The 4 Stages of Stuck Designed to Steal Your Dreams

The Trouble with Trouble!

No matter who you are, you are in one of three life stages:

1. In a crisis
2. Coming out of a crisis
3. Or, unbeknownst to you, heading straight into a crisis

You see, trouble is no respecter of persons. It cometh. And that my friend is the trouble with trouble, it's inevitable. It's coming for you. I'm not being negative, it's just a fact.

Now let me share some truth from the Word, the Good News!

Psalm 34:19  (NIV) - The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

Some of you might be thinking, "Yea but Gerald, I have sin in my life, how can I be righteous?"

My friend, if you are a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, you are in right-standing with God. Every past, present, AND future sin is already forgiven. You can't get any cleaner, or more righteous than you already are. Say this, "I am the righteousness of God, in Jesus Christ." You see, Jesus isn't going to come back and die on the cross all over for you again. It's already done. Finished.

Where in the world did I get that idea? From the Word of God, that's where I got it. But if you'd like another opinion, just google it and I'm sure some modern-day pharisee (legalistic pastor) will be willing to keep you in condemnation, which incidentally is satan's job.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMP) - He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].

(also check out Psalm 32:1-2)

OK, stay with me, I'm heading somewhere! Now let's look at three more scriptures before we get into the main topic.

1 Peter 5:8 (AMP) - Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.

Ephesians 6:12 (AMP) - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.

John 10:10 (AMP) - The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

These three scriptures tell us who's behind the trouble, but more importantly, why Jesus came. It says in John 10:10 that Jesus came so you and I could have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance, till it overflows. Never, never forget that!

My point is that no matter what trouble heads our way, no matter what we suffer, God is willing to deliver us. Most of the time while we are on earth, but sometimes His answer comes in heaven. (BTW - no one in heaven wants to leave!) God's answer to ALL of His 6000 plus promises is YES! (see 2 Corinthians 1:20)

Now, on to The 4 Stages of Stuck Designed to Steal Your Dreams:

Deep inside every one of us is a God-planted purpose. Remember when we were young? Boy, how we could dream. Anything and everything was possible. We could become the President of the United States, a superhero, a mogul, a celebrity, or a professional sports star. There were no barriers and nothing was off-limits; if we could dream it, we could do it!

But something happened to you along the way, you've experienced some trouble designed to sideline you, to rob you of your God-planted purpose. Over the past three decades, I have met thousands of people who have shared their stories with me. All are dreamchasers:

1. Startup Founders
2. Small Business CEOs
3. Marketplace professionals pursuing their dreams

All were in some stage of STUCK. Some didn't even know it!

My God-planted purpose is to help them (you!) become unstuck. If that's you, there's a good chance that you've become stuck in one of these four traps.

Here's how the stuck self-identify as:

1. The Set-Back: Those who have been set back have risked much to experience success only to encounter great loss. In other words, things went suddenly wrong for you (hence the setback). Perhaps you have lost your business or job, your marriage has failed, or a loved one has died. Whatever happened, you have experienced a great crisis that has shaken you to the core. What now?

Many of us have chased our dreams only to face great disappointment. We might have tasted what we thought was success (lifestyle, marriage, businesses, careers, great health, relationships, and children) only to watch it all slip away. Perhaps life’s unfair circumstances or poor personal decisions just happened. Life can be full of setbacks and delays that feel like denials.

If this is you, then you have spent much time looking in your rearview mirror, asking “What happened?” We tend to look toward the past to attempt to get back the “good ole’ days.” Oh, if I could only go back. The problem is this type of thinking keeps us from moving forward with our lives. Anyone who has risked pursuing their dreams has faced and felt disappointment, setbacks, and delays. Many wounded warriors have just given up and surrendered their dreams to the battlefield because the wounds are too deep and life hurts too much. When you talk to these people, you can see the ugly scars of hurt and disappointment.

2. The Serial Loser: You have risked, yet you have never experienced success. You live life struggling without ever having experienced the win. You are sick and tired of being sick and tired. You’ve never met that special person or experienced that wonderful career. You’ve never had anything worthwhile to lose. Someplace between your dream and your destiny … YOU GOT STUCK! There is nothing to even look back at. Life hurts.

3. The Realist: You have never risked. You played it safe. You never chased a dream. You never chased anything. You let everything getaway. That special person, the career, the business, or the idea you could have had, you allowed your circumstances to determine your future. You were, after all, just being realistic. You just never had the courage to attempt anything great in your life. You played it safe. Your pain is different, the pain of not attempting to become the person you thought you might be.

