Erwin Mcmanus Way Of The Warrior Quotes

Peace comes when you stop trying to control the world around you and instead take responsibility for the world within you.

We will never know peace if we lose the present because we are trapped in the past and paralyzed by the future.

most people would rather live in the predictability of captivity than risk the uncertainty that comes in a fight for freedom.

The warrior does not need a crowd; they need a tribe.

The warrior knows that their imagination is not a place to escape but to create.

If you find yourself living in a world where there is only cynicism, negativity, and distrust, you need to realize that it’s a world of your own making. There is a more beautiful world out there to be known, but you have to be able to see it. You have to want it. You must be willing to risk, to step outside of what you know, to live in a more extraordinary unknown.

The warrior has peace of mind because they know that there is always a way to find light, even in the midst of the greatest darkness. They know that there is always hope to be found, even in despair. Peace can exist in the midst of turmoil only if you believe in the beauty of the future. Peace sees the beauty everywhere. When you walk in peace, you are overwhelmed by the wonder of the universe and the beauty of life.

We all know the old adage about why an elephant with all its power can be held in place by a small rope and peg. This is because elephants remember when they were babies and did not have the strength to pull the peg out of the ground. In short, elephants remain captive because their memories lie to them. They tell them that their past is their future—that what they experienced before will always be the reality that is before them.

To blame others is an act of cowardice. We blame in an attempt to hide our shame. This is not the way of the warrior. The warrior understands that to blame is not simply an abdication of responsibility but a relinquishing of power. You cannot change what you do not take responsibility for.

We do not see the world as it is; we see the world as we are. A heart filled with violence will never see a world filled with peace. You can bring hope only if you have found hope.

The future awaits those with the courage to create it.

Ownership is not about possession; it is about responsibility. What you own matters far less than what you take ownership for. What you take responsibility for is far more important than what you think you own.

It may seem completely counterintuitive, but in my experience, depressed people are the least likely to be willing to change any of their life patterns. In other words, people who hate their lives are the least likely to change them. When you love your life, you are more open to change. When you somehow find yourself in a life you never wanted, it has a paralyzing effect. It becomes a subtle version of Stockholm syndrome, where you develop an unhealthy relationship to your captor and disdain for anyone trying to set you free.

Jesus provides a perfect example of why ownership is not about taking possession of what’s in front of you but about taking responsibility for what has been entrusted to you. The men who multiplied the master’s wealth were not the owners of that wealth, but they did take ownership of it.

But if you choose the way of the warrior, living a life of service, it will demand of you the best you have. You may not need to be great, but the world needs your greatness. Whatever God has placed within you that could ever be described as great was never meant for you, anyway. It’s a stewardship that has been given to you. Greatness never belongs to the one who carries it; it belongs to the world that needs it.

It is no small thing that Paul says that only with this new mind can you become a new you. So often the will of God is described as something to be received rather than something that must be perceived. Paul tells us that when our minds are renewed, it is then and only then that we are able to test and approve what the will of God is. When we see the world from this new mind, we will see that God’s intention for us is good and pleasing and perfect.

The warrior lives to fulfill God's intention that the world would reflect all that is good and beautiful and true.

The way of the warrior is not free from pain, it is not free from disappointment, and it is not free from failure. The warrior knows well the struggles that come with fear and self-doubt and even despair. The warrior knows there are no victories that are not first won - within. Never forget who you are.

See Him everywhere. His fingerprints in every page of human history. Feel him move in the wind, hear his roar in the ocean, know his presence in every breath.

It is defeat that strips you bare and forces you to see your truest self. Success allows you to maintain the illusion of who you are. It is in failure that you come to know yourself best. When you face defeat, all you're left with us yourself. It is then you will face your greatest battle.

The way we store energy is through our desires, values, passions, hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and ultimately our greatest capacity for energy storage is through what we love.

If you are comfortable with where you are, you will never know how far you can go. If you refuse to change, then you refuse to grow.

Hidden in your fears is the faith you are searching for. If you want to meet God, stand in your fears. Stand in your pain. Stand when everything inside you tells you to withdraw. Elijah ran from God and ran right into him.

By the way, if you’re running from God, he’s already waiting for you, wherever your journey takes you. No matter how far you run, he will be just as close to you as he was when you left.

There are times when you will choose to walk with God and you will feel as if you are walking alone. Yet you must not forget that you are never alone: God is always with you.

When you need to run, don’t run from God; run to him. Don’t run from the people you need in your life; run to them. Life was never meant to be lived alone.

We do not see the world as it is; we see the world as we are.

The warrior knows that peace does not come from control but from relinquishing control. Everything in life that you try to control that is outside your control will steal from you your peace. You must choose to take hold of what you can control and let go of what you cannot.

