What Laser Tag Taught Me About Living In Victory

I love laser tag.

There, I said it.

I LOVE LASER TAG.

It all started during my junior high days when I would go to Q-Zar with my friends. It was such a thrill to wander around in the dark, attempt to dodge the laser beams coming from my opponents' direction, and hear the crazy sound of re-loading my laser. I loved it all.... and I still do.

Thankfully, I am not the only one. My husband and his family enjoy it as well, so we made it a family tradition to play laser tag when we went to visit them in Washington. The place we play there, is seriously the best ever. It is huge. It has three levels. And it is awesome. 

Here's a picture of us playing laser tag a few years ago.

Although I love laser tag, I will say this -- I had no idea how to play strategically. I would usually just hide out by the re-loading station and not venture too far from my team's side. I mean, in my mind, I really thought I was trying, but I almost always had one of the lowest scores in the bunch.

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to play laser tag with some middle schoolers at an annual summer event. I went into the prep room, suited up, and decided I was going to try a different tactic: I was going to attack the opposing team's base as much as possible. I did end up getting tagged by other players a fair amount, but I didn't let it stop me. I just kept my focus on the other team's base. I tagged that station as many times as I possibly could before the game was over.

At the end of the game, I went to look at the scores and much to my surprise, I had won! Wait... what? I, Carly, had the highest score out of everyone who had played that round? I had to look at it a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things! After I realized that I was truly seeing the scoreboard correctly, the realization sunk in that my new tactic had worked! Instead of hiding out, I decided to step up and be an offensive player. I came away victorious! I felt like throwing my hands in the air and fist pumping to this song.

When it comes to our spiritual lives, I am convinced that God wants us to fight strategically and experience victory. We are only able to experience true victory when we do not hide from the enemy. As I mentioned, for years, when I played laser tag, I stayed in my own territory, where I believed I was safest. I was trying to be a strong defensive player, but I wasn't playing offensively. I had missed that whole concept. 

In my spiritual life, I have had a tendency to do the same. As I wrote in my last blog post, I created a habit of hiding when fears arose and when I felt the attacks of the enemy. Yet, as I am learning to find my security in God, I realize that He calls us to be offensive and not to be afraid of the enemy. He wants us to go after what is ours. He wants us to re-claim the territory that the enemy has tried to take from us. With His help, we certainly can do this, for we are more than conquerors through Christ (Romans 8:37)! 

Last week, I came across this verse: "The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (Psalm 110:1). Jesus even quotes it later in Luke 20. The emphasis on this Scripture means that we need to take it seriously. Our enemies will be under our feet, but we have to abide in Christ and rely on His strength. This abiding isn't passive. It is very active. It is offensive. We must be diligent to be in His Word, and then we must be disciplined to believe His Word and apply it to our lives. We can use the promises of the Word of God to take back what the enemy has tried to take from us. We can reclaim our territory because we are standing firm on the promises of God. 

God is calling us to rise up. We can't hide while the enemy throws lies our way. Instead, we have to stand on the promises of God and take an offensive position. Our victory has already been won. We just have to make the choice (every day, every minute) to strategically walk forward in the victory that He has laid out for us. 

We have resurrection power because of Christ in us. Let's act like it. 

Let's be the bold and courageous people that He has called us to be.

- Carly

Monsters Under The Bed

Were you afraid of monsters under your bed when you were a kid? Yeah, I was too!!

I remember running into my room at full speed, leaping a good 2 feet in front of my bed, and then landing with a sigh of relief. I thought if I just ran fast enough and jumped far enough, that I would dodge those crazy creatures under my bed.

Looking back, it was silly, but at the time, it was sure something that scared me! I truly felt that the moment I actually got in my bed and hid, I was safe.

I have dealt with some sort of fear for most of my life. My fears are usually completely irrational and somewhat silly. Just like the monsters-under-the-bed scenario, when I step back and gain some perspective I am able to see my fears in a different light; they seem to fade away. Yet, in the midst of times of fear, I feel as if I want to hide. I don't want to be vulnerable. I don't want to take risks. I just want to hide and crawl into my bed, if you will. That hiding makes me feel somewhat safe and protected. Yet, in all actuality, that is a false sense of security. In those moments, I take the "helpless" route, when God calls me (and you!) to rise up and be the conquerors that He has called us to be. He wants us to do something with the gifts, abilities, and moments that He has given us... instead of just hiding away.

I have been going through the Gospel of Matthew in the last few weeks and the Parable of Talents got me good the other day. It spoke directly to the fears that I have been facing. This story that I have heard since I was a child, came alive in a new way to me. Isn't that just like Jesus? He speaks through His Word, which is alive and active!

Anyway, back to the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 22:14-30. The story isn't about what we think of as talents nowadays, but "talents" actually meant money... A talent was worth more than $1000 back in Biblical times! That's a lot of money, and I am not talking about Monopoloy money! I am talking about the real deal. So, in the story, Jesus told of a man who called his servants and gave them each a different amount of money. He was entrusting the money to them because he was going on a journey. He gave one man 5 talents, and that guy was creative, diligent, and hard-working. He went out and earned an additional 5 talents. The second servant received 2 talents, and similar to the first servant, he doubled his money. The third and final servant received 1 talent and guess what he did... Instead of going out to try to earn more money, he dug a hole in the ground and hid his talent.

When the master came home, he asked the servants to bring back the money he had entrusted to them. He was pleased with the first two servants. Yet, then it came time for the third servant to show the master what he had earned. In explaining his situation he said, "I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you" (Matt. 25:25). The master was disappointed with the third servant and took his money and gave it to the one who had risked the most.

As I was reading this story, I tried to understand the third, cautious, hesitant servant. As I read Matt. 25:25 a few times, the words "afraid," and "hid," stood out to me. The servant was afraid. What was he afraid of? He may have been afraid of failure. He didn't want to lose the money. He was afraid of risk. He was probably afraid that he wasn't strong enough, creative enough, or hard-working enough, to earn more money. I think he was afraid that he was inadequate. He did not feel like he could go out and make a difference in the world.

So, what did these fears drive him to do? Hide. In a sense, he, too, was afraid of the monsters under his own bed. This fear drove him hide the money, and this created this false sense of security around what had been entrusted to him. In that moment, he was giving power to his fears. He was giving power to the lies that he was bound to fail and that he was not adequate. He was giving power to the fears that he was not strong enough to make a difference and engage in the world.

Just like the servant, I, too, can become afraid of taking risks. Sometimes, it is just easier to hide. Yet, God calls all of us to hold our heads high, trust in Him, and engage the world. I once heard someone say, "Any time you feel backed into a corner, that is not of God." So, as I learn to face my fears, I know that I must first recognize when I want to hide in my comfort zone, and secondly, do exactly the opposite of that. As soon as I feel like I want to hide, I must instead rise up. I must trust the One who has entrusted me with life, passions, abilities, callings, and relationships.

I must trust the One who has entrusted me. 

I want to be bold and courageous. I am called to be bold and courageous.
So are you.

Let's stop hiding, stop fearing, and stop playing it safe.
Let's learn a whole new way of trusting in the One who is trustworthy to the moon and back.
He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, so let's move forward in confidence, knowing that "He who called us is faithful" (1 Thess. 5:24).

No more hiding from your monsters under the bed.