flyer than angels

hitting the mark -

If sin is best defined as “missing the mark”, then confidence is something that prevents one from missing the mark. If you have full confidence that you are made alive in the Spirit, then that enables you to have the confidence necessary to walk by the Spirit. It is only the fully saved who can be fully sanctified - only the fully alive that can fully rise - God isn’t in the business of trying to sanctify dead bodies! The problem is that many believers don’t really have confidence in the fact that  they have been made new, and made alive in the Spirit of the living God, and therefore to tell them to walk by the Spirit seems like a hard task. We become concerned with not walking by the Spirit, rather than the joy of what it means to walk by the Spirit. We lose confidence in our ability to be both made alive, and to accomplish the walking - we’re more concerned with slipping and falling. And it is the fear of missing the mark that actually prevents us from hitting the mark.

Look at an archer. An archer has a small window that he must hit to get the highest degree of points, the bullseye. And the archer must have full confidence that when they release the arrow, that it will follow the trajectory that it has been put on, to hit its destination precisely on point. However, if the archer loses confidence in his or her ability to hit the mark, do you know what comes next? Anxiety. Fear. Trembling. The archer can no longer concentrate on hitting the mark because he is consumed with the fear of not hitting the mark - and it is that very thing that will cause the archer to move just enough to alter the trajectory of the arrow, causing the arrow to miss the intended destination.

The same principle applies in other sports. So many people compare basketball stars LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, with many saying that Kobe is better than LeBron purely because Kobe has the “killer instinct.” But what people are really referring to is confidence. Kobe and LeBron are both amazing, physical specimens, both with every physical tool that one could ask for to play the game of basketball at a high level, but what separates the two men is the confidence that those abilities will almost always translate to victory. When Kobe has the ball in his hands, there is almost no doubt in his mind that he will accomplish the purpose that he has walked on the court to do. He has full confidence in the abilities that he has been given, as well as his ability to maximize those giftings and talents to put him on a path to victory. LeBron, on the other hand, baffles fans and reporters alike, because while he is the most talented player to step on the court, he often times lacks confidence that his talents and resident giftings will translate to victory. So many times he has walked on the court in timidity, fear, and anxiety - and as a result, his game suffers. Someone who should be dunking on and demoralizing the entire competition is instead being demoralized himself. He has it all inside of him to enjoy victory and success, the question is ‘does he believe it?’

It is the same for the believer in Christ. God has equipped us with all we need for a life of holiness, godliness, and excellence - the question is, ‘do we believe it?’ If we stop and ask any Christian what area they feel the weakest in, they will almost certainly talk about their inability to either be pure, act godly, or live in excellence. We may speak as if we believe God has equipped us, but in our hearts many of us feel as if our cupboards have been left bare. When we step out, do we have confidence that because of the skill set that God has given us, because of the resident gift of the Holy Spirit indwelling within us, that when we are released, like the arrow, we will go along in the trajectory that we were set upon - to the bullseye?

Hebrews 11 says so clearly that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen. But how many of us know that God has already placed the hope in us - Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col 1:24), and the unseen Holy Spirit dwells within each one us? We have everything we need, but for faith to rise up within us, we need to step into the assurance and conviction of it. All we need to hit the mark is dwelling within each one us - but when we lack faith, we lack confidence. It says in the Bible that whatever does not come from faith is sin - and this is because faith is what sets us on the right trajectory to effectively hit the mark. So many believers sin not because they don’t have the ability to persevere or to resist the devil - God has given us the ability, and has set us free from the power of the enemy - but because they do not believe that what is hoped for and unseen actually resides in them! Someone who does not believe that they are a new creation will most certainly not live like one!

The truth of this word is found in Jude 24 - “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy!” This is a revelation that we need as believers - that God is not only the one who sets us free, but in the same way that He gives us life, He also keeps us from falling! It is impossible for you to fail, as a Spirit-filled believer. It is impossible. There is no failure for the believer, and therefore there should be no fear of failure - just confidence in the Spirit. It is our confidence, our faith, that He who began a good work in you will also bring it to completion (Phil 1:6)!