Thoughts
that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking
Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to
the audio file.
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“Have to” can close the door for us to see God’s Hand in our lives. “Get to” opens that door, especially as we exercise our power of thankfulness particularly in bad situations."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 184.
It's so interesting how humans tend to rebel against those things in life that come at us with the words "have to". Tell a child that they "have to" do something and there's a pretty fair chance they will do all in their power to make the opposite happened.
"Have to" speaks of obligation and makes our soul believe that we have no choice. When faced with the possibility of no choice I believe we want to react negatively because we have been designed to live in freedom. I'm not talking about freedom that comes from man. No, the freedom I'm speaking of is a freedom that was placed inside of each and every one of us by god himself. That freedom isn't limited to a particular country, political system, or way of life. It is something that all humans instinctively know and do all they can to rebel against the bondage of things exemplified when "have to" living is a possibility.
Victim thinking is a realistic option when we allow the words "have to" to be a part of the tasks we face each day. Of course there are obligations that we all have as we live the life we been given. But, why negatively empower those obligations with the soul crushing words "have to"?
"Get to" on the other hand speaks of opportunity. The soul hates obligation and loves opportunity. Why? Because obligation tends to limit our freedom whereas opportunity can be the beginning of freedom filled endeavors in our life.
What I'm presenting here is more than a semantics issue. "Have to" prepares our soul to do battle against the potential for lack of freedom. "Get to" releases our soul into the power of making as much freedom as possible available in our lives. That's why "have to" closes the door to being able to see god's hand in our life whereas "get to" opens that door so that we can better see the goodness of god, particularly when we apply the strategy of thanksgiving in our lives.
Here's what the bible says about the power of thanksgiving.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
Two "commands" can be seen in this verse. The first one is live in peace. The second is be thankful. The power in thanksgiving is that we have the opportunity to live in peace. I believe the words "have two" make it so that obligation destroys our ability to be thankful and therefore peace is so hard to maintain. No wonder the soul get so riled up at the prospect of the words " have to". The soul longs for peace!
Even the most abominable task takes on a different meaning when a "get to" perspective is used to describe that task. It is almost as though we're giving the soul permission to be thankful for even the challenging things that come into our lives. It isn't as though we're lying to ourselves by being thankful for challenging times. It is because the of the fact that the goodness of god can be seen and experienced even when badness happens to us that enables us to be thankful and praise him.
You have a chance today to make peace be a motivating factor in empowering your soul to have an impact in this world. The next time you recognize your use of the words "have to" why not stop and look at that situation and find something to be thankful for. Do this every time you hear yourself saying "have to" and see what happens when you unleash the power of the soul through thanksgiving to bring peace into your life. Let peace be what guards your heart, empowers your soul, and makes a difference in your ability to live the life of victor today.
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“Have to” can close the door for us to see God’s Hand in our lives. “Get to” opens that door, especially as we exercise our power of thankfulness particularly in bad situations."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 184.
It's so interesting how humans tend to rebel against those things in life that come at us with the words "have to". Tell a child that they "have to" do something and there's a pretty fair chance they will do all in their power to make the opposite happened.
"Have to" speaks of obligation and makes our soul believe that we have no choice. When faced with the possibility of no choice I believe we want to react negatively because we have been designed to live in freedom. I'm not talking about freedom that comes from man. No, the freedom I'm speaking of is a freedom that was placed inside of each and every one of us by god himself. That freedom isn't limited to a particular country, political system, or way of life. It is something that all humans instinctively know and do all they can to rebel against the bondage of things exemplified when "have to" living is a possibility.
Victim thinking is a realistic option when we allow the words "have to" to be a part of the tasks we face each day. Of course there are obligations that we all have as we live the life we been given. But, why negatively empower those obligations with the soul crushing words "have to"?
"Get to" on the other hand speaks of opportunity. The soul hates obligation and loves opportunity. Why? Because obligation tends to limit our freedom whereas opportunity can be the beginning of freedom filled endeavors in our life.
What I'm presenting here is more than a semantics issue. "Have to" prepares our soul to do battle against the potential for lack of freedom. "Get to" releases our soul into the power of making as much freedom as possible available in our lives. That's why "have to" closes the door to being able to see god's hand in our life whereas "get to" opens that door so that we can better see the goodness of god, particularly when we apply the strategy of thanksgiving in our lives.
Here's what the bible says about the power of thanksgiving.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
Two "commands" can be seen in this verse. The first one is live in peace. The second is be thankful. The power in thanksgiving is that we have the opportunity to live in peace. I believe the words "have two" make it so that obligation destroys our ability to be thankful and therefore peace is so hard to maintain. No wonder the soul get so riled up at the prospect of the words " have to". The soul longs for peace!
Even the most abominable task takes on a different meaning when a "get to" perspective is used to describe that task. It is almost as though we're giving the soul permission to be thankful for even the challenging things that come into our lives. It isn't as though we're lying to ourselves by being thankful for challenging times. It is because the of the fact that the goodness of god can be seen and experienced even when badness happens to us that enables us to be thankful and praise him.
You have a chance today to make peace be a motivating factor in empowering your soul to have an impact in this world. The next time you recognize your use of the words "have to" why not stop and look at that situation and find something to be thankful for. Do this every time you hear yourself saying "have to" and see what happens when you unleash the power of the soul through thanksgiving to bring peace into your life. Let peace be what guards your heart, empowers your soul, and makes a difference in your ability to live the life of victor today.
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