You Should Drive Backwards

Foreign. So this one day I put the kids in the car and we were gonna go to the pool and threw them all in this huge 15 passenger van, right? Pulled back out of the driveway and I decided I'm just gonna do things a little different today. So I drove to the pool backwards. And the kids are laughing and some of them are freaking out and I'm laughing, no one's on the road. And. And we drove all the way through the neighborhood to the pool backwards. And they still remember that. I remember that. And it was so funny. It was weird, it was fun, but it got us to our destination. And what I wanna share with you today is sometimes to get to your destination, to really get what you want, you're gonna have to do it backwards. You're gonna have to do it in a counterintuitive way. Sometimes what you're doing to get to where you wanna go is helping you get there. It's actually slowing down your progress. So we're just going to have a little process of learning how to get what you want. How to really get what you want faster, easier by doing this thing backwards. Because if you think about it, all of God's ways are inside out. And if we're going to talk about achievement, success, you know, reaching your goal, whether it's you want to lose that weight or you want to get your marriage on track, or you know, you want to hit that money mark, how much you want in your savings account, how much you want to make a month, all of that achievement has to happen out of what you really believe. Now this is what I do. This is why I'm always combining the brain with the Bible, right? Because it makes the journey so much better. And it also, we get results faster and easier. So the first thing we got to understand about this is all of God's ways are inside out. They're all counterintuitive. We have this way that we think will work, but God has a way that works better. And if we just trust this way and work with this way, and first off, we got to know this way when we, when we implement just feels like it flows. It feels like you're not struggling so hard and like it's almost like you subconsciously are reaching those goals. It's like you have it on autopilot. And so this idea I want to share with you. Isaiah 55 is verses 8 through 11 and it says this. My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so Are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts? For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void without producing any effect. Useless. But it shall accomplish that which I please in purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Now, the goals that you have in your life, these are these things that you want to achieve, right? That you want to accomplish. And if you look at that last verse, that's what God's talking about. Like, when my word gets in you to come out of you and produce all those things that I promised. Like he promised us an abundant life. He promised us blessing going out, blessing going in. Our storehouses are blessed. Our pantry, our marriage, our children. We're protected, we're covered. All of these blessings, those things we want to achieve and see happen in our lives, it's based upon getting that word in you and then putting the word to work so that you achieve it. So that's why he's talking about these. These accomplishments, those things that. That in the way I want to prosper you, like, he wants to bless you, but we have to abide by his ways. And sometimes we can't think our way out of a trash basket. Like, sometimes our best ideas are like, okay, I know this is gonna work for me. It's gonna be great. We try it, and it doesn't quite get the results we want. And then we get frustrated, we give up. And that's the last thing I'm going to let you do. You're not going to give up. You're not going to give up on yourself. You're not going to give up on your dreams. You're not giving up on your family or your body or your marriage. We're here to make things work. But if we're going to make things work, we're going to have to do things in a way that doesn't always make sense to our human brain. This is why he says that my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. So here's the deal. When you're trying to get to your accomplishment, to reach the miracle, to have the breakthrough, to get the results, it's not about working harder. It's about working higher. Exactly what it says here in Isaiah 55. It's about working higher. And working higher means we don't always do things in the direction where our natural brain wants to go. We have to stop. We have to look in his Word and we have to wonder, wait a minute, what if I'm doing something that's actually holding me back? What if I'm actually, in trying to accomplish this thing and trying to get to the destination, I'm actually slowing down my old process. So that's what we have to realize, is that God's ways are inside out. They're counterintuitive, they're backwards. Like, if you want to get more, then you got to learn how to give. If you want to be exalted, then you got to be humbled like this. If you want to be the master, then you got to be the servant. Like, everything in God's kingdom is inside out. According to our natural brain, it's actually right side up. But according to our natural brain, it's inside out. But we're supernatural beings, right? If you are, if you're a believer, if you're a kingdom person, you are a. I mean, we're all supernatural