I recently received a powerful reminder about the importance of using the spiritual gifts you’ve been entrusted with.
Coming home from work within the past couple of weeks, I drove right into a traffic jam. It was a road I’d driven a thousand times before, but this time the traffic stopped and barely moved. Sirens behind me drew my attention to my side-view mirrors, and I could see cars pulling off to the side to let emergency vehicles through.
Things weren’t totally shut down yet, so there was enough movement for us all to slowly merge into a single lane of traffic. Between the light at the next intersection and something going on up ahead, progress was slow. As I finally came around a bend in the road, I saw fire trucks with lights flashing, blocking most of the intersection. Lots of firefighters were out of the trucks, walking around, and one of them knelt next to a guy lying on the ground. A motorcycle lay on the ground a little further up the road.
As I neared the front of the line, a vehicle blocked most of my view of the guy who had been involved in the accident, but I could still see his feet. All I could see were his jeans and his work boots. I sat there wondering about the details of what had happened, when another firefighter, not in a hurry, came out and stood at the fellow’s feet, opened up a sheet, and spread it over the man lying on the ground.
Talk about a wake-up call!
I’d like to share two things with you today. The first is that life is precious; it’s fleeting, it’s fragile, and it’s over quickly. I’m sure that guy didn’t wake up thinking it would be his last day on Earth.
The second is more important. As Christians, we’re equipped with spiritual gifts, and the world is dying for us to use them. You don’t know how much time you’ve got left to put them to use. Don’t take your gifts to Heaven; Heaven doesn’t need them.
Between the time I write this and the time the post goes live, there will be countless additional tragedies around the world. I don’t know what the Lord has planned for your life if you accept His invitation to be used in His kingdom, but maybe you can prevent, mitigate, or bring comfort in the midst of some of those tragedies. I’m sure that sometime in the past few days, you’ve either personally been involved with, or you’ve heard about some unfortunate or terrible event in the news. Wherever you are, please take a moment to pray for comfort for the loved ones of those involved, and for the Holy Spirit to show you how you should put your spiritual gifts into action. The world shouldn’t have to wait for us any longer.
It’s probably been almost 20 years since I last jumped out of an airplane, but there are still some fun memories of those days. Most of the skydiving you see in pictures or videos is called “belly flying,” where the skydiver is laying down horizontally. It’s a lot of fun, I did a lot of neat stuff that way. You fall about 120 mph, and you can flip, roll, do formations, all kinds of neat stuff.
But there was a brief time in this chapter of my life I wanted to try something a little more edgy. Rather than belly flying, it’s possible to do something called “sit flying” or “head-down flying,” where you position yourself vertically instead of horizontally. It’s trickier to do and takes some additional practice. You can do it right-side up (so you look like you’re standing in the air) or upside-down. Since you’re positioned vertically rather than horizontally, there’s less drag and you have a faster terminal velocity. Instead of 120 mph, you’re falling closer to 150 or 180 mph. Unfortunately it means the freefall is over sooner, but the tradeoff is faster speeds allow you to have more precise control once you become proficient at it.
I only tried this for a handful of jumps. I jumped with a coach, who stayed belly-flying until I managed to get into a vertical orientation. It was tough to do, I had a lot of stutter-starts, and it was a totally different animal than the skydiving I was used to. For a bit, I got the balance right and I started accelerating toward the ground, away from my coach. She was very experienced, so she caught up to me once I got away from her. The thing that felt really weird was when I managed to hold the right position for awhile, I started going so fast my goggles began wobbling from the wind. I was on the cusp of starting to get this totally new thing figured out when I, for whatever reason, couldn’t hold the position any longer, and I tumbled out of the vertical orientation and my body acted like an air brake and slowed me down by 30+ mph (can you imagine?). I got a little taste of that “next level” feeling, and I couldn’t hang on.
We’ll come back to this in a minute, but first I’d like to talk for just a bit about the different aspects of various ministries that excite us.
God created all of us with various interests. Even unbelievers have different hobbies they enjoy. Why? Why does someone get into stamp collecting while someone else crochets or enjoys woodworking, gardening, or painting? (Or skydiving?) None of it’s right or wrong; it’s just how God wired us as individuals. For those of us who become Christians, there’s a similar phenomenon at play. Upon being saved, many develop a desire to serve the body of Christ in some capacity, but there’s no cookie-cutter approach to how to go about doing it. We’re drawn to one or more of myriad possibilities.
Think about the different volunteer opportunities available in church. A few which come to mind are greeters, playing instruments, being an usher, singing, being a Sunday school teacher or working on the audio/visual team. That’s just in your local body of believers; beyond those walls you can volunteer in soup kitchens, hospitals, meal delivery organizations, do things like yard work for folks who can’t do that sort of thing anymore, etc. In broader terms, there are those attracted to ministry roles which care for the hurting, which help give rest to the weary, or which train Christians for something grander. There are others, limited only by God’s imagination. What type of ministry sparks your interest? If you had to donate personal time and effort to helping others in some capacity, what would you choose to allocate it toward?
For me, my particular ministry area of interest is seeing the sparks fly when people step out of their status quo lives and into the unknown, knowing only that they’ve been called to move out in faith in a particular direction. I love seeing when people recognize and then step into the role they were made for, when they start down the road of becoming who they were meant to be. It’s that moment when faith overflows into action, like Noah gathering his family around and saying “we’re building a boat.” It’s a shepherd boy saying “I’ll fight him.” It’s those “goosebump” moments in the Christian walk.
