No Escape Route

Here's another great thought from Steve May:

The story goes that after Julius Caesar and his Roman legions landed on the shores of Britain, he marched his men to the Cliffs of Dover to look at the shores below. From there they could see their ships engulfed in flames, thus ruling out any possibility of retreat. There was nothing left now for the soldiers to do but advance and conquer. And that is what they did.

The problem with escape routes is that they're too often and too easily taken. Their very existence can lull us into giving less than our all to any endeavor.

I used to work with a pastor who often told me, “If you give yourself a way out, you will end up taking it every time. Create no option but to get the job done.”

He wasn't talking about developing a Plan B for success, just in case Plan A doesn't pan out. He was talking about relying on Plan B for failure, just in case the going gets tough. (Because the going always gets tough.)

Almost every day I find myself repeating the words of Paul..."But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

Can you imagine how a "no retreat" attitude can make a difference in your approach to living holy, to serving God in ministry, to leading your family, to loving others?

It's time to throw a match on any possibility of going back to the way things used to be. God is calling us forward, to a life of victory.  - Steve May, Monday Memo, June 25, 2013