Jon Gordon - The Garden - A Spiritual Fable About Ways to Overcome Fear, Anxiety, and Stress

Chapter 12

Victory Is Yours

When Jay and Kay arrived in the garden, they saw Mr. Erwin polishing the statue as he sat on the ground beside it. “How do you feel?” he asked them, knowing what they were going to say.

“We were emotionally drained and exhausted last night,” said Kay.

“But we feel great this morning,” said Jay. “We feel lighter and freer like I feel on the days I don't have to carry my band instrument around.”

“Victory feels good,” said Mr. Erwin. He stopped polishing the statue, put the rag down, and stood up. He noticed that Jay wasn’t slumping as much and Kay wasn't tapping her foot nervously. “I want you to remember this feeling. I want you to remember that you are victorious.”

“How could we forget it?” asked Jay. He thought he could never forget how good he felt.

“Oh, it happens,” said Mr. Erwin. “It happens a lot to a lot of people. Over time the enemy continues to try to make you forget the battle has been won. The enemy gets you to focus on the mistakes you made in the past rather than the victory that is yours. When you make a new mistake or fall short of perfection, he'll try to make you feel like a fraud. He'll try to make you feel like you didn't earn this victory. And before you know it, you're walking around all defeated again.”

“So even though we are victorious and won the battle, it's not over?” asked Jay, who was trying to understand how they could be victorious and yet have to continue to withstand the attacks of the enemy.

“Here's the deal,” said Mr. Erwin. “You are victorious. You must walk in that victory. Yet, you will have to prepare for new attacks. And as you fight new battles you can do so knowing you have won the battle before it even starts. You are not fighting for victory. You are fighting from victory. You know the full story. You know what happened in the garden is redeemed. What was once lost is now won. You didn't earn this victory yourself but don't let the enemy distort this truth and use it against you.

“Instead, realize that's the beauty and amazing thing about Jesus. You didn't earn it but victory is yours. That's what grace is all about. That's what love does. It gives you what you couldn't do on your own. So you should walk around confident but humble. Humble knowing there is a God and it's not you. Confident knowing you were made in God's image, and He has a plan for your life and provided a way for you to be victorious.

“Yes, the battle keeps playing out over and over again. It will happen in your life and all those on the planet. The enemy will continue to create doubt, distortion, discouragement, distraction, and division. But your job is to remember that victory is yours. Don't allow yourself to get defeated. Remember how to counter the Five D's. Remember who you are. Find your identity in God, not in what others think or say about you. Also, don’t let your identity be defined by the world or what the world can provide you.

“Remember everything you need, God will provide. When your identity, reliance, and trust is found in God alone and not yourself you will continue to be victorious. Jesus won the battle for you but you must choose to receive this victory every day. When you do it will lead to the seventh D and that is your Destiny.”

“So if we don't overcome the Five D's it leads to the sixth D, which is Defeat,” said Kay. “But in winning the battle each day, it leads us to overcome the Five D's and avoid the sixth D and leads us to the seventh D, which is our Destiny.”

“You got it, Kay. And here's the cool thing. Seven is the number of completion. The seventh D is Destiny and this is the plan and purpose God has for you. You are not here by accident. You are loved and there is a plan for your life. And like any hero in an epic movie, you must overcome evil with good in order to realize it. So God gives you your life, He allows you to face struggles and challenges along the way, but most importantly He gives you the power of choice, a plan and a way to overcome evil in order to live the life you were created to live and fulfill your destiny. God's fruit is Destiny, not divorce, defeat, and destruction. What the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good.

“So be confident that victory is yours and yet walk humbly each day, relying on God to receive this victory. After all, when Superman took off his superman outfit, who was he?”

“He was Clark Kent,” answered Jay. “Everyone knows that.”

“Actually, that's not true,” answered Mr. Erwin with a smirk. “He was still Superman. He was Superman on the inside. It didn't matter what he was wearing. The same goes for you throughout the rest of your life. No matter what career you choose or role you play in the world or what clothes you wear to work, you are still a child of God on the inside and you have the greatest power in the universe.”

“What's that?” asked Jay.

“The power of love to overcome your fear, stress, and challenges,” said Mr. Erwin. “And like every superhero, you will have to fight new battles and face new challenges. But as you do, always know that I'm here for you to coach you along the way. The stakes are higher than soccer matches when you were kids, and I'm here to help you win.”

Chapter 13

New Challenges and Victories

Mr. Erwin and the twins agreed to meet in the garden before school once a week going forward. It was a time they both looked forward to, to talk about any challenges they were facing, and how the Five D's were showing up in their lives and what they needed to do to counter them.

As is always the case, new challenges emerged, but instead of causing the twins to go down the spiral staircase of worry and despair, they were armored with the truth and plan to win the new battles they faced. Jay still faced the bullies but he stopped walking like he was defeated and started walking with confidence. Eventually they got tired of Jay hitting back and left him alone. At times, Jay still worried about his future but Mr. Erwin would remind him not to worry about his greatness in the future. Just be great today. God will take care of the outcome. As a result, Jay spent less time worrying about being a famous filmmaker and more time focusing on making great movies. He posted them online and one just happened to be seen by a professor at a film school that offered Jay a scholarship. His grades still weren't great but his films were, and he was more clear about his purpose and less worried about his future than ever.

Despite all the victories he was experiencing, that didn't stop him from having suicidal thoughts when his girlfriend broke up with him. Jay met her his junior year in high school. It turns out when you know who you truly are, others are more drawn to you and want to know you. A girl who loved music and film as much as he did talked to him after band practice one day and after that they were inseparable. Until the day she got accepted into her dream school, knew she didn't want to be in a long-distance relationship, and cheated on him with one of their friends. All of Jay's past fears and insecurities came roaring back, and he was filled with doubt, discouragement, and thoughts of ending it all to avoid the pain.

Thankfully, Mr. Erwin was able to help him see how he was being attacked once again and reminded him that God has a plan. If she was the one for him it would work out. If not, it meant there was someone else that God has for him, and he would meet her in the right place at the right time.

Jay realized how easy it was to forget the lessons of the Five D's and get discouraged and defeated. At first his ex-girlfriend's actions made him feel like something was wrong with him. It made him question himself. Was something wrong with him that she would do this to him? His identity was being attacked. Mr. Erwin helped him see that her actions had nothing to do with him. His identity should never be defined by what others say or do but rather by the God who created you. The experience made Jay rely more on God and develop a deeper, more trusting relationship with Him. He found more focus for his films and more peace when thinking about what the future held.