Sadly, many readers of the Bible seem to think the God of the Old Testament no longer empowers His followers today. This world is full of Christians living lives far below their potential, and I want to be a part of a ministry that encourages them to step into the role God has waiting for them. That’s why I write. If they just took that next step into whatever it is they know they’re called toward, they just might have a sit-flying experience, where their goggles start shimmying, their eyes go wide, and it takes their breath away to get a taste of the world that awaits them.
At some time or another, at least one person from all but a handful of the world’s nations has stopped in to visit this blog. Some had to circumvent firewalls to do it, others stumbled across it despite it being one blog among thousands. Of the believers among all those visitors, imagine all the backgrounds, cultures, and scenarios that exist. All of them are called to live lives honoring the Lord, and the way they do that is different for each person. What would the world look like if they all pursued God’s calling for their lives, even if they didn’t fully understand what it looked like?
Is there something tugging at your mind or heart, something God’s burdened you with, that you can’t shake? It might just be Him saying “come on, I’ve got a job for you.” Take a deep breath, pray for clarity, strength, courage, and commitment, and move out on what you know to be God’s will for your life.
In the world of high-performance cars, horsepower plays a crucial role. Speaking generally, the greater the available horsepower, the more speed is attainable. Two of the essential components of maximizing horsepower are adequate amounts of air to facilitate combustion and adequate amounts of fuel to ignite in the combustion chamber. If either one of those components suffers a reduction, the horsepower drops.
Sometimes vehicles with a lot of horsepower are illegal to use on normal public roads. For people who own one of these cars and want to use them out on the streets, one of the options for making them “street legal” is to install a restrictor plate. This is a physical barrier that reduces the amount of air making it into the engine, leading to a loss in combustion efficiency, and causing a corresponding loss of horsepower and drop in speed. It’s kind of a shame, really.
We’ll come back to that in a minute. The world seems like it’s getting darker at a more rapid rate these days. The news media doesn’t often carry good or uplifting news that makes you think positively about humanity’s future. The demise of morality leads me to think it’s not a stretch to believe that some people alive today will still be alive when the Rapture occurs.
If this is true, I believe two things are going to happen along the way. The first is that evil will become more blatant and more prominent. Things formerly only done in secret will be accepted out in the open. A few months back (as our family was driving to church, no less), we stopped at a red light, and I saw the car in front of us had a bumper sticker that said “Satan loves me.” It was disheartening for sure, and I felt a profound sadness for the young lady driving the car and for anyone believing this lie.
The second thing I believe will happen is a more potent display of God’s power through His saints. What that looks like I don’t know, but supernatural involvement will be obvious to any witnesses who are intellectually honest with themselves. Sometimes it will mean believers doing things they shouldn’t be able to do. Other times people will show up in places without knowing why they traveled there, only to find they’re part of some unlikely series of events that unfolds to reveal God’s hand in the process. People will testify of God’s provision in their lives, either by having their material needs met in unusual ways or by receiving hope in very dark times. In some cases, likely growing in frequency, Christ-followers will be killed because of the Master they serve, but God will empower those saints to rise to the challenge placed before them.
Not a rosy picture by any stretch, I know. Yet it gives me hope to know God can and will equip those who trust Him. This brings me to the main point of this post. Though you may trust Christ as your savior, you’re the one that decides how much to limit His ability to use you for building His kingdom. Although each of us has unlimited potential to do the Lord’s work, it’s His call as to how much He wants to let each of us accomplish, so that’s out of our hands. What each of us can decide is our minimum level of willingness. Imagine if Moses had persisted in making excuses until God said “fine, I’ll send someone else.” Imagine if Billy Graham had said “no, I think I’ll avoid anything to do with public speaking, thank you.” Are you willing to accept some discomfort and unknowns for the sake of letting God use you more than He’s currently using you? I’m not just talking about being an usher at church or singing in the choir (though those are good things). I’m talking about the stuff you’re ill-equipped to do and is outside your comfort zone, yet you still feel God tugging at you and saying “this is the direction I want you to go.”
Said another way, you are your own restrictor plate when it comes to serving the Lord. You can’t guarantee high performance, but you can absolutely guarantee you don’t reach your maximum potential of using your spiritual gifts and abilities to be a productive agent of the Lord.
I’m impressed by today’s young people. It seems those in high school and college are consistently a different type of passionate for Christ. Somewhere between that age and mid-life, many of us peter out in terms of our willingness to boldly step out in faith to follow where Christ calls us to go. We get our own place to live. Some of us get married. We achieve career milestones. We have kids. These can all be good things, but somewhere along the way, many of us lose that awestruck attitude of “Christ can do anything through me,” trading it for one that’s more like “but this is probably as good as it gets.” We don’t allow God the chance to do big things on His behalf through us because we close the door on the possibility of Him doing them. We walk away from Isaiah’s attitude of “Here I am, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)
Everyone, of course, must make their own decisions about how much they’ll let God use them. From now until the time your heart stops beating, though, I’d urge you to be on the lookout for opportunities to step into roles Christ offers you. Darker days mean opportunities to shine brighter for the Lord. God’s gonna do what God’s gonna do, but someone’s eternal fate might switch from lost to found because of your willingness to be used by the Lord. Isn’t that something you’d like to be a part of?
