I still remember the “Be Like Mike” campaign from the 1990s. Kids would play basketball and pretend that they were Michael Jordan. It was cute, charming, and iconic. It was a slam dunk for Gatorade.

Have you ever thought about who you want to be like? Everything we do is influenced by someone, isn’t it? The way we dress, the way we talk, the music we listen to. It’s all an attempt to be like somebody.

It’s good to have models and examples. There is power and freedom in having a pattern to guide us in the choices that we make, and that is why it is so important to make sure that we’re being influenced in healthy and good ways.

Voices influence choices, so we need to be careful who we’re listening to.

If not, we may end up being like something that we never intended to be.

Today is Day 120 of 2021.

Where are you at the one-third mark of the year?

I think it’s good to ask ourselves that simple, basic, grounding question: “Where are you?”

It’s the question that God asked Adam in the garden when Adam was hiding in shame. It’s the question we dread hearing when, like Adam, we know we’ve fallen short of expectations.

For Adam, it was sin that made him want to hide.

For us, it may be failure, or fear, or an unmet expectation, or an unfulfilled goal.

But just like in Adam’s story, I think asking ourselves where we are opens the door for the possibility that we don’t have to stay where we are.

God was reminding Adam that hiding in the shadows would never heal what could only be dealt with in the light. My, how we struggle to bring things to the light.

We don’t start budgeting because we don’t want to see how badly we’ve handled our money, and yet we’ll never handle it better if we don’t get an accurate picture of how bad it is. So, we keep spending and never look at the balance. We don’t open bank statements. We pay overdraft fees. We find that they aren’t nearly as costly as the shame that comes from knowing we should be able to do better. We stay hidden and the cycle continues.

We have a crisis and know we can’t handle it alone, but we don’t want to risk what others might think if we opened up to them. “What if they really knew?” is a question that can push us deeper into a place where they never will, even though them knowing may be the only way to find the care and support that we actually need.

Light hurts when we’ve been in the dark, but light is what we need. And so, God asks, “Where are you?”

This may be a good time to stop and ponder the question because not only do you still have 66.666667% of the year left to finish what you started, you also have the rest of your life for God to finish what he started in you.

And he will. Philippians 1:6 says he’s a great finisher.

Last night, just before I closed my eyes, I happened to turn on the TV and catch the last few minutes of a speech. Turns out, it was the Republican response to the President’s speech marking his 100th day in office.

I listened to a man talk about redemption, hope, unity. My heart swelled as he closed his speech with lines from the worship song, “The Blessing,” and declared truth over our nation. I remarked to The B99 about how powerful that seemed, and then we went to bed.

Something shifts when we speak life over people and situations. There is something exponentially greater about declaring victory over a situation more than decrying victimhood. And as that man spoke the words “may his favor be upon you for a thousand generations,” my soul soared. That’s the power of declaration.

So today, I want to leave you with some declarations that I wrote a few years ago. Say them over yourself and others today. Speak the truth about who Jesus is and who you are over the situations that you’ll face today.

• Today, Jesus allows me to live free from condemnation and full of confidence. (Romans 8:1; Philippians 1:6)
• Today, the love of Jesus makes me an overcomer…no matter what. (Romans 8:31-39, esp. verse 37)
• Today, the work of Jesus has prepared me to work for Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10)
• Today, I will choose to forgive others when they are at their worst because Jesus forgave me when I was at my worst. (Colossians 3:12-13)
• Today, the power of Jesus in me means that I have everything I need for everything I will face. (2 Peter 1:3)
• Today, the value of knowing Jesus will impact how I use my time and energy. (Philippians 3:8)
• Today, the generous gift of Jesus allows me to live with a new heart that is generous like his. (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 9:15; Jeremiah 24:7; Matthew 10:8)
• Today, I will live and give generously so that God can give more blessings to more people through me. (2 Corinthians 9:11)