4. The Successful: You have taken calculated risks and managed life well. You have sacrificed much to achieve your goals. You are successful, and yet you feel empty. You had a great plan; it just wasn’t His plan, so you lack purpose. It’s easy to get so caught up in all of your success that you ignore that feeling of emptiness and lack of purpose. You might have tried to fill this emptiness with “stuff,” but God has a way of allowing hardship into our lives to draw us closer to Him. All too often “success” people feel they are self-made, and unfortunately often worship their creator – themselves! “Success” people who haven’t yet experienced a great loss lack a weathered grain, a beautiful patina polished by overcoming life’s challenges. Like a freshly crafted table, they need finishing and the finisher of their faith is about to step into the picture.

The truth is, WE ALL have an inner desire for a greater purpose in our lives. Something meaningful. Something that matters. God created winners, not losers. We can all win by successfully living God’s plan and purpose for our lives.

Despite your past or present season, God has created you and me on purpose … with a purpose. You may have allowed your perception of what’s possible to shrink, and as a result, many of your dreams have remained buried under a mountain of caution, doubt, and fear. The big dream now seems too risky and unrealistic. How would you even begin? After all, your thoughts are of an earlier time, the foolishness of fantasy, perhaps the same type of fantasy as winning the lotto. You might hope or dream, but you don’t believe.

My mission is to help you resurrect God’s purpose and plan for your life, not your plan. So who am I? First and foremost, I am a child of God, just like you. Aside from being a husband and a dad, I’m a business guy. A serial entrepreneur. A CEO. For the past 36 years, I’ve been in the trenches, helping people like you reach their goals.

Ask yourself this question: what would you set out to accomplish if you had all the resources and knew you COULD NOT fail?

If you believe God actually exists, there’s also a good chance you believe God created every human being as part of His plan … WITH a specific plan and purpose for each one.

Most believers will agree that God has a plan and purpose for each one of us, yet when asked what their specific plan and purpose is, regrettably … they can’t tell you.

That’s because most people struggle to define what will make them happy -- the American dream, the ideal career, a relationship, a certain house, a car, a specific level of income, or lifestyle. We all want to know “What will make me happy, and how will I know when I get there?”

When life has not worked out the way we imagined, it’s natural to ask, “Why am I on the planet? Is this all there is? There must be more, right?”

So what if God actually has a plan and purpose for your life? Wouldn’t you want to know what it is?

The truth is, God will begin to meet the desires of your heart as you pursue His plan and purpose. Closely examine these three truths that will change your life forever:

Truth #1 – God has a master plan and purpose for your life.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Truth #2 – God will reveal His plan (for you) to you.

Psalm 16:11 (NIV) – You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Truth #3 – No person or thing can stop His plan for you … Except You!

Psalm 33:11 (NIV) – But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.

Whether you are a believer, an unbeliever, churched, de-churched, or un-churched, God stands ready to prove to you that He exists, that He loves you, that He has a plan and purpose for your life, and that His plan will completely fulfill you. Furthermore, no person, event, or circumstance can stop you from fulfilling His plan, except you, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE not to identify it, pursue it, and fulfill it.

God does not promise us life on easy street, however. Life with or without God will have many struggles. Trust me on this one. I’ve been around the block a few times and life hasn’t been easy. Growing up was hard. I was raised in a home with an alcoholic dad. Life was messy. A constant embarrassment. Dad came home drunk most nights. There was always tension until he got home because we knew he’d be driving home drunk. He was a big tough truck driver, and sometimes he drove the eighteen-wheeler home. So we worried. Then when he came barging through our front door, drunk as a skunk, first we were always relieved that he made it, and then the evening’s fireworks began. Life wasn’t easy. But we all have our stories, right?

If you knew that God, who created not only you but this entire world, was offering to help you, would you let Him? God desires a relationship with you that will become stronger through your struggles.

So will you accept God’s purpose and master plan for your life? Two scriptures on HisPlan + Your Dreams + Your Prayers. These are powerful. Read them. Envision them alive in your life. See if you can connect the dots.

Ephesians 3:20  (AMP) - Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us.

1 John 5:14-15 (AMP) - This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.

Do you see it? His Plan and Purpose. This is the God-planted dream inside you. His plan is to prosper you!

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 All you have to do is embrace God's plan and purpose for your life. He's already designed you to win. This is how you get unstuck!

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3. (OK, it's not so easy-peasy)

1. Join God's family of believers, embrace His 6000 plus promises for you.
   
   
2. Embrace your God-planted purpose ... doing something that matters, what you were designed to do. 
   
   
3. Go after your God-planted dreams.

For a lot of you, that's partnering with God in the marketplace, where you will spend over 100,000 hours of your life working. Many of you have a dream to launch or grow a business. Just admit you're stuck and ask God to help you. You can get unstuck embracing God's plan and purpose for your life.

You are not reading this by accident. Your future is Right Now!

-Gerald 

If you need help with this, check out my book HisPlan MyPlan. You can buy it on Amazon.