beings, right? But we're living out this earthly existence. That's why we are in the world, but not of the world. So knowing your natural place, who you are, how you're wired, is of God. Then wouldn't it make sense to do things that are in line with the way he wants you to do them? Now, before you can do it, you have to think it. Because every action comes out of a belief. Every behavior comes out of a belief, right? First we hold a belief, then it, like, gets in our body and we feel something. It becomes our biology. And then after that, we do something, we get a result, it becomes our behavior. So we, we have to understand, can we harness this and put it to work? And the first way we do this. Now, this is going to sound super weird, okay? The best way to get to what you want is to not want it. Now, listen to me. The very best way to get to what you want is to not want it. Now, what I mean by that, like, some people will be like, you got to want it more than you want the next breath you take. And you got to go after it and hustle and grind. That's. That's awesome for a certain group of people. I will not live that way. I will not live with the pressure and the anxiety and the exertion and the stress that goes along with the urgency behind that. I don't think that's how God wants us to show up in this world. God wants us to be high achievers 100%. Don't sit around on your sofa clicking through Netflix and think, yes, this is. This is honoring God. No, it's not. You have an incredible purpose here. You have a dream inside of. Of you. God poured so much power and authority in you. To not just lounge around, do nothing is to come out of you, to change the world. So how do we do that? We don't have to hustle and grind. We don't have to create urgency and desperation. Because that energy, that desperate energy, I'm telling you, could be the very thing that is causing the process to take forever. The best way to get what you want is to not want it. And I mean to detach yourself from that urgency that I must have it. When you operate in that urgency, it's showing up as scarcity in your life. It's showing up as, I don't have enough. And what does that do? It drives whatever you desire away from you. It's like. It's like this endless chase. The closer you get to it, the further away it gets. It's this endless pursuit. That's why usually the most attractive person in high school, right, is that guy or gal who really is not tied down by anyone. They're like, they can take you, leave you, it doesn't matter. They're not, like, playing hard to get. They're just like, I don't need you. I am fully enough as I am. You may need me, but I don't need you. That's usually the most attractive energy. So how do we attract this accomplishment, this achievement that. That we can have in life? How do. How do we create that dream? How do we manifest that vision that we have? Is the first thing is we don't want it. We don't operate with scarcity. Oh, I need to have this or I'm not enough. We're already enough, so we're just gonna flip this upside down. Okay. I wanna show you something. This is in Psalm 84, and it says, for the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord bestows present grace and fav. Future glory and honor, splendor and heavenly bliss. Doesn't that sound like a good life? Heavenly bliss. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed, happy, fortunate to be envied is the man who trusts in you, leaning and believing on you and committing all, and confidently looking to you and without fear or misgiving. So that. Psalm 84, verses 11 and 12. Now, this is what I want to share with you about that. It says here that no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. To walk uprightly means I know who I am. I know whose I am. I know I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I'm grounded in this place where I am enough. That's walking uprightly. We're not desperately seeking, we're not bowing down to anything out there because we're already seated right there next to God Almighty. So we don't need anything out there. Right? We merely soak in that sufficiency that can only come in the presence of God Almighty. And when you are soaked in that sufficiency, when you are just so aware of his presence inside you, when you understand who you are and who lives in you, it is 100% impossible to want anything because you're already enough. So this is what I mean. Like, the best way to get what you want is to not want it. You're detached from it. I don't need it. So let's say it's a million dollars. Let's say you want a million dollars. The best way to get to that is to not need a million dollars to know I'm already wealthy, I'm already rich, I'm already more than sufficient. I've got access to inexhaustible treasures in heaven. And my God loves me and, and God is my source. Like, imagine that energy that is the most attractive energy. If you want, like this, this husband or this wife. Like, if you want your spouse to be loving and respectful and to be the best help and the most wonderful companion and to be fun and exciting to be with and to just make life such a joy. Then stop needing them for joy. Stop needing that person to fill up what you feel is missing in your life. You be the joy, you be sufficient, you be exciting, you be on the journey. And then that amazing energy that you exhibit actually is this magnetic force that pulls this partner