November in northern Virginia can be a little unpredictable. Some days it’s very cold, other days it’s very mild. The 10-day forecast can vary quite a bit, so it’s a good idea to check in on it frequently.
One morning the temperature got pretty warm and a heavy fog settled over the area. When I say ‘heavy fog,” it’s hard to oversell how thick it was. On this particular morning, I headed into work well before dawn. Between the darkness and the fog, it was a unique experience. I don’t ever recall having been inside a black fog prior to that. It was a little freaky, to be honest with you. The darkness felt oppressive, and almost tangible. I imagine it’s kind of what it felt like during the plague of darkness the Egyptians encountered in Exodus chapter 10.
Well anyway, the usual commute moved a little slower than normal, and it was odd to see tail lights so close, yet still fading into the inky blackness. The route I took that morning involved a descent down a long hill, toward a traffic light at the bottom. I’d done this trip numerous times in the past, and always wanted to be at a certain point down the hill by the time the light turned yellow. That way I knew I had enough time for the next group of cars to get a green light and get through the intersection and still get there in time to take advantage of the left-hand turn arrow that came after that.
It was a strange and unsettling thing to be driving at normal speed, see numerous tail lights in front of me, many (dimmer) headlights in my mirrors, but not be able to see the faithful traffic light at the bottom of the hill.
Here we were, racing headlong into oblivion, and we couldn’t see far enough in front of us to stop if we came upon an unexpected hazard. We all gained a false sense of security in seeing others around us moving at the same speed, doing the same thing we were doing, and we all just kind of figured that since other people were doing it, it’s probably okay.
Well, thankfully I didn’t encounter any sort of hazard that morning, but if a deer had decided to venture across the road at an unfortunate time, I wouldn’t have had the time or space to do much about it.
This is where most non-believers find themselves today. They’re rushing headlong into oblivion, thinking that everything’s going to be okay because they’re in the same boat as a lot of other people. Things worked out fine for me that day, but others aren’t going to fare nearly as well for these people when they stand before the Almighty.
It’s our job to sound the alarm for them. We (Christ followers) formerly stood where they stood, and have escaped the fate they’re still rushing so quickly into: an eternity separated from fellowship with God.
People fill their time with busyness, equating being busy with doing meaningful things, thinking they’ve got plenty of time to think about the more spiritual side of things later, but in reality having no idea how much time they’ve got left to consider such things. The unimportant things of life distract from the central issue of humanity’s existence.
Christians are called to spread the reality of the situation. It’s our job to help wake them up. For their sake, I implore you to use the spiritual gifts you’ve been entrusted with. I’ve heard it said that the Creator of the universe preferred to die than to live without you. The reality is that the same holds true for all the other people out there, too. It’s up to us to let them know, so they can make their own decision.
Enjoying DareGreatlyNow’s posts? Subscribe for a new post every Thursday!
Can you imagine being shipwrecked three times? (Well, I guess it was four, but only three had happened by the time this letter was written.) What about experiencing a sentence of 39 lashes…on five different occasions? Or being adrift in the open sea all night, then all the next day?
The apostle Paul did these things, and much more. The book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 24-33 contains a list of Paul’s sufferings for the cause of Christ. He put together this list not because he wanted to brag about the things he’d been through, but to connect with an audience he believed needed to hear the point he was making. Constantly in danger from his own people, but also from people of different faiths, Paul survived the threat of robbers, false believers, dangers in both cities and in the wilderness, and endured sleeplessness, hunger and thirst, the cold, and the stress and genuine worry that comes along with being concerned about the well being of churches he’d started.
Paul suffered much for the cause of Christ, and that “resumé” is part of what gives him the ability to make such bold claims to opponents of Christianity. Relentlessly focused on spreading the Gospel, Paul’s experiences gave him the “street cred” to use his ministry to advance the Good News. His list of experiences would make anybody sit up and pay attention to what he had to say.
This is DareGreatlyNow’s 250th blog post. Some of the posts age better than others, but the Christ-focused messages hold up. The different entries are mostly about things I’ve experienced. In a sense, this undertaking is my testimony. I can’t hold a candle to Paul and the type of ministry he had, but I can relay my experiences in the hopes of moving toward the same goal he had: advancing the Kingdom of Christ by sharing what He’s done in my life.
Our focus areas are a little different from one another. Paul started churches and mentored young leaders, addressing corruption in the church and encouraging obedient believers. His work involved becoming closely involved in the daily lives of people he came to know very well. He was a leader that rolled up his sleeves and got close enough to correct people when they were wrong, to call out false teachers, and to protect his figurative sheep from various dangers.
I, on the other hand, work to encourage readers to believe that they can be a part of advancing Christ’s kingdom and are capable of more than what they believe themselves to be. I want Christ followers to not only know, but also live in such a way that in the midst of darkening skies, they should abandon reluctance and embrace the use of the spiritual gifts they’ve been empowered with, becoming exactly who it is they were born to be. I want to help people seize on the idea that they were created for more than what their lives currently are, but they have to realize it’s going to take some discomfort on their part to be able to reach their full potential in living for Christ.
