No.
A simple, single word. But one with so much more power than we normally give it credit for. Most will probably remember this iconic scene from the Matrix. Neo stops the bullets in the air after pronouncing a simple “no.”
He didn’t scream it. Didn’t get up angry and fighting crazy (he did just die and is probably tired on some level). He wasn’t fighting with his word choice, and giving a moving speech about what was about to change. He wasn’t trying to impress with incredible fighting moves- this was no longer about his ability, or his intellect, or his energy. The real fight was always and forever about his mind.
The majority of the movie is about whether or not Neo believes he is chosen, important, and special. And far too often, our lives come down to the same thing. Especially in our careers. What we believe is possible for our lives, for our career goals, for God’s ability to use us comes down almost entirely to what we believe about ourselves.
And part of what we have to do is change the way we respond to the lies in our lives. It doesn’t take specific word choice, or special fighting ability, or magical powers. All it takes is a simple but resolved “No”. A sure and sound belief that life is going to be different. Faith not in what we bring to the table. But faith that goes deeper than the surface. A mind-bending, bullet-stopping, fight-finishing resolve to not stay the way we were and bow to the lies we believed yesterday.
What is it that you need to change? What is it in your career that you have been putting off? What is it in your studies that you have failed to address? What is it in your life that you keep falling to again and again, afraid to believe that things could be different?
God never expected us to live in insecurity and fear. In fact, the Bible has hundreds of references commanding us to not be afraid. But the only way we can live like that is when we choose to believe something besides what we can see. Just like Neo finally stepped through his confusion about his identity and chose to believe something he had not yet seen- that he was meant for more than destruction and fear. His faith was not placed in his situation, his faith was placed in his identity. He chose to believe he was important and by doing so changed the way he interacted in the impossible.
Faith is a very simple thing when it’s all said and done. It’s just taking a stand against the way things were and refusing to fall again. “Faith is the substance of the things we hope for (Hebrews 11:1).” It’s not a complicated plan that needs to be mediated on for years. Not something you must earn a degree in order to master. It’s just a simple hope. A hope that grows into a determination, and a determination that changes reality.
Your life does not have to be defined by your fears. You were created to be God’s appointed, chosen one. He made you in his image and gave you His creativity, His wisdom, His direction, and His significance. You do not have to define yourself by your circumstances, however daunting it may be. You only need to focus on who God made you to be.
In fact your business, your classroom, your relationships will be better off for your confidence in who God has made you to be- someone who stands and chooses to say “no”. No more failing to the same problems. No more fear of what God asks of us. No more wishing life was different but not knowing how to change.
No.
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