If we are going to be used by God and effective for Kingdom work — or any work He has called us to — we must get over ourselves and gear up to follow His lead!
“Get Over Yourself!” is a message I shared at the Biblical Business Training (BBT) Community Connection, where a group of Christian business and ministry leaders gather. I shared some of the key “things I’ve learned” over the last eight years, especially as it relates to Christian leadership in business and ministry.
If you are interested in watching the recording, click here. To view the presentation, click here.
“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit” (3 John 1:2).
Our physical health is so important. The Bible tells us our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to steward it with honor. And the Lord wants our bodies to be healthy. He wants us to live abundantly. He wants us to be free.
But some of us are neither healthy in body nor spirit. We have traded caring for our souls – what is inside, what is eternal – with a hyper fixation on our bodies, the temporal. And some of us have confused vanity for health. I know I have.
Vanity is not health. Believe me, I know from experience. In fact, this question I pose today is one I asked myself.
You see, in my 20s, I was super skinny but extremely unhealthy. I drank coffee to be skinny, counted every calorie, and judged myself by each half-pound. If I had eaten the amount of calories I had allotted for myself earlier in the day, I would isolate. I wouldn’t get together with my friends at dinner to avoid eating more calories and being asked questions. And then I called it self-discipline and self-control, when it was actually self-deprivation leading to health issues. I needed the Lord to do a supernatural healing work in my soul to find health again.
Some of us are eating but absorbed in our looks. If it’s not a pound, it’s a fine line or wrinkle. Or we lament not having the budget for the clothes we’d really like. Whether we feel good about or terrible about our looks at any moment, we are hyperfocused on our bodies in a way that takes all of our energy and focus.
But… how is your soul? How is your Spirit? What voice is guiding your actions? The critic — the enemy? A voice of criticism from your past that says “it’s not good enough,” “you’re not good enough,” or “prove yourself?” And, at the end of it, where does being rich, chiseled, or fashionable lead you if you have neglected your soul? Would you finally be full or still empty?
I hope you know I am in no way judging anyone. Frankly, I have had to ask the Lord to give me enough grace for myself over time. This is a struggle. It has been in my life. I have needed to really dig into my Bible and receive Godly counsel to learn to hear the voice of God louder than the accuser in my life.
I share vulnerably in an effort to expose what is hidden into the light so Christ can shine on us. Because, here’s the deal — God wants us free, so much that He sent Jesus to earth to save us from ourselves, our own confusion, depravity, and self-sabotage.
Whereas the Lord gives us a desire for healthy things, the enemy works hard to twist beautiful desires into something dark. He can twist our desire to be healthy into disorder. He can turn our enjoyment of fashion into obsession. He can tilt our desire for good things into fixation. He can take our enjoyment of fashion and make us obsessed and broke.
The enemy would love nothing more than to put us into poverty spiritually, physically, and financially. That is his goal. He fights to keep us away from the abundance that Jesus came and died for us to have.
Yet, all is not lost. Jesus meets us wherever we are. He meets us in our exhaustion, our fatigue, our sickness. He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
What I have learned and continue to learn as I go is this:
Major in Jesus more than self-help, health, or any other thing. Keep your eyes on Jesus above all. Open your Bible. Read it more than any other book. Look to Jesus for your self-worth, not influencers. Tend to your soul more than you do for your body, because our souls are what will last.
Some practical things I have learned, as well, are:
Set the scale aside. Eat and enjoy healthy food. Get outside. Enjoy creation. Exercise. Strengthen yourself.
Talk to a friend if you’re struggling. Get a journal. Get a Christian counselor. Talk to Jesus most.
Thank God for His abundance. Enjoy your health. Enjoy the clothes you have. Quit isolating. Get with friends. Enjoy the goodness God has given you. And eat a cupcake every now and then.
“Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth” (Proverbs 5:18).
I feel that romance – real romance – does not come from over-the-top gestures, like gifts, trips, or charisma. But instead, I feel that real romance comes from aging.
I know that may sound counterintuitive to many. In fact, you may believe you have to do everything you possibly can to look the same way as you did when you met, but I feel quite the opposite. As we age, I find my husband more attractive than ever.
It is not because he works out all the time, drives a fancy car, has a certain title, or buys me things. It’s not for any of those commercial reasons, that you see in the cinema or social media, that make him more attractive to me. In fact, it’s just the opposite.