I haven’t lived through shipwrecks, beatings, or getting stoned by an angry mob. I write about adventures from my younger years, parenthood, current events, and Bible passages. I recount failures, close calls, and “what were you thinking?!” scenarios. I’ll probably never meet most of the people who read these entries, but I trust that the Lord will help the posts make their way to the people that need to see them. Very few of the events I relay here were things I intended to pursue as a child, but whether I planned them or not, they’re now part of who I am and they’ve helped shape how I see the world. I’m thankful for (most of) them, and I love that I get to share them while turning parts of my life into object lessons that somehow glorify the Lord.
I don’t have to be as famous as Paul; that’s not the type of service God has called me into. His neck was constantly on the line. I don’t deal with that level of stress. I have more food than I need and I can take a hot shower or sleep in a soft bed every day. All I have to do is pay for a website and dedicate some time to writing. God prompted me to do it, and He hasn’t prompted me to stop yet, so I guess He’s still got plans for the posts that are yet to come.
What’s really exciting is that you’re similarly equipped for serving the Lord. I don’t know what the nature of your calling is, but all Christians are empowered with spiritual gifts and other resources that can be used in serving Christ. I also have no idea how God intends to interweave the service of multiple believers, but it’s exciting to think about. If there’s something big that God intends to do years from now, He’s probably already got things in motion. There are going to be things happening in your life, or in my life, that help set the stage for future events. You and I need God to prepare us for those things because if we walked into those future situations right now, we’d be lacking something we’d otherwise have by taking “the long way.”
It’s quite within the realm of possibility that there are things occurring in someone else’s life over the next few weeks, months, or years, that are teeing up a situation where somebody will be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to provide you with exactly the thing you need the most, precisely when you need it most (and I have no idea what that would look like). That’s not an accident, and it’s a privilege to be able to recognize when you’re a part of that. If you offer your talents, and others offer their talents, when used by God, it creates more opportunities for a grand story.
Anyway, thank you to all those that have subscribed, encouraged me, or otherwise supported me in my efforts to follow the Lord’s calling for my life. I hope you’re supported in following your calling. Hopefully in Heaven we’ll get some insight into how we’re all connected through this grand story. In the meantime, take joy in honoring the Lord in a way that only you can…it might just be the reason you were put here.
Sometime in the spring/summer of 2008, my first-time-pregnant wife came to my place of work to attend a ceremony celebrating the promotion of several people, including me.
Since being pregnant was a new thing for her, there was still a lot she didn’t know about how pregnancy would affect her body. The ceremony was to be held in a conference room that was already in use by someone else, so a crowd of us began gathering outside the door as the start time drew near. There was no place to sit while we were waiting, and my wife started feeling very hot and a little woozy. She told me something felt very wrong, and I was able to be right there to catch her as she fainted.
I was ready to ditch the ceremony and take her to the hospital, not knowing what was wrong. A gentle, but decisive old Master Sergeant made his way to us and helped revive my wife. Finding out she was pregnant, he disappeared somewhere else in the building for a few minutes, then returned with a piece of cake on a paper plate. He knew from experience that a mother-to-be’s body has an important relationship with blood sugar, and that skipping meals has a different set of consequences than when not pregnant.
Skip ahead about 14 years. A couple weeks ago our family took a trip to a beach town I’ve been visiting on and off since I was a kid. Part of the draw for that little town is a bakery that produces some great “I’ll eat better when I’m back home” food. My wife, our three kids, and I were milling around inside, each of us choosing something for that morning. The place had a number of customers waiting their turn, and our turn finally came. While my wife was in the middle of placing our family’s order, a man’s voice called out “can somebody dial 911?!” I looked over to see a man holding an unconscious woman, seated in a chair at a table near the window, preventing her from falling over. Her head was bent at an awkward angle, her hair completely covering her face.
I reached for my phone, only to discover that I didn’t have it on me. (I’m on vacation, at the bakery. If you call me here, I’m not answering it.) Both my wife and one of the bakery staff placed the call. I went over and tried to see how I could help. In talking to him, I learned that she was a couple of months pregnant, and I passed the info along to those on the phone with the dispatchers. Though he was obviously well-intentioned, it became pretty apparent that the guy didn’t have a clue what to do. I told him that we needed to get her lowered to the floor. Protective of his girl, and not really willing to comply until he determined that I wasn’t some sort of con man, he asked “are you a doctor or something?”
Now, I’m no doctor. I haven’t been certified in CPR or first aid in over 20 years. A few thoughts flashed through my head, memories of things I could tell him about, and I almost flipped out on the guy about whether or not he was seriously asking me this question while this woman, for all I knew, was choking to death on a bear claw while he tried to establish my credentials. Instead I answered something like “I know a thing or two about this. We need to make sure her airway is clear, and I can’t do it when she’s like this.”
That seemed enough to satisfy him, and the two of us lowered her to the ground so she was seated with her legs out in front of her. Before we could lay her down all the way, she started coming around. The fella held her steady as she groggily started piecing together what happened. During the course of talking with her, it came out that she had skipped having any food so far that morning. At only two months pregnant with a first-time pregnancy, it was still early enough that you’re still kind of finding out the hard way what you can and can’t do. This all started feeling a lot more familiar to me. The bakery worker that had called 911, who I suspect had been through at least one pregnancy of her own, came over and offered an unopened bottle of orange juice. My wife now off the phone with 911, she, too, made the connection, and began telling about her experience 14 years prior.
