Burning Our Ships -- by Jason Illian

When Captain Hernando Cortes came to the New World in 1519, he and his men were undertaking one of the greatest military challenges in the history of warfare -- to defeat the fierce Aztecs. But before they left the port at Vera Cruz, Cortes did something rather unusual. In an effort to motivate his men to adopt an at-all-cost attitude, he took all his men and supplies off his ships, and then he burned his boats in the harbor. He torched them. He ruined them. He made retreat impossible. With the burning of his boats, he told his men that there was no going back -- the only thing they could do was push forward.

I think many of us need to burn our boats. Instead of embracing the call that God has put on our hearts and adopting an at-all-costs attitude, we often turn tail and run when the job gets too difficult, when our relationships get too rough, when are dreams seem too distance, when our fears get too big, when our friends seem too few, and when the road seems too long. We have little faith that God will do what He said He will do, and our "boats" look awfully comforting. So, we turn and go back to that joyless relationship, that meaningless job, or that temporary relief because it is comfortable and recognizable.

But as long as we keep looking back, we can't march forward. We can't embrace God's best for us as long as we're content with a mediocre life. Today, will you burn your boat and make retreat impossible or will you keep repeating a broken, tired cycle of returning to what is second best? Will you push forward in faith or will you let life's troubles push you back? It's up to you.


PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO A FRIEND IF IT SPOKE TO YOUR HEART!
Luke 9:23
And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.