Are you neglecting the gifts that are in you? Are you discounting the talents, abilities and spiritual gifts you possess.
“Neglect not the gift that is in thee.” 1 Timothy 4:14
Have you read the book that started the movement? Get your copy of Light the World: How Your Brilliance Can Shift the Planet.
When hard things happen and you wonder if you can make it another day or even another hour, I hope you’ll take comfort in these words from Isaiah.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness….For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:10-13
Have you read the book that started the movement? Get your copy of Light the World: How Your Brilliance Can Shift the Planet.
Three of my good friends have lost a parent this week. Their loss has brought back the feelings and experiences in losing my own mother. Interestingly enough, I’m staying at the house of my own friend who lost her father unexpectedly today. No one saw it coming. He was only 62 and died out of a heart attack.
It’s one of those days when I finally understand why I am where I am and it’s not why I thought you were. Obviously, the reason I felt inspired to take this trip this summer is so that I could be here with my friend Martina and offer what comfort I can.
Often we feel like we’re not enough. We lack the skills, the talents, the strength, the resources, the money or the time to achieve the things we feel called to do. But Jesus made it clear feeding the 4,000 that He can take our meager resources and transform them to over and above what is needed.
The story is found in Matthew 15:32-8
“Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.”
Have you read the book that started the movement? Get your copy of Light the World: How Your Brilliance Can Shift the Planet.
I had a couple interesting conversations with people about how the need to look perfect and like you have it all together can lead to depression, hopelessness, addiction and even suicide.
If you think about it, our society glamorizes the ideal. Photoshopping is not reality. A lot of us are tempted to portray only our “best side” on social media. There are subcultures in some religions that pressure people to look like they’re perfect and have no problems. And people with some “sins” or life challenges are hammered by internal and/or external shame.
The first thing Satan told Adam and Eve in the garden after they ate the fruit was that they should be ashamed because they were naked and to hide. He’s still telling us the same thing. That we should be ashamed of who we are and what we’ve done and to go hide.
A big part of my growth and healing journey has been to openly feel and admit my emotions and my challenges. When I acknowledge to another person (aka confess) Satan can’t shame me anymore over that thing. I’ve called him out and he holds no power over me there.
Satan tempts men to sin, then to be ashamed and to hide from each other and from God. Husbands hide from wives. Wives hide from husbands. Children hide from parents and we hide from each other in every aspect of society.
God gives us the solution. Confess, open your eyes and your ears to his love, receive Christ’s grace, let him heal you. Every sin is a result of a deep unmet need. Let Him meet the need and heal the wound and the desire for sin goes away. Then he touches you with his finger so you can shine like a candle on a candlestick.
With God, condemnation and shame are never part of the prescription. Don’t let Satan shame you. Call him out. Go to someone you can trust and confess the doubts, fears, emotions and thoughts he’s putting into your mind. Go to someone who is connected to Christ and let them walk beside you back to the Savior so he can heal you.
Today, I’m sharing one of my favorite hymns, “Be Still My Soul”
Have you read the book that started the movement? Get your copy of Light the World: How Your Brilliance Can Shift the Planet.
Have you ever felt like you were shown something that would happen, a big vision? Have you sensed that you were supposed to do something, but then nothing seemed to happen with it? This can be frustrating. After a while, it’s easy to give up, forget about it and get on with your life.
What I’m learning is that while that “nothing is happening” there really is something going on that probably doesn’t involve you directly. God is sending His angels to prepare the way. Sometimes that means getting other people involved, lining up resources and orchestrating things that are going to be needed. And what’s going on with you? You’re most likely being prepared to become the person capable of receiving the vision.
When the children of Israel were being led to their promised land, Jehovah told them, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.” Exodus 23:20
Often times, we believe it’s all on us to make our big vision a reality, but it isn’t. Whatever God does is always bigger than we think. Big things require more people than just you. And what God originates, He orchestrates. Here’s an example from my own life and from the Light the World movement.
Have you read the book that started the movement? Get your copy of Light the World: How Your Brilliance Can Shift the Planet.
The story of Joshua and the Israelites crossing Jordan is a great lesson on stepping out in faith as we go forward in life and with the Light The World: Build the Kingdom 90 Day Challenge.
Get the book that started the movement: Light the World: How Your Brilliance Can Shift The Planet
In 2007, my goal was to mentor 2,007 Christians. I called it “Rejoice in 2007.” It was the best thing I’ve ever done. I met some of my dearest friends through this program, wrote my book, “You’re Here for a Reason: Discover and Live Your Purpose” and created jet fuel for what would eventually become the Light the World Movement.
