Core Scripture: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Message: (This is a continuation of last weeks blog entitled “Filtering Out the Lies.”)
I pulled into Pretty Bird around 5:10 am this morning. Why is this F3 site named Pretty Bird? After Dumb and Dumber of course! The large Falcon on the football field is indeed a pretty bird, and … how about we just let the video explain …
I digress … back to the parking lot.
So, there I am, rehearsing my speech for the Circle of Trust. It was perfect. Right around 3-4 minutes. This was my VQ (virgin Q) debut to co-lead the F3 workout at Pretty Bird alongside my good friend Morgan Freeman.
He trotted up to meet me and began going over the workout he created. It was printed out, front and back, down to the last detail. I was slightly intimidated. I recognized some of the lingo, but what the heck was a Bonnie Blair? And a Raise the Roof? I had all my questions written down already, and Morgan Freeman patiently answered them all.
Time was ticking. It was now 5:26 am. Four minutes until go time. We wandered over to a group of men already circled up, stretching and chatting. Oh, and farting. Huckleberry must have had something odd for breakfast. But in a group of men, there is an unwritten law that farting and burping is actually encouraged.
Wouldn’t you know it. Those lies began to multiply in my head. Like Gremlins. One on top of the other …
You can’t lead this! This is a Morgan Freeman workout. Not a Hooked on Phonics workout. Step back. Give him the reigns. He leads so much better than you anyways. And by the way, your overweight, out of shape, pathetic body is going to soon be rocked. Time to start modifying, fatty. You will never be able to keep up with these guys. Especially the ones that come more than once a week like you.
Somewhat odd that a caring, encouraging guy like me still gets these voices that make him feel inadequate.
I shut the voices out. You will always have those doubts clouding your mind, but it is your choice on whether or not you believe them. It was now 5:30 am. Game time.
“Gentlemen!” I shouted. “It is now 5:30 am, and I am your Co-Q this morning, Hooked on Phonics!”
Huckleberry was still chatting it up with Meatball.
“Stop the side conversations, please! Huckleberry, come on, man. Work with me here!”
He chuckled and let me have the floor. I was already in my zone and forged on.
“I am not a professional. I have no clue about any injuries you have, so please modify as needed. My good friend Morgan Freeman is going to begin leading us through the stretches.”
The baton was passed, and Morgan Freeman did not disappoint. The guy has Q’ed at countless F3 workouts, and he knew all the lingo. Whatever he did, I followed. It was genius. He led five reps, then I led five reps. All the different phrases were so new to me.
“On my down” … “in cadence” … and the counting … it had to be right! What if I screwed it up? I answered my own question. Well, if I screwed up, who cares? I was a toddler learning how to walk. Things were about to get a little wobbly. And I was okay with that!
Was it awkward? Yeah. Did I get all the words right? Heck no. But did I give it my best effort and begin to learn from my mistakes? Well, sure!
Morgan Freeman smoked us. Bear crawls. Burpees. You name it. In the chill of the morning air, we powered through his workout as a team. Rug Burn shouted encouragement to the guys. Morgan Freeman helped more with the lingo. And yes, Huckleberry continued farting. Especially on his bear crawls. With each crawl to be exact.
It was odd. Most guys would be asleep now, but there was no other place I’d rather be. When you finish a 45-minute workout at 6:15 am, there is a sense of accomplishment. You help your brothers through it. Just like F3 says, leave no man behind but leave no man where you found him.
I grew as a leader this morning. I learned a lot of jargon that was as foreign as Djibouti. (How many of you even knew how to spell Djibouti before I just spelled it there? I had to look it up myself.) We did the F3 name-o-rama, something I was much more accustomed to, and beneath the early glow of sunrise, I captured our crew.
My moment finally came. That time to encourage. Motivate. Speak truth! It was time for the Circle of Trust, and I can honestly say there was no doubt in my mind that this would go off well. The good Lord turned the little 2nd grade boy who was too shy to order a candy bar from the snack counter at the pool into a speaker.
Imagine that.
It was time to bring it home. I asked Morgan Freeman to film.
Wonderful cinematography. He deserves an Oscar for creativity. That whole sideways view is going to take off and be replicated everywhere. I can feel it!
Fist bumps all around. It is the unofficial F3 handshake. That wasn’t enough for Rug Burn though. He embraced me in a bro hug. But to be there alongside my crew … Vana, Venus, Runner Up, Sinker, Meatball, Slim Tim, Full Moon, and all the others … it was perfect. Sharing that moment with them was beyond special.
I am curious though … What about you? What fears are holding you back from trying something new? Do you fear failure like I do? How do you extinguish fear that holds you back? Or are you just content where you are at, too comfortable and too lazy to try something new that might change your life for the better?
Pusher, thanks for pushing me last week. You too, Sinker. And Morgan Freeman, I couldn’t have done it without you. The encouragement from everyone was astounding.
God’s Word is the true antidote for fear. Too many scriptures come to mind. As a matter of fact, it tells us 365 times in the Bible to NOT FEAR. One for every stinkin’ day of the year! My personal favorite scripture to conquer fear, however, is my life verse.
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)
It was not by my own works or power that I conquered my first VQ this morning. When you try to tackle this life solo, you will essentially fall short. Always. It is only through the power of my Lord, Jesus Christ, that miracles happen.
Challenge: What fear is holding you back? What lies are plaguing your mind? Write them down, and then find a scripture that provides God’s answer. For example, the lie might be that I am overweight. That can be disintegrated through Ephesians 2:10 where God calls me His masterpiece.
Bible study: Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, but Joshua officially led them into Caanan. Read Joshua 1:1-9 and journal about or discuss the following questions.
- Moses was a legend. How do you think Joshua felt taking over his job?
- Why do you think God repeats himself, telling Moses not to fear and to be strong and courageous?
- Does God hold the same promise to you, or is this solely for Joshua?
- Where is God pushing you to try something new?
- What are you going to do about that?
Song application: “No Fear” by Jon Reddick
I got enemies at every side
It ain’t lookin’ good, I ain’t gonna lie
Arrows flyin’, devil’s tryin’
To make me think I’m goin’ down this time
You might think that I’d be afraid
Runnin’ scared with a shaken faith
But the God I know says it ain’t over
The God I know is gonna make a way
Yea, though I walk through the valley
I will have
No fear (No fear)
No fear (No fear)
The mighty power of Jesus is fighting for me here
No fear (No fear)
No fear (No fear)
The light of the world makes the darkness disappear
Just for fun: I love Meatball. He led our F3 Q Source meeting this morning at Hy-Vee and successfully used the word nebulous twice during discussion. I—a former Language Arts teacher, mind you—have no clue what that word even means! Meatball defined the word for us, and as Q Source came to a close, Flowbee piped up, “That was totally nebulous.”
Prayer: Oh, nebulous God (did I even use that right???), thank you for reminding us we have NOTHING to fear! It is only through You and Your awesome power that we can overcome it. Amen.
The Teacher's Devotional 
Leave a comment