A couple of years ago, I was struggling at church. I had addressed some concerns I was seeing that were harmful to the church body. But a leader in the church challenged me, saying I didn’t know what I was talking about. I believed her and shut down, I felt shamed and confused. Even though I believe I was correct in my concerns, God revealed to me that I could have handled it better.
During that time, I was wrestling with the Lord…a lot. I was crying out to Him in prayer and asking Him to help me know how to speak up in a way that pleased Him. The experience made me nervous about speaking biblical truth. During my prayer time, I was waiting on the Lord and heard one word. Ganas.
Ganas? It’s funny how God can give you an entire message with one word. I hadn’t heard that word in years! But as soon as I felt the Lord plant it in my heart, I understood what He was saying to me.
STAND AND DELIVER
You see, in 1988, there was this movie, Stand and Deliver. It was based on the true story of a courageous high school mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante. This brave teacher taught a rough group of Los Angeles high school students higher level math, helping them achieve test scores way beyond expectations.
Escalante believed that the students would rise above and pass higher level math when no one else thought it was possible. In the movie, he told his students that there were already strikes against them and that they were unfairly being judged as illiterate, but that math was the great equalizer.
GIVE IT ALL YOU’VE GOT
He explained that all they needed to succeed… was ganas. Ganas means a burning desire. When I asked my friend, Maria, from church what the word ganas meant to her, she said it’s what Dads say to their children to get them to keep trying and not give up. !Echale Ganas! Means ‘give it all you’ve got’ or ‘get cracking’!
I loved that movie (Stand and Deliver) as a teenager. Because it was a reminder that no matter your background or circumstance, if you have ganas, you can overcome. When God told me that word, He knew what He was doing. He was pulling at my heart strings. I came from a rough background, had a hard time in junior high, got pregnant right before high school and rebelled against God until He got ahold of my heart.
THE GREAT EQUALIZER
God is actually the great equalizer. He’s the creator of mathematics… and the universe. With God, all things are possible… if you have a burning desire (whispers….ganas). Don’t let the enemy make you think you aren’t smart enough or can’t stand up for others in faith or truth. And just because you aren’t a scholar doesn’t mean you can’t make a huge difference for Jesus. Don’t give up! Keep trying.
Additionally, the Bible isn’t always easy to understand. We need ganas to learn the Word of God too. Just as the high schoolers in Stand and Deliver had broken confidence, we as Christians are subject to this as well.
SCHEMES OF THE DEVIL
Satan’s ultimate goal is to pull us away from God. He will always try to steal our confidence and turn us away from our Lord and Savior. Satan desires destruction and confusion in our lives.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to Me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6
The knowledge of God is different from worldly knowledge. We can understand the knowledge of God by spending time with Him by reading His Word and being in prayer. We are to continuously seek Him with our whole heart.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8
NEHEMIAH
The scriptures that God was giving me around the same time, was in the Old Testament. In the book of Nehemiah, the leaders in Jerusalem had to be corrected, before and after the rebuilding of the temple. The people lacked understanding, but were also purposefully not following God or doing what was right. Nehemiah was a man who had ganas. Before he began rebuilding the wall, he took a few men with him to inspect the ruins of the gates of the temple.
And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. Nehemiah 2:18
Additionally, the rebuilding of the temple was not easy. They were under constant enemy attack. The men had to be on high alert, protecting themselves and others, while restoring the walls and gates.
From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. Nehemiah 4:16-18
Each builder had a sword strapped at his side while he built! The Lord showed me through this scripture that, first, we must know and be immersed in the Word of God (the Sword of the Spirit). It should be strapped to our side in case of enemy attack. Second, to continue building for God, even when things are scary, even when under enemy attack. Third, and most importantly, just as Nehemiah told the workers, remember that God is on our side.
In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us. Nehemiah 4:20
The problem I was encountering several years ago, was people of faith being more concerned about what the world would think than what God would think. But I also cowardly retreated when other Christians got mad at me for speaking out.
REFINING
Thankfully, God used that situation to refine me. It’s always good to self reflect and ask God to search our hearts. God revealed to me that I was in the wrong because I was pushing against the enemy with anger and frustration in my heart. Instead, the Lord wanted me to push against the enemy with compassion, patience and love in my heart. I am to keep one goal in mind – saving the lost. Learning to speak truth while being rooted in compassion will probably be a life long learning process. Nonetheless, it has given me strength and perseverance.
…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15
I believe God wanted me to share this now, after two years, because there may be some of you out there that are struggling with getting back up or knowing which direction to go now. Just like me. This is a reminder that God wants us to build, our ministries, our families, His body – the church, with a sword strapped to our side.
JOY DOWN IN MY HEART
When studying Nehemiah, I learned that joy is important as well, no matter what we go through. After Nehemiah and the people finished building the wall, Ezra the priest read the law in front of everyone. The people were very emotional hearing the Word of God. But something unexpected was said at the time.
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
The joy of the Lord is our strength. When we are troubled and can’t get out of a rut, it’s important to find joy. Worshiping God can break the grip of the devil, it can ease anxiety and soften sorrow.
If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.
C.S. Lewis
We have free will to choose joy. But in order to have true joy, we must remember that we are to follow Jesus above all else. He will strengthen us and fight for us so that we can Stand and Deliver the full gospel in truth and love. All we need…is GANAS.
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