.

Go all in. You have to be 100%. All answers to problems come on the other side of commitment." This statement is true. Suppose you find that you do not realize some desire or goal. You first need to go back and check your commitment. Are you all in? Are you 100%? Or are you like this father, still sitting on the fence of doubt, saying "If.” "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:11). The word "reckon" means “to count it as done.” Consider it done. Here, Paul is saying, “Consider it done. Count yourself to be dead to sin.”

The basic idea here is this: Whatever you are trying to overcome, achieve, reach, or realize in your life, reckon it as done. Consider it done. Consider it fulfilled. And then act, talk, and think that way about it.

The first thing we need to do is commit. Commit first; go all in; consider it done. Then watch the miracles that God works in your life.

By Eric Ollila, Communication/IT/Media Director Alberta Conference