I wonder how often we simply settle for far less than God has available to us? We settle for less than our best and less than His best. Where have you settled in your life? I’m talking about an area where you’re playing little when you were created for BIG. An area where you backed down when you should have stood up. An area where you opted for easy when the victory was yours if you would have fought for it. I wonder just how close you are today to your breakthrough, right now at this very moment. I wonder if today could be the last time you have to start over. I wonder if the very thing you’ve been seeking is just around the corner, but you’ve been too tired, too scared, too lazy, too busy, too distracted to round the corner. Oh, who am I talking to today? Somebody has been settling in life. You’ve talked yourself right into less. You’ve bargained with your own destiny because the daily walk wasn’t easy. We are tricked into settling by a masterful enemy who knows our weakness. He knows your fears. He knows your downfall. He knows your love of icecream and clearance racks, trash tv and compliments from men that smell good … that’s why they’ll show up today when you’re trying to practice willpower. The enemy’s desire is to make you ineffective and keep you living a little life. A little life far short of the BIG Life you were really created for. And here’s why … if you ever really, I mean really, stepped into the life you’re capable of living, every single life around you would be impacted. So if a bowl of icecream will shut you up and keep you in the corner feeling less than awesome about yourself, icecream will be all around you. If it’s a marathon of your favorite trash TV that will keep you on the couch, boom … there it is. If it’s a clearance rack that will cause you to spend more than you make and go further in debt, yip … it’s all on sale! If it’s a paycheck, then you’ll be offered a little raise in a job you were never supposed to be stuck in. Just a little something to make the walls of your comfort zone a bit taller and keep you stuck. Understand this, the enemy doesn’t care if you’re slim and trim. He has no concern over your health. Your finances are not his worry. Your marriage isn’t even on his radar. However, if the demise of any of these things will render you ineffective, then it’s game on for him. At your best, you’re a threat. This is why everything good in your life is threatened. This is why you are tempted. This is the cause of the ice cream, the clearance racks, the trash TV, the flirty guy that smells good … an enemy using any cracked door he can to screw up your life and make you settle for less than you were created for. Girl, you better check for cracked doors in your life and lock the enemy out. He’s like a roaring lion roaming the halls of your heart looking for any way to get in and devour you from the inside out. He doesn’t give a flying flip about your success, but here’s what he knows … your success may cause boldness and confidence. Your success may cause you to walk in the power of God available to you, and that’s the last thing your enemy wants. The roaming lion ready to devour whom we call Satan attacks your success, attacks your health, attacks your marriage, attacks your happiness, because he knows what you’re capable of! But if he can keep you playing little and settling for less, you’re no threat at all. Isaiah 54:17 is a promise to you “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” That’s a promise of God’s protection ...