We spent some time trying to help her not feel so embarrassed, sitting on the bakery floor with everyone staring at her. Right about then I saw a police vehicle arrive and the officer grab a pair of medical bags out of the trunk. Holding the door open for him and seeing that the professional was now on the scene, I turned my attention back to what we’d been doing. My kiddos, on their own, had moved to a part of the store where they’d be out of everyone’s way, and stood quietly waiting for things to play out. It was one of those “Jesus looked at them and loved them” kind of moments.
When our family left the bakery, those two were still being attended to by the police officer. Later that day though, we saw them walking around the town, so things must’ve turned out alright for them.
You’ve almost certainly heard before that God prepares you for the things He places in your path. Sometimes it’s funny how He does it. I certainly didn’t consider my wife’s fainting as a preparatory action, at least at the time. Who knows? Maybe in another 14 years, those two (by that time) well-experienced parents will be helping out another set of parents-to-be.
It’s also important not to get caught up in a “I’m not qualified” mindset (at least for the important things). Sure, we were qualified to call 911. We weren’t really “qualified” for any sort of medical care, but we were the ones to step forward and be there with someone that was going through something scary. It doesn’t take any special training. Often we focus more on the reasons why we shouldn’t step forward than on the reasons we should. If you’ll allow me to push the metaphor a little, I’d say that if you wait until you consider yourself “ready” to jump in and follow God’s call, you’re probably not ever going to do it. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, and He wants us to have willing hearts more than properly trained and educated minds. He’s given you different experiences, giftings, and abilities that are intended to be used. Please…use them.
Lord, thank you that this event didn’t seem to be anything serious. Thank you also that You put someone there to help those two get through it. Thank you still that You invited us to be a few of those “someones.” And finally, thank you for all the opportunities You’ll give everyone reading this to be a part of the story You’ve written for their lives; please give us all the courage and preparation we’ll need for those times. In Your name I ask, Amen.
The apostle Paul, in his closing salutation to the Colossians, made a unique remark to the readers of his letter.
In the second to last verse in the whole book, he told them something to pass along to somebody he knew, somebody named Archippus. I don’t know exactly who he was, some think he was probably the son of Philemon (as in…the book of Philemon, verse 2). In Colossians 4, verse 17, Paul says And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”
It’s so simple that you may have read right over it without even thinking about it. Why would this text even be included in the letter?
My guess is that Archippus was like a lot of us. I’m openly speculating here, but I’d guess Archippus was waffling about proceeding with the charge God had given him.
We read the well-known Bible stories and think “well, yeah, if God talked to me from a burning bush, I’d know what He wanted me to do, too!” Gideon got two chances to make sure he really got the message and that God wasn’t just messing with him.
For the rest of us though, God’s calling can be a lot more subtle. Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer, seeking, and waiting. Other times it’s dropped in your lap. Once you know it, though, you’re on the hook. It’s not just a dreamy “someday goal,” it’s something you’ve been charged by God to do, and it’s up to you to take steps toward making it happen.
It’s a sobering thing. Receiving a calling, great or small, means you have the opportunity to rise to the occasion. It’s God saying “okay, now let’s see how you do with this one.” It means you have the chance to step out in faith and act in obedience in a way that will enable you to look back later in life and be proud that you chose to honor the Lord when He gave you the invitation. You might take it, you might not; nobody’s going to make you. I don’t know what level of sadness is possible in Heaven, but I imagine that remembering lost opportunities on Earth to worship the King of Kings is probably one of the saddest things you could dwell on.
So with that perspective, I’d love to encourage anyone like Archippus…do it. Follow through. Take heart, because God you this charge…this ministry…for a reason. You might not learn it this side of Heaven, but it will all become clear someday. Fulfill that calling, and think of it as performing an act of worship.
Need a little motivation and a reminder about who you are? Check out this video. Take note of the thoughts you have while watching it, and don’t be afraid to take action.
Today’s post marks sort of an interesting milestone. Since I started the site, I’ve had three posts written by guest authors. Since this is the blog’s 203rd post, that makes this the 200th entry I’ve written. Woohoo!
Okay, something a little different today. I’ve been trying to develop this one for awhile, but I don’t know that it’s baked all the way through just yet. I can’t be the first person to think of this concept; there’s probably something similar in a seminary textbook or some theological dissertation somewhere, but this is the version I came up with and am sharing with you.
You’ve probably heard of Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs.” In short, you need to have your basic needs met before you can tackle more advanced challenges. If you’re not sure where your next meal is coming from or where you’re going to sleep tonight, you’re probably not throwing yourself into difficult engineering scenarios or sculpting great pieces of art. Another way of looking at it is to see that the people doing big things in life probably aren’t worried about the things that are near the bottom of the hierarchy.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
This is a famous principle that’s been around for quite some time now. I’m not sure what got me thinking about it, but I started thinking…there’s got to be a version of this that applies to Christ followers.
Now, before I get into this, I want to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit does as He sees fit, and is perfectly able to do anything He’d like through anyone that’s anywhere on this scale, so I don’t want to make it seem like someone is a failure if they don’t get past the first level. The thief hanging on the cross next to Christ didn’t get real far on this hierarchy, yet his example has been referenced countless times since then to God’s glory and for the benefit of other believers. For some, though, my hope is that this helps spur them on in their Christian walk, possibly encouraging someone seeing this post to move up a level or more.
Each new level in this hierarchy is something amazing and miraculous to the person that’s just arrived there. Getting to a particular level is not a sign of a certain level of intelligence or some other measure of worldly success; it’s more often an indication of a person’s level of maturity in Christ. There may not be clear delineations between levels, and there may be some rising and falling that occurs along the way. Some believers may reverse some of the levels in this pyramid or even skip a level every now and then, and some levels may even intertwine. This is just a general version of life after acceptance of Christ.
Let’s get started.
Often, when a person commits their life to Christ, crossing over from Satan’s kingdom to that of eternal life in Christ, it’s marked with a sense of awe, of wonder, at God’s mercy and grace. “He did that for me!” It’s incredibly humbling to realize the extent of Christ’s sacrifice, and those that are young in the faith are often overwhelmed by the fact that God left the comfort of Heaven to be a part of Humanity, fully knowing what would happen and how many would reject Him. The first level of the “Hierarchy of Christian Focus” is “Marveling at Christ’s Mercy and Grace.”
Hierarchy of Christian Focus, Level 1
What comes next? Those new to the faith, whether they fall on shallow soil or good soil, want to know more about God, praise Him for His goodness, and draw nearer to Him. It’s so important to get new Christians plugged into a community of fellow believers where they can grow in the faith. Too often they fizzle out because they don’t find anywhere to get plugged in and receive mentoring or guidance from those that are more mature in the faith. The second level of the hierarchy is an Excitement to connect with God.
Hierarchy of Christian Focus, Level 2
Those two are very close together and are often interwoven. After that it gets a little tricky. Do you think the Devil is going to stand idly by while someone that defected from his rule assists his enemy? (Spoiler alert: no.) He’s going to try lots of different things to get your faith to die on the vine. If he can’t stop you from defecting, he’ll do what he can to limit the amount of damage you can do to him and his domain. I wrote a series on some of the tactics he uses awhile back. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) Though it can happen anywhere in the pyramid, in the third level, Christians have their first major encounters with doubt and pushback. They start learning to overcome those obstacles, and it’s something they’ll likely encounter for the rest of their lives. When we start getting down on ourselves, it’s easier to worry that maybe we’re on our own. I’m fond of the line from one of Lauren Daigle’s songs: “Remind me once again just whose I am because I need to know.”
Hierarchy of Christian Focus, Level 3
Precursors and hints at the fourth level of a Christian’s focus may have been happening even before they accepted Christ, but in the fourth level, Christians stop fighting the calling that God’s been whispering (or even shouting) in their ear. This is where believers move beyond a faith that had, up until now, been able to “fly under the radar.” Some people have an easier time following their calling than others, but it generally involves being willing to say “yes” to a feeling that prompts them to enter waters they perceive are a little too deep. There’s a stark realization that “I can’t do this on my own, but I also can’t not do it.” Think Gideon, David, Peter, and Paul. “What I’m doing right now makes no sense, but I know it’s what I’m supposed to do.” It’s the thing you were placed on Earth to do; it’s your purpose in life. You can ignore it if you’d like, but you’re intentionally avoiding the fulfillment of your potential if you do.
Hierarchy of Christian Focus, Level 4
I’ve heard it said that God is working on you until you take your last breath. That means He’s always stretching and growing you. In the fourth level you step out in faith to pursue the path you believe Christ has for your life, but in the fifth level you look back at the amazing things He’s accomplished through you, only to find another seemingly impossible challenge that will grow you in a different way (or maybe place a new, insurmountable spin on something you were already working on). Successfully start a business that you didn’t see coming? Congratulations, now it’s time for you to adopt a child refugee or sell the business and go to seminary. At this level, it’s important to keep leaning on God even though you start growing comfortable with the idea of doing things that “can’t be done.”
Hierarchy of Christian Focus, Level 5
By the time you reach the sixth level, you’ve seen and done a lot of things in your Christian walk. You’ve learned a lot, both about how to do things and how not to do things. In the sixth level, you realize that the most important legacy you can leave is to help pave the way for those believers that will come behind you. You want to train and/or empower them to do things that will advance the Gospel and the Kingdom of Christ. I recently heard a speaker say that as he’s laying on his deathbed sometime in the future, it’s his desire to see the backs of fellow believers advancing past him to go further and do things that he never could. Ladies and gentlemen, the things we do with our lives are important, but there are few things more important than helping other believers reach their potential. This is true for Christian parents, Christian mentors in all areas of life, and Christian peers. Iron sharpens iron.
Hierarchy of Christian Focus, Level 6
All along the way, there are upward and downward pressures that help or hinder movement up the pyramid. Time spent reading the Bible, praying, and relying on Christ all help grow the trust you have in Him and help you move up the levels, but at the same time the Devil is trying all manner of tactics to bring you back down. If he can’t stop you from switching teams, he’ll do everything he can to render you ineffective at the upper levels and keep your faith to yourself.
Hierarchy of Christian Focus
There may be more levels, but I simply may not know what they are.
