Friend, “you are not nowhere, nor are you living in nowhere land with nowhere plans.”
i knew a man who shared with me some of his early life story. As he talked and i listened, i began to realize what a phenomenal story i was hearing, and how miraculous it was that he’d managed, with God’s help, to overcome such staggering odds to be where he was. He wasn’t rich, but he was prosperous. He wasn’t a hero, but he was strong and courageous everyday. He didn’t have a title, but he was a leader. He could probably buy most anything he might want, but the beauty was he didn’t really want anything. He’d had a lot of things and gotten rid of a lot of things and just didn’t want things anymore. What he wanted was Jesus and it showed in all he did and in every word he spoke.
His son had recently found one of his dad’s old 10th grade report cards, and sent him a photo of it on his phone. When the fellow saw the picture, it was a shameful thing with nothing but d minuses, f’s, zeros’, and some teachers notes indicating the young man of many years ago, was smart, but just seemed indifferent to doing any better. In the moment he texted back to his son saying at that time of his life, his own father had told him he was born a zero, and he’d probably die a zero, and the boy heard it enough that he finally decided if his father believed that about him, he might as well just go on and be a zero. So… he did. As a young man he joined the Navy to escape a bleak life, only to enter into an even more bleak life. He was in good shape, and had learned to fight pretty well, he said he actually enjoyed being a back alley pugalist. He put in to join the Navy Seals. Surprisingly, he got the assignment to go to training, but the end of his tour had come up and the Government wanted 6 more years out of him. Also, at the end of his tour in the Navy, he met Jesus and his life changed by degrees every day. The Lord told him not to sign up but to get out, which he did. Later in life he learned the wisdom of God’s counsel when he realized there were four things he didn’t have which would have caused him to fail as a Navy SEAL. He was too big, his knees would never have taken the challenge, he didn’t know how to be a team player, and more than anything, he didn’t possess the heart of a champion.
Then he said something amazing which woke up a realization about myself. He said, for so much of his early life, in the back of his head, there was always a song playing, an old Beatles tune with the words turned personal, “i’m a real nowhere man, living in my nowhere land, making all my nowhere plans for no one.” Over and over until he believed it and adjusted his life to live like it. Thankfully, his story didn’t end there, leaving the listener in such a place of despair.
As i said, at the end of his tour of duty, he met Jesus and life began to change. The Lord told him different things, better things, truer things, life giving things. God said he was proud of him, and told him over and over and over he was smart, and he was strong. Seemingly every day, God reversed the words of the “nowhere man” song, saying, “You’re a real somewhere man, living in My somewhere land, making all your somewhere plans for everyone.” Over and over until he began to believe it and live like it. The turn around wasn’t over night, and in fact, it was a long… slow… turn because the Lord solved many things on the way back home. Just like many things were solved on the way home for the prodigal son, God solves many things in us on our road back to the Father.
So what am i getting at? i’m here to tell you, remind you as often as necessary, you, yes you… were not, are not, and never will be a nowhere man, living in your nowhere land. God has always had a plan for you. The enemy of our souls may whisper lies to us, but God, yes, But God says you are NOT a nothing, NOT born a nothing and WON’T die a nothing. You have so much value in you God was willing to die for you and give you life beyond your wildest dreams. But i must add though, here’s the catch, you’ve got to live it, not just call it out by faith, but put it into action and live it. Do it! Let your mother’s negative words which are stuck in your head go, tell the influencers in your ears that they are FIRED and are not allowed to have any impact on your life.
Friend, quit giving your ears to all the badness that’s been spoken to you. Buy into, set your sights on, purchase with all you have, all the things God says. You are NOT a nowhere man, and from before you were born, you were NOT destined to live in nowhere land. If you are in Christ, you are always, always, always somewhere and are a someone. To call yourself a nothing and a zero is to call God nothing, and that’s another lie we’ve swallowed. Your calling is to Christ. You can do right business. You are empowered to get those invoices out, on time, to the right person. You are smart enough to know how money flows through your business. You are big enough to learn to close your mouth and open your mouth when necessary, acting like a mature adult with good filters and solid boundaries. Yes that’s you. You are because God says you are. i don’t know who you are, but i’m here to tell you, as a person who has heard the “nowhere man” song in my own head, all my life, it’s a lie. Repeat this with me, “i am not nowhere and i won’t buy into the nowhere man song in my head any longer.” Say it again, “i am not nowhere and i won’t buy into the nowhere man song in my head any longer.”
What do you think?