How to Overcome What Holds You Back

What holds you back from experiencing the life Jesus wants for you?

Psalm 139 says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by the Lord.  He created you and me uniquely for specific eternal purposes!  Yet, too often we feel issues holding us back from reaching His purpose for us.

A simple but powerful exercise I’ve found uses the metaphors of a “Berry Bush” and “Truth Tree”.  The berries on your bush are the barriers that hold you back.  They are the fruit of our fears.  All “fruit” grows from a “root”.  It helps us to go beyond the obvious and visible to trace our barriers back to their roots. 

I’ve found that most barriers trace back to two main roots:

1. A false view of God and ourselves.

2. Fears based on lies.  Someone has defined fear as “F*E*A*R”—False Evidence Appearing Real.

Here’s an example: A common berry/barrier for missionaries is a fear of not being able to raise the support they need to go to the mission field.  The root of that fear often sounds like “God can’t be trusted to meet our needs.”  You get the idea.

So…how do you deal with the poisonous berries on your berry bush? 

1.     You can trim the branches of the bush…or you can pick off the berries.  Yet, they will still grow back!  The only way to get rid of your berries/barriers is to pull it out by the root!  That takes courageous, intentional effort.

2.     You replace the poisonous berry bush with a Truth Tree.

Truth at the root feeds and nourishes the fruit that comes from claiming God’s promises. Our Promise Maker is also our Promise Keeper! The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth in His Promise Book!

For every lie that holds you back…rebuke, declare, and embrace God’s truth!  Truth at the root feeds and nourishes the fruit that comes from claiming God’s promises. Our Promise Maker is also our Promise Keeper!  The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth in His Promise Book!

Whatever may be holding you back…you can overcome those barriers with the powerful truth and promises of God!  He is with you!

Coach Yourself Forward

1. Take time right now to do your own Berry Bush and Truth Tree.

My “Berry Bush”

            Roots/Lies                                      Berries/Barriers

My “Truth Tree”

            Truth Roots                                        Promise Fruits

2. How will you guard against and pull out root lies?

3. How will you keep planting and nourishing your truth roots?

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash