Start where you are.

Use what you have.

Do what you can.

-Arthur Ashe

When I create, when I sit down to do a job, the temptation often sneaks in to excuse my lacklustre work on… well… lack.

Lack of resource, experience, time, self esteem, recognition, talent, money, collaborative ‘challenges’, upline managers who don’t ‘get’ it [do I need to continue?] poor lighting, workspace, inspiration, etcetera.

We all do this, but when you’re watching someone else in this space doesn’t it frustrate you? Doesn’t it make you want to say, “Uhhhm.. I love you, but get on with it!”?

Here’s my encouragement… I’ve always found that my most creative, beautiful, inspiring work comes with an acute sensation of feeling crushed – either by a deadline, an insecurity, resource challenges. More often than not, by whatever it is I feel I lack.

But crush me every day, because it’s in the process of crushing that the creative juice really starts to flow.

My pastor tweeted this old nugget of truth yesterday.. “if God has given you the vision, you already have permission”. Oh man, this is burning in my heart so strongly at the moment.

So often we shrink back from visions, legitimately given to us by our Father. Mostly for me, it’s because of fear. Insecurity, specifically. The dreams in my heart for the church, the world, my marriage, my family, my social world.. They seem too good, too big, too different to the current state of things, too big to ever really happen. Every excuse rises up in me, right alongside the vision. A big melting pot of wild dreams and wild fears all bubbling away in my heart.

Remember: God doesn’t give us a vision just to make us feel nice on the inside. It’s not an ego-stroke to tell us how good we are, it’s not making up for the emotional validation we never got from the popular girls in school.

Reality: We’re just a small part of the bigger picture God is painting across the world. Keep that perspective and we quickly realise we need to respond to the vision we’ve been given, not just daydream about it.

Respond: Are we gonna obey? Are we gonna step into that picture, or scrub ourselves out of it? It’s time to put on our big girl pants and begin walking in the direction God has illuminated before us. Sure, we can’t see the whole picture. Sure, the details are blurry. Sure, the vision is bigger than you can handle (but really, would you want a smaller one?!)

Admit it. Your wildest dream is to fulfil God’s crazy plans for you.

So how do you start when you’ve stalled before?

Ask Yourself: What is waiting on the other side of my courage? Who is going to be impacted by my obedience? What will God be able to release in and through me, but isn’t right now because I haven’t trusted Him enough to begin walking into what He’s asking me to do?

I guarantee that if you ask yourself these questions, you’re going to quickly realise there is no greater challenge to your courage, your pride and your trust than to confidently step into the path God is lighting up for you. You’re also going to realise there is nothing more thrilling, more fulfilling, when you’re willing to take that step.

This week, in church I was rocking Judah in his pram and started spinning out that God (enormous, eternal, creating, everlasting God) subjected Himself to being as small as my son is right now. The length of my forearm, the weight of my handbag.

 

Talk about a mind trip.