The way of the warrior is a path toward ownership. The warrior takes responsibility for their life, their actions, and the world around them. The warrior knows that they own nothing, so they can risk everything. The warrior knows that the measure of their success is not in the outcome but in the intention. The courage to face the challenge is the victory. The warrior is not afraid to be exposed by defeat. Defeat does not diminish the heart of the warrior, for they do not fight for their own fame but for the freedom of others.

Wisdom understands that it is less important to win a fight or a point than it is to win the person. Wisdom knows that you should never fight against people; you should fight for them.

Wisdom is the warrior’s greatest weapon. When you have wisdom, you are never unarmed, you are never defenseless, and you are never powerless. You need skill to know how to shoot an arrow straight, but only wisdom can teach you how to never need to shoot it. Wisdom is not the result of having learned enough; it comes when you know there is never enough learning.

The warrior is like a river, with fluid and adaptive moves. The warrior is not rigid or unchanging. The warrior is not like a stone that cannot be broken but like water that even when cut in two cannot be divided. It is not a weapon that makes you a warrior—it is your wisdom.

The fool feels powerful because they have a weapon in their hand; the warrior knows they are powerful when their hands are empty.

The warrior is not formed by what has been done and what can’t be done; the heart of the warrior is formed by what must be done.

You cannot win the battle for your soul if you choose to live the life of a fool, neglecting the health of your soul and not taking time to refine who you are.

he never discouraged the disciples from wanting to be first; he just told them what first looks like in his economy: If you want to be first, then you must be last. If you want to be first, you must become the servant of all. He didn’t try to diminish their ambition; he tried to redirect their intention.

The call to servanthood finds its power only when it is received by those who are on the pursuit of greatness.

True humility can be experienced only when we have come to know our power and use it for the good of others and not for ourselves.

You need to know your power, and you need to take ownership of it, not to mention the power that has been placed within you because of the presence of God’s Spirit in your life. If the God who created the entire universe dwells in your heart, how could you ever consider yourself powerless?

This is what makes Jesus different than the rest of us. After Jesus knew he had all things under his power, he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him.

He is the Savior of all because he is the servant of all. This is the way of the warrior: to serve is to sacrifice. To serve is to give oneself for the good of others. Jesus used his power to serve, and in this moment of servanthood, we see his greatness.

David had one posture: servanthood. Because he saw himself as a servant, he was a shepherd like no one had ever known.

He wasn’t fighting for his own glory or his own fame; he was fighting because no one else would and because he understood what was at stake. When he killed the lion and the bear, there was no audience and no applause. God and God alone knew David’s actions and knew his heart.

The spirit of a servant is to sacrifice one’s own life for the good of those they serve.

Servanthood is not a stage of life; it is a posture of the heart.

Greatness is never found; it is gained. Greatness never comes easy; it’s always the outcome of great discipline and hard work. If you’re comfortable with where you are, if you’re complacent, you will never discover the greatness that lies within. Complacency is like pouring water on coals. It is so important not to misunderstand the words of Jesus. Remember, he never said, “Don’t be great.” In fact, his invitation was for only those who aspire to greatness: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”49 You will never know the power of servanthood until you know the fire of greatness.

Ambition, competition, and greatness can, and in fact must, exist in the same universe as humility, selflessness, and servanthood. Greatness cannot be achieved without sacrifice, and true servanthood is not the outcome of subservience but of passion. You can choose both humility and ambition. You can choose both competitiveness and selflessness. You can choose both greatness and servanthood. The truth that Jesus is trying to drive us to is that when these are brought together, we see ourselves best and most fully. In Buddhism, the ultimate end is the elimination of all desire. In the way of Jesus, our highest expression of being human is a life consumed with passion.

The warrior trains their mind to know the good and beautiful and true.

The warrior remembers but does not look back. The future is coming from only one direction and that’s forward. The warrior has learned that if their mind is lost in the past, they will lose their future.

Hope cannot exist in the past. That’s called regret. Hope can exist only in the future. Faith connects us to the future. It also shifts the parameters of our limitations. When we have assurance in things seen, we are limited by what we have, by what we know, and by what we can prove. When we have assurance in things not seen, we now add to our resources everything that exists in the realm of mystery, uncertainty, and endless possibilities.

There is only a good fight and a good death for the one whose life is given to the noble.

Worry projects a negative view of the world around us. Worry projects a negative future. Worry is an act of faith. It is a deep-seated belief in worst-case scenarios. Worry is not rooted in reality but does affect our reality.

We have no control over the reality that in this world we will have trouble, but we have control over whether we decide to allow our hearts to be troubled.

fear has a direct object, anxiety is fear without an object. We experience anxiety when we feel overwhelmed by life. In order to reduce our anxiety, we often create smaller and smaller boundaries to give us some sense of control over our lives.

When nature seems to bend to the will of God and man, we call it a miracle. Is it possible that what we define as a miracle is simply the reestablishing of the proper order of creation?