Hey guys, this is Troy Black. Today I want to talk about the lie that keeps us from
being faithful. And the lie that I'm talking about is simply this: "I would be
happier if..." And you can fill that in with anything. I mean it's easy for us to
think "I would be happier if, if I had this or if I had more of this, or if I was
over here instead of where I am." Or "I would be happier if I was with this person."
Or "I would be happier if I had this job or this amount of money." Or "I would be
happier if I had a different past." But the problem with thinking that way is
that I believe it is a lie from the enemy, and it is not from God. And the
reason the enemy wants you to think that you would be happier if you had this and to
focus on that is because it'll keep you from fulfilling the calling and the
destiny that God has for you to fulfill. And the reason I believe it can, it can stop
us from fulfilling that purpose that God has called us to fulfill is because God
has called us to be faithful in the little things. We see in scripture that
God expects us to be faithful in the little things before He will put us in charge of
much—or before He will give us much. But if we keep focusing on "I wish I had that" or
"I wish I was there" or "I wish that things would be different and then I would, I
would be happy... and then maybe I would be able to get around to doing whatever it
is that God wants me to do." If we keep focusing on that, then we are actually going to
miss out on the journey that God wants us to be on right now and we are going to
miss out on whatever it is that He has called us to be faithful at right now.
And what is crazy is even if we got that thing that we thought would make us
happy. Even if we got whatever it is that that lie is telling us we need, we still
would not find happiness because happiness in and of itself is temporary.
It is not eternal, but there is something that is stronger than happiness—something that is
more fulfilling, more complete, and it is called joy. And it is something that comes
directly from God. Galatians 5:22 through 23 is pretty well known. It says, "but the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law." The second fruit
of the Spirit is joy, and that is something that we can only obtain—only
get if we're walking in the Spirit—if we are spending time with our Savior. But
when we start listening to that lie that says "this is what would make you
happy..."
What ends up happening is we miss out on the joy that we could be experiencing
right now if we were only walking with Him. And if we were only relying on Him
to help us be faithful where we are. And the crazy thing about trying to go and
get what you want on your own is that God has set up this life in such a way
that, when we are seeking Him first—Jesus said "seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness and all these things will be added unto you"—He set it up in such
a way that when we are seeking Him first, He is going to provide everything that we need.
But we think we need what that lie tells us we need so badly that we are willing to give
up the one thing that could actually give us what we need, and that is the
Father. That's a personal relationship with Him. A verse that I really love is
Psalm 16:11.
It says, "You will make known to me the path of life. In Your presence is
fullness of joy. In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." And another
translation actually talks about the pleasures forever being based on the
fact that we are going to live with God forever, which is amazing. That He says in
Your presence is fullness of joy. All the joy we could ever need, want, or even
experience is in—it is found in God's presence, and we are going to be in His
presence for all eternity if we know Him. So whatever it is that that lie is
telling you to seek, just remember that it is a lie. God's presence is so much
more rewarding in eternity and now than anything else would we could get on this
earth. It is God's job to take us where we need to be. So do not keep thinking
that you need to be somewhere else. It is our job to be faithful where we are right
now.