Time: Limited Thinking versus Possibility Thinking

I was listening to a sermon on one of my drives to work, and I remember having limited thinking in the past.

I remember saying to myself "My mom is gone, how can I move forward". "My brother is 7 years old and we don't have a mom or dad right now. He's crying because he misses our mom who is now with our Heavenly Father. Now how do I console him without crying and breaking down myself." I remember those days like yesterday.

As a kid I had limited thinking that turned into possibility thinking. When my mother went to be with the Lord, I told myself I'm going to make it and look out for my brother as I promised my mother. One day, when he was crying I flipped a switch inside of me and said it's going to be alright, and we are going to get through it.

That was the beginning of possibility thinking for me. That was the beginning of faith for me as well. Since that time in my life every obstacle has been a faith building experiance.

Limited thinking can rob you of recieving all that is meant for you to have. It will not only rob you, but it can also rob the generations after you. I remember being in the military and hearing a couple people saying "I don't want to be promoted" or "I'm not ready to take on that responsibility because I'm too young in my military career." Even outside of the military were thoughts of "this can't happen because it's been done before"; and "it didn't work then; so why try it now."

Now here comes the gift of faith. Faith is different from believing. I can believe that something can be done, and then not have the faith to see it though. I can believe that I can get promoted, but doubt that I can go beyond a certain rank, or beyond a certain level of expertise.

Hebrew 11:1 states "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

It is the act whereby a person lays hold of God's resources, becomes obedient to what He has prescribed; and then putting aside all self interest and self-reliance to trust Him completely. It is an unqualified surrender of the whole of one's being in dependence upon Him. It is wholly trusting and relying upon Him for all things. It is not only a mental submission to the facts and realities of truth, but it also must come from a deep inner conviction. - James 2:19 - 20 also talks about faith and expresses that demon tremble, and they know faith without works is dead. Your "works" start with possibility thinking, and the evil within the world doesn't want you to have it. Why, because possibility thinking opens up the blessings that God has ordained for your life and your purpose.

When you put God 1st and have faith, you automatically start to have possibility thinking. Then possibility thinking starts churning into this "will happen thinking". You will start to be lead by the will of God and new standards will begin to be set for you and your family. You'll be able to get the promotion that was unexpected. You'll save up money to go out and buy a suit because you know that you are going to be in a position to wear it one day. You'll be able to see visions of yourself doing things of your hearts desire. As you pray and keep God 1st (Not in your mind, but in your heart); you will start to move forward into territories that you may have never dreamed of.

When start to see yourself doing the things that God has promised to you... you have to be sure to do your part. Doing your part includes putting in the work to be successful. Doing your part includes sacrificing a little to gain A LOT. And what I mean by a lot is not necessarily material things and money. I'm speaking on some of the things that money can't buy. That's peace,health, love, and time.

If you do YOUR part and keep God 1st; I promise you that God will do the rest to fulfill the promise of an abundant life so that you can be a blessing to bless others.

I'll give you a couple of examples of what I am talking about as I am a living testimony of these words of wisdom.

I pray before every major decision and move when God puts in my heart to move; and I'm "STILL" when he puts in my heart to be still. I believe he speaks to a mans heart as long as he is a faithful spirit filled man of God; and not of the world.

Example 1: I remember while going through nursing school I prayed for timing. I prayed for God to put in my heart when my wife should start nursing school because it seemed impossible to find a "right time" due to constantly moving while in the military. Her dream as a little girl was to be a registered nurse. A year later the heartfelt strong emotions of "now is the time" overpowered me and the vision of her being a nurse was there. She had some limited thinking due to the variables of being separated due to me having to move upon me graduating ( I would graduate with my Bachelor of Science a year before her); but when God says move...you do what; MOVE.

She trusted what the Lord put in my heart and validated it with how she felt internally. Then she started a two year Associate Degree Hospital Program in August 2006, had my oldest daughter during her second year of school during Christmas Break, then came back after the Christmas break and finished second in her class to graduate in May 2008. I was in another state and she was in another state going to school with our other two children for a little over 6 months (I would visit in between) My Aunt and her son came to live with us briefly after the birth of my daughter as well.

The point to that story is we sacrificed a little to gain a lot. It seemed like a lot then, but now looking back it was a little, and God made a lot happen at the right times. 10 years later my wife is now about to receive her Master degree and become an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with a 4.0 GPA; and I'm currently a 20 year Army Retiree with a registered nurse background of Emergency,Trauma, and Critical Care truly "Living the dream",as my Army Brothers and Sisters always say. I'm currently fulfilling the purpose I was called to do as the Emergency Department Director of El Paso Children's Hospital. Possibility thinking and keeping God 1st kept us moving forward.

Example 2: When I was in Afghanistan I was given the opportunity to have a little bit of free time. In my free time I was able to get a suit and shirts made by a gentleman that was a custom tailor from Afghanistan. Yes, they have custom tailors in certain areas. Prior to meeting him I had envisioned that I would be in an administrative position where I would wear suits, nice clothes, and lead people more with my mind than being physically in their presence doing patient care. As I had faith in this vision that God put in my heart, I decided to buy multiple tailor-made suits. One of them blue, one of them black, one of them gray; amongst other types of suits that were fashionable in a professional way. I even had tailor-made shirts made with my exact measurements as well.

Although I was a respected professional officer in the military people chuckled, smiled and made little jokes, and wondered why I bought all those suits. Once I let them know they would smile with a doubtful grin as we would go to the next subject of thoughts to pass time between missions. I'm now in a position to wear those clothes I had made. Trusting God and following his purpose created visions; resulting in possibility thinking which lead to the ability to be blessed to be a blessing.

What I'm saying to you is let that seed take route.

Faith was planted inside of you and me before you were an embryo inside your mothers womb. Always stay encouraged through bad times, and questionable times. I Let what was on the inside manifest to work as envisioned on the outside. Be a blessing and stay encouraged to have possibility thinking. It will benefit you and the generations after you.

God Bless - JD