in. So it's the most counterintuitive way, but it is so powerful. Just try this out and see. The best way to get what you want is detach. I don't need it. I'm good. But we also have to understand God's ways. I think this trips up a lot of people, is we don't really understand how God works or the desires of his heart. Like, we get a little snippet of a Bible verse we'll find like something on. On Instagram or something. Say, okay, that's my Verse for the day and. And I'm gonna, you know, meditate on that. That's good, but it's not deep. And we've got to really understand God. So I want to share with you something. This is Second Corinthians 9, 8. It says, God is able to make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing come to you in abundance so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be. Can you just, like, camp out of that for a minute? Whatever the need be. Whatever the need. Whatever the need. Think about all the categories I talked about earlier. Your marriage, your money, your body, your relationships, like, your business. What. Whatever the need doesn't matter. It's not category specific. Whatever the need be self sufficient, possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation. So we have access to God. We have to understand God. He is our source and he is more than enough, and he is inexhaustible. And there's no way you can mine all the treasure that exists in that. That realm, that heavenly realm. You can't. It's enough for you to have a successful life plus a million times more. So we can't mind that. It's just too much. So think about that. Whatever the need, you can be self sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. You don't require any aid, you don't need any support. You don't need any. Anything outside of Him. So when you have this clear understanding, what. What if? Here's this crazy thing. What if what I'm seeking is just right there in my relationship with God? Because I'm telling you it is. I don't care what it is that you're seeking that you think right now that you need. Think of something right now that you need. Do you have a financial need? Do you have a need for your. For your family? Do one of your kids. Does one of your kids have a need? Does your spouse have a need? Is there a physical need that's present? Do you need healing? What is it? Whatever the need, it's not out there somewhere so you can, like, chase after it, but it's actually already in you. Because God dwells in you. So we have to understand what we have. Access to this source. It's already available in you. It's nestled there. It's like you're looking for something. You already have every need. It's like, well, why. Why is it still a need, Hannah? Why am I still struggling with. With this disease? Why am I still. Why are we still financially struggling. Why, why do we. Why is my kid still having a hard time with this? Why is this still going on? I really believe that when you soak in the presence of God, everything is there. And yeah, maybe, maybe the answer is there. Well, I know the answer is there. Maybe the answer you're looking for is there. But also maybe the answer to get you eventually to what you're really looking for is there. So sometimes it's not like, God, I need, I need $10,000 and he plants you $10,000. Sometimes it's like, God, I thank you that I already have access to everything. I need everything. And I know whether it's $10,000 or $10,000,000, I know it's in that relationship with you because I know everything's in you. So the more I know you, the more I can lean into you, the more I can rest in that sufficiency and know it's taken care of. I don't even need to hold that need currently and let it motivate my thinking or motivate my behavior. I. I know it's in you. So let me ask you this. What do you think it would look like if we could operate in complete sufficiency? Like it? I know that's like maybe an elusive concept to you. Like, what would it look like to just wake up, we're enough. Go through the day, we're enough. Lay down when we go to bed at night, and we're enough, right? Instead of like having those, oh, what did I do today? Or I didn't do enough, or whatever. What would it look like if we just operate in 100% sufficiency? Proverbs 11, 24, 25. It says this. There are those who generously scatter abroad and yet increase more. There are those who withhold more than is fitting in what is justly due, but it results only in want. The liberal person shall be enriched and he who waters shall himself be watered. This is backwards. So think about it. You think, if I don't have enough, let me cling on to what I have, because this is my last source, right? But this here, if you truly believe that God is who he says he is, and he's faithful and his word is true, then we have to understand this has to be true. Then it says, there are those who generously scatter, but they increase more. And then there are those who hold on tight, but it results only in want, which is backwards. It's like getting in that big old 15 passenger van going backwards. We have got to do Things backwards. So here's the cool thing. What it would look like to operate at 100% sufficiency is to be a generous person. If you have enough, then you have enough to give. As said earlier in, in Second Corinthians, for charitable donation, like we have, we are furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation. So if we know that