It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.—Theodore Roosevelt
“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players”—William Shakespeare
What do plays, movies, TV shows, and games have in common? There are the spectators and the players, the watchers and the doers, the ones who sit on the sidelines and the ones fighting.
Sometimes, in our own lives, we end up acting like spectators instead of players. This means that we watch our lives unfold before us, feeling out of control and completely not responsible for what happens during the game, the play, or the plot. This is the safest way to be. There is no risk, no chance of getting hurt, nothing to lose.
At the same time, we end up wondering why the play, plot, or game isn’t going our way. Why aren’t the characters doing what we want? Why isn’t the team making the calls we told them to make? Why isn’t everything happening the way we have hoped and prayed it would?
Perhaps it is because we have accidentally been sitting on the sidelines, asking God to change the game, to change the outcome of the plot, to make some sort of massive impact. While we are asking, God extends His hand, inviting us to become active participants in His game, His plot, His story—to make an impact, to take a risk, to make a move on the things we have been praying about.
God hears your deepest hearts cry, He hears the prayers for change and for something better. He hears you. He wants to give you the desires of your heart, but He also wants a relationship, a partnership. He wants to make the change together.
God wants to partner with humanity to do great things on this earth, things that ripple through eternity. Sometimes, we end up sitting on the sidelines begging God to do something. In His kindness, He reaches out a hand and asks us to participate—to step onto the field to gain something great.
It is time to step onto the stage, to get off the bench, to walk boldly into your own story. It is time to fight, to show up, to get a little messy, and to risk something great for something greater. It is time to join the team, to partner with Christ, to fight for our own plots, our own plays, our own games. To become conquerors.
Blessing,
The Witheos Team
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