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Leadership Struggles: Don't Get Stuck, Play It Out

There’s a simple exercise that can reorient your perspective for any struggle or temptation you’ll ever face.

One of Satan’s greatest weapons is to get you stuck in the moment. The moment of your pain. Your trial. Your temptation. He freeze-frames your current situation and makes you forget everything that you have to gain from it. Or everything that you have to lose from it.

When you face these situations, the best thing you can do is get out of the freeze frame and fast forward to the end. Take a moment and play it out.

Play out your struggles:
If I suffer…I’ll get more reward.
If I experience pain…it’s not worth comparing to the glory awaiting me.
If I die…I’ll be with Christ.

Or on the negative side, play out your temptations:
If I do something unethical…I’ll lose my job.
If I look at porn…I’ll lose my ability to see God clearly.
If I have an affair…I’ll lose my family.

Yes, it’s simple. But it can make a profound impact on nearly every circumstance you’ll ever face in life.

Start taking your situations or temptations to their conclusion. See what incredible possibilities might be in store for you because of Jesus. Or what horrible ones might be in store for you if you neglect Him. There’s more potential in your pain than you can possibly imagine. There’s also more travesty that can come out of your temptation than you can possibly understand.

Don’t let the limited perspective of a moment dictate your life. When you find yourself in a moment of struggle or temptation, stop for a moment. Play it out. And then move forward towards the conclusion God wants for you.