God wants to pour it through me, then we are generous people. We only hold on tight. Listen to me. We only hold on tight when we're afraid we don't have enough. And when we're afraid, we don't have enough. That is a sign that we are operating in scarcity, in lack. We are already enough. So if you know you're already enough, then what it looks like is you show up generous, you're a giver, you scatter abroad. You don't doubt or second guess or have to go through all the drama around it. You're just a giver because you have more than enough. So how do you actually do this thing? How do you. How do you actually go backwards? How do you get what you want? The first thing, because I love to give you practical steps on how to do this. And that first thing would be to unplug from problem solving. Friend, we spend way too much time trying to figure things out. Unplug from problem solving. Because most of the time when you're trying to problem solve, you are trying to solve a problem with the same brain that created the problem. Do you see that? Therein lies the problem. The same brain, same brain that got you into trouble is going to get you out of trouble? No, probably not. So our brain is designed to problem solve. Our brain is designed to keep you, keep us safe. Not successful. Your brain is not designed for your success. Your brain is designed for your safety. So our brain is always looking at what are the potential dangers, what could go wrong. I need to be scared. I need to be afraid. I need to be protective, right? I need to be careful. But what happens is that when that kicks in, when you're safe, I call it the cave brain. When your cave brain kicks in, you cannot be creative because you're operating in fear. You're operating in scarcity. So now you kind of like, you're stuck in your same perspective. You have a want perspective, you have a scarce perspective, and you're stuck in that perspective. And now you try to solve a problem and it just sends you on this mental vortex going around and around and around and around, and you get nowhere. You sit down with paper and pen and try to solve a problem with no creative input. And the scared brain does not have creative juices flowing. It is a dry, shrivel, shriveled up desert. That's what the safe brain is. There's no creative juices flowing. So with that kind of brain, if you're scared and you sit down and you try to work out a problem, you will not get a solution. You'll just get more fear. So the first thing we have to do is we have to unplug from problem solving. Proverbs 16:25 says, There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him. But at the end of it is the way of death. And not just like we're all going to die, right? But I'm talking about death of your dreams, death of the vision you have, death of your accomplishment, your achievement, death of that thing you want, right? Because how do you get what, what you want? You just stop wanting it. You have to go backwards. So we have to unplug from the problem solving and realize there's a way that I think looks right, but I may not be right, it may be wrong. Because how many of us know that sometimes our clever ideas turn out to kind of kick us in the butt later? But if I know there's a way that seems right and in the end could be the death of what I want because I'm just staying in the struggle and fear, then where's the solution? What do I do? What do I do when I have that brain that needs to figure something out and, and, and, and I want something, but I don't know how to get it? First we have to detach, right? We have to detach from our problem solving. But the next thing we have to do, and this is the most important thing we have to do. And friends, sometimes we have to do this 20 times a day, is we have to plug back into God, realize He is our source. We have to plug back in. It says Matthew 6:33. This is such a cool picture of the backwards way. Everything you want. It says, seek, aim at and strive after. First of all, his kingdom and his righteousness and his way of doing and being right. And then all these things taken together will be given to you. Besides. So the short version, seek first his kingdom, and all these things will be added backwards. But I want the things. I want the. I want my body to be healed. I want the money in the bank. I want for that scholarship to come through. I want for this relationship to work, whatever that looks like, that's the thing I want. If you really want it, you'll stop wanting it. Detach from that to fill your need and then plug back in to God, who is your source. That's why he says seek first the kingdom. When you seek first the kingdom, God, I know every answer is in you and I seek you and I want you and I desire you and I love you and I just want to bask in your presence. When you seek first his kingdom, all these things that you presented as needs, all these things are added. I would rather live a life of peace and sufficiency where all the things are just added and I'm not chasing after them. And that is the backwards guide to getting everything you want. Stop wanting it, Seek God and watch everything you want just keep get added onto the plate. One thing after another. Friend, I'm so grateful that you're hanging out with me. I want you to have everything you want, but let's stop wanting it. Okay, we're going to do this backwards, but now we know if we do it backwards, we're going to do it right.