When I look at my husband, and I see the gray in his beard or the handsome lines around his eyes, I find him more attractive than ever before. I truly mean that. And here is why:
Looking at his face, aged from when we set out, means he is still here like he promised he would be. And, to me, there is nothing more romantic than looking at my husband and I aging together, because it shows we are doing what we promised to do in your vows…
“I take you to be my wedded wife (husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
I feel aging is more romantic than any swift, overt gesture someone can show, because – to me – dedication and commitment are the most romantic actions.
And I am so blessed he feels the same, because I feel honored, treasured and loved in every era, which allows me to look in the mirror as I age and smile more with each passing year.
Are you tired of being afraid, of trembling in fear when learning about difficult realities? Tired of diverting your thoughts when you begin pondering injustice? It can be easier to push off an unsettling inkling, telling ourselves we are paranoid in order to convince ourselves the darkness doesn’t exist or it is not quite as dark as it appears.
For example, when we read a story that is true yet unsettling, we might even try convincing ourselves it isn’t real in an attempt to divert our thoughts and comfort our nervous systems. But the truth is, there are terrible things happening in the dark. And just because we don’t want them to be true doesn’t mean they’re not. And, just because we are unsettled doesn’t mean we aren’t to know.
What if we are meant to be unsettled? Some things should break our hearts, whether it is happening as closely as in front of our face or more broadly in our communities. Because, we are called to know for the protection of our families, this next generation, the people we love and steward, and those around us. When we are gifted with knowledge and insight to steward, the question becomes, “What do I do with this, Lord?”
I want to share something I am learning in this season:
My life verse is Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.” Mostly, this beautiful verse reminds me I am an encourager. I have, and many others as well, have often viewed me as a bright, bouncy ball. Yet, the Lord is teaching me this: Light does not simply shine and radiate. Light also exposes. It exposes what has been hiding in the dark. And, when light exposes, it also heals.
Think about a cut on your arm. If you hide it under a dark, moist setting, it will fester. But if you expose it to the sunlight, it will heal.
To help experience true freedom ourselves and to help others find safety and freedom, we must stop and acknowledge unsettling reality, which means we must allow ourselves to be uncomfortable. We must give ourselves permission to be unsettled for a moment.
With Jesus as our Chief Cornerstone, we can do this in a way that leads to healing, not spiraling. We can face difficulty head-on to help the defenseless in practical ways to protect them or even help them on their healing journey. It means we have to be willing to be uncomfortable, even grieved, for a time to see true breakthrough happen and freedom take place.
A very difficult reality that is hard to accept but is true is the exploitation happening to our youth in our communities. I became friends with a powerful, Godly woman this year, who founded a non-profit, called Pursuit 3416. They provide training and education to youth and adults at schools, churches, and other places, to prevent exploitation and stop predators from reaching our youth here in St. Louis.
The name of this organization was inspired by Ezekiel 34:16, which says, “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”
If you too feel convicted to understand what is going in the dark in our communities to protect our youth, this is an organization with a Godly cornerstone that can help you as a parent, grandparent, leader and educator.
You can also learn what is happening globally through the powerful work of the Tebow Foundation. The work Tim, Demi, and their teams are doing is beyond what I could fathom. It is hard to even process. Yet the Lord is giving them power to see people set free from darkness.
While it is heartbreaking to learn about these realities, I feel convicted to know so I can be in prayer for them, their teams, and have Godly wisdom on how to educate and protect our youth. The work of these organizations is difficult and heartbreaking but it is beyond life changing.
Prayer Father God, Help us! Help us parents and grandparents be awake to the realities happening around. Give us wisdom, discernment and passion to see the truth and to shine your light with courage and boldness to be like you, Jesus — both the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
If we live our lives without Jesus, we will not be okay. We will not be okay spiritually, mentally, emotionally, even physically. I speak as someone who tested it and found myself in extremely dangerous waters. Jesus saved me.
Think about it — Left to our own devices, we put ourselves first. We are perpetually offended. We do not forgive, leading to bitterness, resentment, and isolation, without community or the support we greatly need as humans. We even make decisions based on paranoid thinking that the enemy tries to convince us is correct JUST to separate us from community.
And unforgiveness takes an emotional and spiritual toll on us. It wreaks havoc on us mentally, psychologically and even physically. It creates bondage that demands freeing in order to carry on. We need a Savior — the one and only. We need Jesus.
Without love at the center of our thoughts, motives, and intentions, we can be downright scary, hurting others and ourselves. Meanwhile, our sin-debt just compounds, and the shame, guilt, and loathing too. This too creates bondage that demands freeing in order to carry on. We need a Savior — the one and only. We need Jesus.
