You vs You – Walking In Power with Nate Ortiz

Hey, what I'm here to talk about the subject of you versus you, you know, in this life,

there's many challenges and struggles that you'll come against.

You know, as you are pursuing your goals and your dreams, you get married or you have

kids or you're building a business, whatever it might be, there's challenges that we will

come against.

And I think at the end of the day, we have to realize that it's always going to be you versus

you.

There are certain things that are external and things that block us from what we feel

God is calling us to.

But there's other things that are just really internal, things that we have to deal with,

things that we have to just really identify as issues in our lives.

And you know, one of the things that you're in, in light of the ministry that I do, and

I'll talk to some young leaders and what we play in basketball or hanging out, do some

type of thing.

And they'll make this comment, they'll say, oh man, like I'm super competitive and I,

you know, and they kind of go down this path of how competitive they are.

But I will learn something in talking with those people is that sometimes they say, I'm

competitive, but really what they're saying is I hate to lose.

There's a difference.

And here's what I want to say, you know, hating to lose doesn't mean that you're a great

competitor.

It doesn't mean that you're putting in the practice, doesn't mean you're putting

in the time or the ability to say, this is the kind of person I want to be.

But when you are competitive, you're saying, I don't want to lose to anyone.

And I'm going to make sure that I'm working as hard as I can to make sure I'm competitive.

The people who say, you know, I hate to lose those people they aren't putting in the time.

They just hate the feeling it gives them when they lose, but they're not competitive

in their certain craft or field of expertise.

So hating to lose is just one aspect, but you have to have a disdain for that feeling

so much that you begin to say, I'm putting in the time when no one else is.

I'm working hard when no one else is.

I'm doing the stuff that when no one's looking, I'm doing it.

And so for you, as you think about you versus you, don't be that type of person that just

feels like, well, I hate the feeling that this gives you what I lose.

But whatever it is in this life, I think we should be competitive to say, I want to be

the best version of who God's called me to be.

I want to just operate a fool you with it professionally and personally.

So when you get into my saying, I want to be competitive in that way, a healthy way,

there are some things that feel like, you will help in clarity, just to that, that you

aren't getting into the place where you are being critical or you're not being judgmental,

but you're saying, what can I do in my life and a whole thought of it to you versus you?

You know, Jeremiah chapter 12 verse 5 says this, it says, if racing against the mere

men makes you tired, how will you race against horses?

If you stumble and fall and open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?

There are moments, you know, this is a God talking to Jeremiah and just the greatness that

God had for Jeremiah and just his own journey, which I won't break all that down.

But for Jeremiah, he was in this place of, he had made some decisions of what he was

going to do with God, asked him to do, or was he going to be in a place of making excuses,

or was he going to be in the place of just giving reasons why, the external reasons why,

this was going to happen and this wasn't going to happen.

But internally, I think God was trying to tell Jeremiah, listen, I put it in you.

I've wired you, I've made you, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

There is greatness on the inside you that I am trying to pull out.

And God pulls greatness out of us to see how it will put challenges and obstacles, there's

different things, the hard things of life.

But God is saying, I put it in you, allow me to pull it out of you.

I don't just the external things really negate what I put on the inside of you.

So understanding that and grabbing a hold of that, that God is in heaven comparing you to

other people.

God is saying, well, I wish you were more like that person, I wish you were like that person.

No, God has made everybody, but for you specifically, he's saying, I have a specific job, I have

a specific purpose.

Man, love just a couple days ago, when Jalen Hertz was in soup, they were talking about,

you know, he said, I had a purpose before you had an opinion.

We have to remember that kind of mindset that God has given us this purpose.

And so when God is pulling the greatness out of you, don't be afraid when it looks

like adversity or struggles or challenges or people coming against you, be encouraged.

You know, confidence in God and how you wired you comes through time.

You need to have time with God to say, listen, I felt under, under, under skilled, I felt

like I couldn't make it after I wasn't going to be able to do what you asked me to do.

But God, I'm trusting you.

I'm trusting if you put me in the arena, I'm trusting if you put me in that spot that

I'm going to win.

And maybe it doesn't look like I think it's going to win or maybe I suffer a couple losses.

But God, I trust you with my losses and my victories.

So as you go about, you're weak in your months and you're, we're so fresh in this new year,

remember it's you versus you that God has put things in your heart.

He's put desires and passions in your heart for you to pursue, for you to go after.

So don't sabotage.

Don't say, well, I don't know if God's going to come through or I don't know if this

is really for me.

If God's putting in your heart, pursue and know that God's going to bring it to you in

your timing is you versus you.

And when God is the forefront of that and you understand that it's not just you just

having better, you know, willpower just thinking about it differently by saying God,

I know you put it in me.

So even though these things are coming against me and I'm not going to give energy to

it, but God wants it.

Lord, help me to pursue what you have and help me understand them when you're on my

side.

There's nothing I can't do.

So I appreciate you guys listening to this.

I hope it's encouraging to you and I will catch you next time.