Like I said earlier, God can use anyone at any level to bring glory to Himself and for the benefit of other believers, but I believe we should all strive to get to a higher level.
And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5
When it comes to serving God, we all have different niches. Though not all niches benefit from a “go big or go home” attitude, I like the idea that if you’re not thinking so big that it scares you, you’re not giving God enough room to make something incredible happen.
Of course it’s easier to talk about these kinds of things than it is to do them. I’ve got a “bigger-than-me” undertaking going on, and I feel like giving periodic updates here will help keep me accountable and making forward progress. I also believe that being transparent with what’s going on, including some of the challenges I face, may help others that are struggling with getting the pursuit of their calling off the ground.
Back in February I shared that I felt called to write a series of seven fiction books that were each 40,000 to 50,000 words. That’s not a small task. That’s a bare minimum of 280,000 words. I’ve got some experience writing this blog, but I’ve never published a book before! I’ve never come close to writing something that big! I’m able to articulate concepts and principles, which worked well in academic papers, but that’s a totally different animal from creative writing. My academic pursuits are more in the sciences, rather than communications. By most accounts, I’m out of my depth…but since I feel like God’s called me to this goal, being out of my depth isn’t an excuse to skip it. One of the ways God is glorified most is in the success of His inadequate, imperfect, and unqualified followers.
Each person’s combination of spiritual gifts, resources, and interests is as unique as their fingerprints. I know that not everybody is called to be an author, but I believe each Christian is called to use their gifts, whatever they may be, for God’s glory. You may not identify with everything I’m about to cover here, but I’ll try to highlight a few things that may be helpful to those grappling with pursuit of a calling in their own lives that seems too big to take on.
The toughest part was definitely getting started. I think that holds true for most large endeavors. If you focus on how much you still have left to do, it gets overwhelming. The important part is to just get going. Before I started writing text, I sat down and drew out a rough plan for how the overall series would go. There were (and still are) lots of details that I don’t yet have figured out. The plan evolved a bit as I started mapping it out; the blueprint I’m using now is not the same as my first version. Overall, the most important thing was to just get going.
I noticed that for me, I’m still pretty wobbly on how some of the background or plot points are going to weave together. There are some sections of the stories where I know exactly what I want to have happen, though. Those are the ones I go with first, and if I use those as pillars for the construction of the rest of the story, it helps other pieces fall into place. If you can’t see the whole picture, focus on developing the stuff that you know will be part of the process.
I’m looking at coming up with seven individual stories that are all woven together into a larger one. Not only is that a lot of creative effort, it’s a lot of stuff to keep track of mentally. Sometimes it seems like there’s a hurricane happening inside my head. Inspiration for one or more of the stories hits at the strangest times. If I don’t write it down right away, there’s no guarantee it’s going to come back again. When you have the (mental clarity, vision, burst of creativity, focus, etc.) but can’t capitalize on it right then and there, capture what you need to capture in order to capitalize on it later.
I sketched out the blueprint for the series and then naturally started writing Book 1. A flurry of ideas kept flying around, though. I’d write down notes for something to include in a given book or to weave somewhere into the series. I started Book 2 before long because I either got in a rut or got bored with working on Book 1. During the whole time, though, the one I was most jazzed about was Book 5. Ideas kept coming and coming, and right now I have over 20 pages of ideas and notes for that one story. I stalled for as long as I could, but eventually I started writing Book 5. It’s out of sequence, yes, but if the goal is to get seven books done, does it matter which one gets done first? Making progress is making progress. Some may see it as putting the cart before the horse, but if you can see a method to the madness, don’t shut the door on doing things out of order.
The 40-50,000 word target was just that…a target. After giving this a shot, some individual books might be shorter and others may be way longer. What if Book 6 has a Volume I and Volume II? I don’t know…but there are some things I don’t need to have figured out right now. Don’t make “perfect” the enemy of “good.” Keep on doing your thing; deal with today’s problems today and deal with tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.
So where do I stand today with this project? Right now I’m more than 22,000 words into Book 1, 8-10,000 words into Book 2, and over 13,000 words into Book 5. I’m nowhere near being done, but you know what? That’s more than 40,000 words, and that’s more than 10% of the way into the low end of the goal. Something that once looked like a mammoth task now looks much more do-able.
Maybe the most significant thing I’m learning in this process is the peace, focus, and contentment that come from living in your calling. If this is truly what God put me on this earth to do, then I’m built for this. It’s kind of tough to describe; it’s not as though I lived in turmoil before this, but my mind feels more settled knowing what it’s supposed to be throwing its effort into. In my case, getting started on this thing was more of a relief, an outlet for that pent-up sense of unsettledness. It’s as if I’m a screwdriver that’s been used as a hammer or a wrench for as long as I can remember, and have recently been introduced to the way I’m supposed to be used.
Finally, I’m very blessed to have a strong faith in God. I believe with all my heart that God can do anything, but that doesn’t mean He’ll do the things I think He’ll do them or the way I think He should do them. This whole thing may be a spectacular failure that serves a purpose I can’t yet see. On the other hand, I may be thinking entirely too small. I happen to think that Book 5 would make a decent movie with a solid TV spinoff for a season or two, and a great video game. A Christian multimedia company wasn’t really in my plans when this train first pulled out of the station, but I’m not the one driving the train. I have to cling loosely to ideas and recognize that they’re Gods in the first place, not mine…I’m just trying to honor Him with my obedience. There are still plenty of things standing in the way. Finding the time and/or energy to keep writing, tracking down a publisher that will give me a chance, struggling with making the details line up in a way that makes sense…they’re all very real challenges that I’ll need to fight. I’m not alone, though. Like I said earlier…if I was truly called to this purpose, I’m custom built to overcome the challenges, especially if God is paving the way for me.