The enemy is strategic, playing a game of chess for your very soul — every move, working to back you in a corner, isolated and locked in a prison.
The Bible says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
The enemy is crafty. He feeds on chaos and death. The Bible calls him a thief. He wants to rob you of peace, joy, health, and effectiveness. He wants to rob you of eternity with Jesus.
But when you invite Jesus into your life, it is check-mate for that prowling lion who seeks to feast on and devour you.
Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
When you repent to God for your sins and ask Jesus into your life, He heals you from the guilt and shame that weighs you down. He literally removes that from you. The Bible says, He blots out your transgressions (Isaiah 43:25). He removes your sins from you as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). You (we) literally get a fresh start. The Bible says you become a new creation. The old passes away from you and newness comes (2 Corinthians 5:17). You get a new life. I speak as one whose life was completely transformed when I was 21!
When you invite Jesus to be the Lord of your life, He literally fills you with His Holy Spirit that serves as a deposit from now until you go to heaven to be with Him. This is absolutely transformational for your eternity but also for your daily life. The Bible describes the Holy Spirit as our Counselor, a guide, a Comforter, and Advocate. And His counsel leads to peace and healthy relationships.
Jesus said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:26-27).
This is why you can pray and receive direction, answers, clarity and peace — because Jesus gives you His Spirit – the Spirit of God – when you invite Him to be the Lord of your life.
You may be reading this today, knowing that you can no longer carry the weight of your shame and guilt, that you can no longer carry the weight of bitterness and self-loathing. And I want to tell you that you no longer have to.
You may also be thinking, though, that it is all too much… that you don’t know how to get from the darkness you are in right now to the lightness of Christ to live a Christian life, but I want to tell you that you do not have to.
You do not have to figure it all out. You don’t need to wait to go to Jesus until you are a little better. The truth is, you simply can’t do it on your own. You can’t fix yourself. You’ve tried.
There is one step you can take to change your life and your eternity: Release. Release it all. Relinquish control. Surrender to God. Ask Jesus become your Savior today.
Jesus IS light, and HE will purify your heart and fill you with His light. And He will send you His Holy Spirit – the Counselor, the guide – who will life the weight and begin to show you practical steps forward.
I know it can sound a little mind-blowing, but it really is true. When you give your life to Christ, something in you becomes new. You become transformed. You just need to release and step out in faith.
“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Is today the day? Are you ready to surrender your sin, your shame, your guilt? Are you ready to become a new creation? Are you ready to trust God to show you the way to abundant life?
If so, I invite you to pray this prayer:
“Dear God, I confess that I have sinned. I have made a mess of things. I have gone my own way and messed things up. I no longer want to be my own god. I no longer want to serve myself. Jesus, I want to go your way. I invite you to be the Lord of my life. I ask you to forgive me. I ask you to save me. Please remove the pain and the shame from me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, and heal me. Guide me. Lead me into life. And please show me the way to live and to walk with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
If you just prayed this, I want to congratulate you and welcome you to a new life! You made the most powerful and impactful decision you have ever made. And I want to encourage you to get support as you begin your journey with Jesus.
• Buy a Bible and download the Bible App. This is the most powerful way to begin walking with Jesus.
• If you are a woman, I invite you to join The Rooted Sisters Bible Study we are kicking off Thursday.
• We also have weekly Prayer meetings online each week and monthly hangouts.
• I am also starting a new small group on Next Steps for New Believers.
• And find a good, Bible-believing church. If you are in St. Louis, I can give you some recommendations.
I love you guys! But most importantly, Jesus loves you, and He loves in a way that never fails!
Over the years, I have observed a destructive idea adopted into society and in the workplace, and it is this: Those who are cheerful, who take the time to encourage others, are weak, less intelligent, or in some way insecure or socially needy.
I.e. Withheld compliments and encouragement from others to keep them wondering — where you stand, if you like them, if you’re pleased with them — as an attempt to gain clout and the upperhand, perhaps gaining more power, more respect, getting more work out of them, a better deal, or maybe more prestige.
Once upon a time, I came up against this idea myself. I was closing a huge deal for my company. At the very end of the process, after months of meetings and everything seemingly buttoned up, I sat at a board room table with the CEO – what was proported to be a formality at this point – who looked at me and said, “Nah, you’re too nice.” He said a few more things that alluded to me being naive.
