When it turns out that He makes a better Boss after all...

You know how it goes...

It can be with anything... you can fill in the blank, but God opens a door and you begin to make a plan.  You start to decide how things will go after you walk through and you start to flesh it out and make it happen.  

It doesn't matter if it is something new or something you have done a thousand times... in your mind you see the open door and immediately begin to create an outline; a safety net; you know --a comfort zone of how it's gonna play out.


Sometimes He lets us play like that. But sometimes He likes to stretch us and grow us and remind us that He moves inside and outside of time and that He makes a better Boss.  


He is the one who created and crafted us, who formed us and placed within us the giftings and talents and passions and good works that He predestined beforehand for us to walk in and use for His glory and to expand His Kingdom.

It's just that sometimes (read: almost all of the times) He doesn't want to show us the step-by-step details... or even the vague ones. Sometimes He just asks us to see the open door and walk calmly right on through it with no plan of action in place whatsoever. You know, like we are walking by faith!  

It's easier, we reason, to take a leap and jump if we could just get a little glimpse of where we are supposed to land! We'd like to know our dismount and the crowd approval rating, but He doesn't fall for it.  He will not be manipulated.

He will, however, let us take the reigns and make a plan and go about it in our own way. He may even bless it and cause it to prosper, but we will never know how much more or better or greater it would have been if we would have just listened and followed His lead --even if it takes us around a few blind corners!

I am learning...

I am learning that as long as I am leaning in to Him... He will lead me on. 

I am learning that He is a rewarder of risk and that He is the only safety net that I will ever need --He is the only Comfort Zone that truly gives comfort while releasing me into more of who He made me to be!

Last weekend, I was invited to teach a session during a Women's conference. My topic was to be Identity and I am pretty passionate about that.  He had whispered to me last year that He had plans that included more speaking engagements --that my writing was more about speaking than it was about books-- and so I quickly accepted.

Funny, though, because I thought I had laid those dreams down. Then again, He is a Redeeming God and He is a Resurrection God and so when He opens doors and pours out favor, I have pledged to step through. Shaking, sometimes... maybe even a little reluctant, but I will walk through nonetheless.

Immediately, however, I reverted back to how I used to do things... back in the olden days when I would teach. I made an outline and started to plan my talk, word for word because I am spontaneous like that.  

All the while, He kept saying lovely things like:

"That outline is pretty good, Babe. Maybe we'll use it, but maybe we won't!"  

or:

"I love how you prepare, but we are not going to do things the way we've done them before!"

Nice.

You know, comforting.
...only not!

And yet as the day approached, I found myself at peace because He assured me that all He was asking of me was to be a storyteller. I like that.

"Simply tell our story," He said, "and I will do the rest!"

I thought maybe I could trick Him with the whole outline thing, and so I asked again about the one I had mapped out. He once again said that I could bring it with me, but we may not use it! (For the record, we did ...but only a little!)

So I asked Him what He would say were some practical important things that we could do to learn our own true identity. Honestly, I didn't think He would answer because He totally knew what I was trying to do, but here's the deal: 
He's a gracious Boss, too!  

So - this is what He shared and it is so good... so true... so doable, that I wanted to share it with you too, because I want you to know who you are and who He created you to be!

Here are Three Things that you can do to learn your true identity:

1. Get to know God... (Don’t just know about Him, but truly get to know Him!)

2. Make time for Self-Care... (Pay attention to what feeds you and to what drains you. Tweak accordingly, as needed!)

3. Surround yourself in Diversity... (Broaden your circles to include all kinds of people with all kinds of giftings, talents, and passions. Mix & Mingle and SEE how God will use your uniqueness to fill the gaps, build the bridges, and to work together to bring Him Glory!)

I know, right? He's a smart Boss, too!

       


P.S.  I'm linking up with these lovely writers:

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart

Meredith Bernard for #Woman2WomanWednesday