Have you ever thought, “If only?” If only I had ‘this’ so that ‘that’ could be better. Or maybe if only I had some old southern money or a trust fund back east that would make you set for life-- that would be nice. We come to consider that the majority of our “if onlys” are the things that are holding us back from progressing through life. But, as our pastor Kyle Bonenberger interestingly points out that when we think about those things that are holding us back from life we immediately go straight to the circumstances that are in our lives, and rightly so. I find it pretty hard myself to move forward when I have an issue that could use some resolving tugging at my sleeve. Kyle, though, proposes that maybe the things that truly hold us back are immaterial. That what holds us back from the places God wants us to go and the path he has for us are not based on our circumstances what-so-ever. Our pastor suggests that what really holds us back is inside us and we have the ability to find it and change it, for our attitudes hold the key.

“I don’t need Christ!” That is right, stand up and say it proud! If you do not need Christ then that is how you choose to live your life, and precisely the point; YOU chose to abandon God. As Kyle continues his message he says that the absolute number one attitude that will hold you back in life is the neglect of Christ. Saying you do not need God in your life. Kyle tells a story of a one Mr. Knievel who amassed fortune and fame through the acts of being a motorcycle dare-devil. At one point Mr. Knievel had earned up to 65 million dollars and in his self righteousness spent over 67 million. To make a moderately short story shorter, Mr. Knievel was a very vain man who felt he had everything and had no need for Christ in his life. Towards the evening years of his life he realized something was missing. That he had everything he thought he could ever want and need, but there was a hole in his life. Soon, Mr. Knievel found that what he was missing was God. Kyle uses this story to show us that we can have all the material objects to our hearts content, but if you choose to shut God out, you will never feel the completeness and fill the void Christ provides to all of us. You will go throughout life without purpose, meaning, and emptiness as Mr. Knievel realized. In the end we all need to make God the Lord of our lives.

Attitude number two that will hold you back from life: “I don’t need to change!” Otherwise known as transformation. First and foremost you have to be willing to change, pastor Kyle tells us. No one can force you to change. Though, no one is truly willing to change, and inevitably one of the big catalysts for change is hardship. Lets face it, no one likes change and no one likes hardship, but both will continually happen through the events of our lives for good reason. Kyle informs us that the trials and tribulations God puts us through are to allow us to change. If we will not change on our own God has to find a way to get us to there. This is were it seems the circumstances of our lives get in the way of us moving forward through life. That is not the case. God uses our circumstances as a tool to push us through life, to change us, and get us were we need to be. He uses these hardships to bring us, all of us, closer to Him. It kind of reminds me of that old children’s book “The Hungry Caterpillar”. Yeah, you remember that book and you love it. There is not a true hardship in the book that I can remember, but in a technical deeper sense, when the caterpillar turns into a chrysalis-- that kind of sucks. You are not able to move, see, hear or eat for that matter, and it is a huge waste of time. In the end though, that little caterpillar immerges as a beautiful butterfly able to fly as freely as it pleases and drink nectar like nobodies business. All it took was that moment of hardship to get the little guy there. Kyle tells us that it is through obedience that change through hardship can happen. It is the obedience of allowing God to take us through the course we need to be taken through, even if it does not make sense. Trust in God and his bigger picture and sooner or later things will begin to fall in place.

The last attitude that will hold you back through life is thinking, “Bah, it doesn’t matter who I associate with!” Oh, but on the contrary. It is a little bit of a gray area but it does make sense. We are all influenced by one another and have the ebb and pull that can influence all those people around us that we associate with. Therefore, if you find yourself among people who have lower values than what you believe, eventually their beliefs and value system can slowly whittle away at your own. Kyle says from his readings from the bible that the bible does not say to disassociate from those who do not know God, because that would not be in the heart of God. More that maybe your beliefs will rub on to those who do not know Him or refuse to know Him and you will be able change them. That can be true, but Kyle warns us to be careful and keep a wary eye to not compromise the relationship we have established with God.

Now that we have gone over the three attitudes that hold us back, you would figure we would be done here. No my friends, our pastor has an ace in the hole for us all to wrap up his message. He brings to our attention that there could be a deeper reason for why we all might have these attitudes preventing us from God’s will and furthering our lives. Kyle declares it is fear and disbelief. Some of us may be afraid that God is not the God who He says he is. That his plan is not what we want or what we aim for, or that maybe God does not have the best intentions in mind. Regardless, we try to control our own lives and this fear and disbelief. Kyle uses the metaphor of juggling, which fits quite well. We start out juggling one ball, which represents us trying to control one fear, i.e. hurt or abandonment etc. It starts out easy being able to control one, or two, or possibly three fears, but as life continues we may find ourselves confronted with another fear and begin juggling two balls. Before you know it we are juggling too much fear and sooner than later they all come crashing to the floor because you just cannot handle it all. You were unable to manage all your fears. In the end, what Kyle wants to say is that God will get you through the turmoil. You cannot control your fears. That sometimes we should stop thinking about what we want and look at what God wants for us. To lay your hands down and let Him take you where He wants you to go, where you need to go.

God has a greater plan and each and every one of us has a place in it. Sometimes his plan does not make sense. But, it is for the pure and simple fact that he wants all of us to be closer to him. There will be times when God puts an obstacle in your way and you will hate it. Your life may feel like it is at an end and there is no way for you to continue on. It may even happen to you more than it does to others, and it all may seem pretty unfair. You just have to take a step back, take a deep breath and roll with the punches, even if you are afraid. Remember that hardships are the tools He uses to get us to where he wants us to be. God is not in the business of abandoning his children. God will give you a purpose, He will give you meaning, and he will give you fulfillment. The end will justify the means. God wants you in His Kingdom… you just need to check your attitude at the door.