That experience made me want to erase all expression moving forward and only dawn a poker face. But think about it… think about this tactic of the enemy… God has created me AS an encourager. So the enemy tried to threaten my livelihood and my ability to pay payroll to try to revoke my spiritual gift from me. Maybe you have been in a similar situation?
We must fight the urge to withhold kindness in order to gain respect from people whose acceptance is unnecessary. The negative ramifications of this adopted apathy are so dangerous in an era where people are, in many ways, devoid of hope.
The truth is, we need encouragement. We need other people. This strategy leaves both parties – all parties – isolated and disconnected.
If we are not careful, and we adopt this idea, what it can ultimately cause us to do is withhold love… withold joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. It can keep us from living out the fruits of the Holy Spirit as outlined in Galatians.
It can cause people, who were created to shine – all Christians (Matthew 5:14) – and those who have been gifted by God with the gift of encouragement, to forfeit their calling and forego their gift, thinking they will somehow be more accepted by doing so.
But, think about it… What happens when you take away the smiles? What happens when you mute your personality to conform? What happens when we choose to withhold a greeting, or remain stingy with a compliment? The color fades to black and white. I believe, in many ways, we are seeing this.
You guys, we need hope to survive! We need encouragement from people we know and people we don’t. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12)
I am going to ask us to set aside our pride — whether it is how we were trained in school, family, or business — to let the joy of the Lord radiate out from us, splashing onto others.
Just as discouragement can be contagious, so can joy. We are leaving a lasting impact daily on those around us, whether we know it or not. We are writing our legacy by how we treat others. How do we want to treat them?
I can’t speak to what culture felt like to the adults around me in 1985, when I was 5 years old and enjoying my cartoons and waffles… But, as a grown adult and leader in 2025, who meets with people all the time and senses it myself…
People need hope. They need joy. And they need it more than clout, more than phony respect. We are in a difficult time.
If you feel a compliment welling up, a word of encouragement, a smile, a kind gesture… recognize that the enemy will try to make that pride and insecurity well up in you to stop you… but then, push through! Get over it, and shine! You not only might bring hope but bring them living hope by introducing them to the love of Jesus!
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
Have you ever noticed that a person lacking in financial wealth but rich in grace seems more sophisticated than an affluent person who is haughty? The value of grace outweighs the value of wealth.
Dare I say — perhaps we are chasing after the wrong things?
I want to be like my grandma or one of the elderly women at church, with pretty makeup, laughter, and warm words, far more than any mogul.
Wisdom, Grace & Love are the goals I am aiming for.
We’re teaching our children not to go the popular route, not to make decisions based on the popular vote or according to a poll of peers. We’re teaching them to think independently — teaching them “But as for me” theology…
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
“But as for me, I will call upon the Lord, and He will save me” (Psalm 55:16).
“But as for me, I will sing of your power; I will sing joyfully of your unfailing love each morning” (Psalm 59:16),
“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).
Though the world chooses idols, we’re choosing Jesus.
Though it is tempting to put our trust in men, we’re putting our trust in Jesus.
Though it is hard not to give in to depression when reading the headlines, we are delighting in God, because His power is greater.
Though it can be hard not to rush ahead in our own strength out of impatience, we are waiting on the Lord.
What the world says? Nope. What the Bible says? Yep.
Prayer Father, Help us as we strive to be more like Jesus day after day. Give us the strength, the encouragement and help us obey. You are our source. We love you, Lord.
This day – any day – may feel mundane right now. But, one day, our grandchildren and great grandchildren will read history books about our time, and they may even wish they lived in our era to make some kind of difference on the hurting world around us now.
So, let’s not throw a day away by looking at it as inconsequential, especially when we are the central character of our own story – a story that impacts the world around us, sending ripples and waves, in a way that positively affects those around us. We have within us the ability to make a lasting impact through our words, our actions, our attitude and our resources.
My grandma told me that, during WW2, she went door to door with her wagon to collect metal to help support her country. She was 11. She did what she could do to help, even as a kid, which she carried into her adult life as a pillar of her community. She was an amazing example to me of how to positively affect the world around you.
Psalm 139 talks about the value of your life. It says every day was ordained before even one of them came to be. It’s no accident God made you the way you are with the gifts and passions He gave you, in the community He placed you, at this specific time.
We just need to open our hands and ask, “God, Show me your plan for my day. I yield to you. Please give me everything I need to live the life you called me to.”
Sarah Guldalian 