February 6th, 2012
Some things in life are clear. Where you’re from, who your family is, birthdays. What you had for dinner, what age your children are, eye color. However, I’m coming to find out that less and less is clear in life:
Who you are.
Where you’re going.
How you fit in to the bigger plan.
I’m finding that there are a million little things that are playing together to form the big picture:
What you do now.
Who you talk to.
How you act and react.
It’s scary to think the little things I do now, add up to the big person I’m meant to be. I think God has called us all to greatness. There’s a quote that goes something like:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
It’s so true. Every single person on this planet has so much potential, and there is something innately great in all of us. But we get so scared. The power of fear is as strong as death. We get convinced that we’re not good enough, we’re not smart enough, we’re not talented enough. We’re not, we’re not, we’re not. I say that’s something that Satan has grabbed hold and placed in each of our hearts. He convinces us of our inadequacy, our insecurity, our inability.
Throw it to the wind
That was never God’s plan. And it breaks His heart when we believe it, but let’s be real, who lives in truth all the time? I know I don’t. I’m the absolute worst. 95% of the time I feel like Paul in Romans, “What I want to do, I do not do, and that which I wish not to do, I do.” How much easier would it be if we loosened the grips on ourselves? God gives us grace, but there’s something hard in the center of our hearts that doesn’t allow us to accept it ourselves.
I made you perfectly, with a perfect plan, perfect talents. I want you to shine, my child. Shine.
He reminds us in Matthew 5 that we were meant to SHINE like children do. You don’t set a lamp under a table, under a bushel, under anything. You hang it from the ceiling, you set it on a table, you display it. Somehow we got really messed up though. We stopped shining. We started hiding under tables, under chairs, under the covers. We were preparing for an earthquake, when really if we were to live out our talents I believe we’d find ourselves in the eye of the storm. Chaos may ensue around us, but because we are walking in the truth of who we were made to be, we surrender to peace.
I’m learning that the choice that actually looks the hardest is going to be the easiest. Recently, I’ve become resentful of my gift of leadership. I wanted so badly to just go along, instead of leading and dealing and handling everything. I didn’t want it. I asked God, Why? Then I started realizing how hard it was for me not to lead. My school leader on DTS pointed it out—leading is natural for me. Just like it’s natural for an artist to brush paint across canvas, or a major league baseball player to swing a bat. Leadership isn’t any different, as much as I wanted it to be. Truth is though; it’s much easier for me to lead, as long as I’m not holding onto resentment for it. If I just accept it, if I accept the things I’m good at, life become much easier.
It’s such a battle, accepting things we cannot change. However, in the end, it really is the easiest thing to do. God gives us all talents for a reason. He’s made us exactly the way we are for a reason….
we just need to let go of our first instinct to doubt our greatness and grab ahold of our light, our talents and the dreams that are burning in the depths of our souls, keeping in mind that in the end, we will not regret it.
Satan tries to use many and varied lies in the battle against potential, but God wants to set us free and help us all walk in truth.
What lies are keeping you from surrendering to brilliance?
