I struggle with being passive. This is something God has revealed and been teaching me these past few weeks. My team and I have been working on being more intentional with each other in order to grow deeper as a team. Our squad leader, Christie, challenged us to reject passivity and to choose into one another. She told us that the majority of men tend to struggle with being passive and if we as a team want to grow deeper with one another and be effective in our ministry, we need to be active followers of Christ.
This hit home for me. I have always known I am a passive person, but never put much thought into it. I never saw how being passive had impacted my relationships at home and most importantly, with God. For example, reading my Bible was something I would do maybe every other day, and when I did read it, it was basically to cross it off of the check list for the day. When it came to pursuing a commuity at church or in college, I would keep to myself and not even try to get to know someone or be intentional to get to know them. With my family, there were so many oppurtuities to help out with chores or do something so easy or simple, but would have helped so much.
Going into my first month of the race I was expecting God to do something big. I thought that I would miraculously have this super deep relationship with God and everything was going to be perfect. Instead, I floated through the first month and nothing really changed in my life. I didn’t feel that I was really growing in my relationship with God. I thought my teammates and I would magically be the best of friends, but it turns out it doesn’t work that way. I realized that if I wanted to change, to go deeper in my relationship with my teammates and with God, I am going to have to reject being passive and start being intentional. I had been waiting for God to pursue me when in reality, He was right there waiting for me to step forward into His arms.
God has been showing me what it looks like to be intentional and part of it is reflective listening. I can listen to someone talking all day long and not hear a word of what they are saying. Same for reading my Bible, I can read scripture, but not hear what God is trying to say to me. Reflective listening has really helped me work on hearing people rather than just listening to people or God. All reflective listening is repeating what the speaker said, but in your own words. Not only does this show that I hear them, but that I also understand what they are saying and if I don’t, they can correct me. When I read scripture, I have been rereading what I have read and trying to listen to what God is trying to speak to me instead of reading the chapter once and calling it good. I then journal about what I believe the Lord is trying to speak to me and it really helps to get my thoughts down on paper. Reflective listening is great tool to use to be more intentional in relationships.
Rejecting passivity is something I will have to work through each and everyday, but all it is simply deciding to be active. Look for those oppurtunities to lend a helping hand to someone instead of walking by or sitting back and watching. It can be something as simple as picking up someone’s plate when they are done eating or doing someone else’s dishes. The simplest act can mean so much to someone and they will notice it. Being intentional and practicing reflective listening are some ways I have been fighting passivity. I want to be more intentional with people around me and with God. In order for that to happen, I have to be the one to step up and pursue the relationship instead of waiting for them or God to pursue me. Please be praying that my team and I continue to grow in being more intentional with each other and with the people we come into contact with. Thank you all so much for you constant prayers!
Sincerely,
CJ