That was seven years ago, and I’m feeling a definite nudge from the Spirit to do it again. So in 2014, my goal is to mentor 2,014 Christian Entrepreneurs on showing up fully as the lights God intends us to be. I call it my Ignite Your Light Illumination System. Will you be one of the 2,014 I mentor in 2014? I hope so! Please join me and bring your friends along for the journey! Let’s light up the world together! Details here
I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us.
If you haven’t already, go take Lisa Rae Preston’s STEP Into Destiny assessment and find out what your core passion is so you can more proactively integrate it into your days.
There’s someone in my life I’ve struggled to forgive, wrestled with my own bouts of criticism, condemnation and frustration toward. It’s not a pretty thing to know you have unkind feelings toward someone. It’s not who I want to be. I want to be Christ-like, loving and forgiving. Gritting my teeth and forcing myself to be that way doesn’t quite seem like the same thing.
Jesus never seemed to be straining to forgive, never had to bite his lip and fight back a nasty comment. Those ugly dark things weren’t inside Him to begin with. It dawned on me that if I could see this other person through Christ’s eyes, perhaps I could have those natural feelings of unconditional love and compassion. Maybe the irritation would melt away and be replaced with God’s love.
This morning I woke early and decided to use the time in those peaceful quiet hours to ask the Lord for the ability to see this person through His eyes. In my mind, He took me to a beautiful beach and had me take a seat on a log facing the crashing waves. He knelt in front of me, His hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eye. His were filled with infinite compassion and understanding.
He let me express the deepest desires of my heart — who I long to be, the type of person I want to be, free of these negative emotions, free to escape this cage I feel like I’m living in. It’s as if there’s this passionate ball of love and light that’s crying to break free and express herself but she keeps bumping up against negative limitations.
“If this person wasn’t in my life,” I heard myself telling Him, “I could be a good person.”
I could see the twinkle in His eye and knew immediately how foolish that statement was. It isn’t this person “making me have bad thoughts.” The propensity to be critical, condemning and judgmental is already there.
This person is in my life to give me a chance to overcome these feelings. They are a gift to help me eliminate the black blobs that are stuck to my glowing ball of light.
“How do I get rid of this negativity? Please take these thoughts and feelings away from me,” I pleaded. “Can I just give them to you? I would give away all my sins to know your thoughts, to be as loving as You are.”
Again I asked to see this person through Christ’s eyes. If there were some way to do that, perhaps all the resentment and bitterness would melt away.
At that moment, a situation from my past when I’d done something particularly bad came to mind. All the feelings of guilt and shame returned. It was a sin I’d already repented of, but the memory returned. After that event I’d felt despair and depression for quite some time. It was a dark time for me that I had no desire to revisit.
“That,” Christ explained, “Is how {this person} feels — all the time.”
“Oh my, really?” I remembered how immobilized I felt in that period of my life. I remembered feeling worthless, despondent and as if there was no use trying to do anything. It was a horrible, debilitating feeling.
“You experienced this for a short season until you received My forgiveness. Imagine it stretching on for years. What might you have become?”
I then understood how and why this person acts the way they do, why they’d become contracted and limited in their abilities. Why they responded to me the way they did for so many years, and much more. All in an instant, everything became clear.
And then Christ said, “Do you want to see how I see this person?”
“Yes, I do.”
He showed me a beautiful young person, long before the mistakes had draped them in a dark heavy cloud of guilt and shame. This shining valiant individual with a future so bright and promising stood before me. And I began to weep. This was the beauty beneath all the rubble.
Instantly I felt Christ’s love for this person flowing through me, and I felt such an overwhelming need to apologize for being so blind for so long. I had belittled, condemned, judged and criticized a fallen warrior, lying helpless, bleeding on the side of the road. I had not reached forth a loving hand. I had not dressed this person’s wounds. I had not given them a hug of comfort or kindness.
All I had seen was how their actions affected me. All I saw was how my life wasn’t as ideal and beautiful as I wanted it to be — even craved and needed it to be. I was too concerned with my rights, my needs, what “I deserved.”
And then Christ’s question came, “Will you help this person?”
“I will.”
“You may not see results right away.” He cautioned. “You may never see them at all.”
“I understand.”
“It’s not about them changing. It’s about you becoming.”
“Yes, I understand, Lord. Where do I begin?”
“Why don’t you just start with a hug.”