How about you? Are you still a square peg in a round hole that’s trying to figure out how to find their place? I’ll leave you with a link to an inspirational video I heard today. If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, just watch the first few minutes, especially if you’re trying to figure out what your calling might be.
Today’s post comes to us courtesy of a guest author, my wife! Enjoy!
On a vacation with my family I tried rock climbing for the first time. They had it set up with an automatic belay system… meaning there wasn’t an actual person spotting you if you fell, there was just the system.
I am not a fan of heights, but I also love adventures, so I geared up and was ready to give it a go. All harnessed in, I started to climb. They had someone there ready to point me to foot and hand holds if need be. They also told me to only climb part of the way up the first time and practice letting the belay system catch me so I could get used to it.
As I reached my halfway point, it was time to let go. This is where it got dicey for me. You see, I wanted to hang on to the wall, and feel the rope catch my weight BEFORE I let go. I wanted security, but no matter how much I tried to hold on to the wall and “sit” in my harness there was no feeling of security, only slack in the belay system. I was going to have to completely let go in order for it to engage and catch me. Some of you already see the tie-in here, ironic huh? I needed to let go in order to be caught. I had to trust the system would do what it was built to do. I couldn’t do it any other way. No matter how much I wanted to do it while still holding on, I couldn’t. So, gritting my teeth I pushed off and let go (and fell splat, ha, just kidding), the rope caught as it should have and lowered me to the ground. I was able to keep going, climbing higher the next time. I even learned to kinda like it, and tried again the next day with Tim!
Isn’t this so us in our growing in our faith and trust in our Savior? God is continually, patiently working to build our faith. He knows each of us so well. We have little falls and nudges where we get to “try out” letting go before the really big ones come. During these times God shows He is faithful again and again. Our faith grows and so do the differing callings He places on our lives. There are bigger steps and leaps of faith, pushing us out of our comfort zone many times, and relying on our God’s strength in the midst of our weakness. God is always there to catch us and will never leave us or forsake us. He promises this! (Hebrews 13:5) He is also completely honest with and tells us that we will have trouble and face trials (John 16:33), that we will be tested and tried and stretched. He is refining us, and I don’t know about you, but I think we tend to get lazy when all is well; it’s the trials, or even the scary callings or nudges from God that pulls us back to His arms. We always need Him…we’re just more aware of it in our flesh during the times of desperation, or in the face of our inadequacies.
So where are you? Are you on a mountain ready to conquer the world? Flying free? Don’t forget to lean into God and thank Him for the gifts He has given you. Remember to do all for the glory of God and point to Him and praise Him. Your gifts and talents come from your Maker. Don’t stop looking to Him. Build those disciplines and know your Bible so when life hits you hard you can keep your feet planted on your firm foundation, which is always Christ alone.
Or, maybe you are in a different phase: clinging to the wall, afraid to let go and trust, afraid to step out into the new and unknown? Maybe you’ve already let go…you’ve taken the leap and feel like you’re free falling and not getting caught at all? You are feeling battered and bruised, let down and confused at what has happened? Some things that helped me during these times is looking back and remembering, just as God told the Israelites, to set up stones so they could remember and tell their children of His miracles and faithfulness (Joshua 4:4-7). We also should “set up stones.” We do this by recounting His awesome works, looking back at our life and taking account of His blessings and His gifts, writing down His past faithfulness to remind us in the present, looking for scriptures that encourage our heart and remind us of who our God is and all He did for us! Take your eyes off your circumstances and put them back on your great God. I heard someone recently say “He didn’t save us to then leave and abandon us to our trials all alone,” so even when it seems you are alone or don’t understand why you are going through what you are, cling to the fact that Your God died for you to save you, and He sent us His spirit to live in you, so once you are His you are never alone. Rest in the fact that our God doesn’t change, in an ever-changing culture of what is right and wrong our God is faithful and true, He beckons us to leap and trust and promises an eternity in Heaven with Him.
So yes, we will get bruised and battered in this life. We aren’t in Heaven yet, but as we climb may we keep our eyes fixed on our Savior and remember He is really the only trustworthy one that will never let us down. This fallen world will hurt and disappoint, give false promises, and lead us astray from what truly matters, but our God is always there. His death at the cross and His resurrection secured our place in Heaven if we only believe in Him as Savior. So come what may on this earth, when we are His, we are attached to the most amazing secure belay system imaginable, and our God will always catch us. He already has. Remember this life on earth is temporary, don’t get too attached or swept up in things that don’t really matter, the stuff we won’t take with us. Only the people around us matter. We have an eternity ahead of us! So be brave and live for a God that came down to save you. Love others well. Shine for Him and remember He is worth letting go for. Whatever it is God is telling you to do I dare you…go do it! It will be the best choice and ride of your life, because His plans are way better than ours. Always!
God bless you and thank you for taking the time to read.
