Part II

What do you want to be when you grow up?  That’s a familiar question that most young children are asked at various stages and ages, and you’ll hear answers like a doctor, a fireman, a teacher, an astronaut—whatever!  I just wonder how many people actually fulfill those childhood dreams when they grow up.  Children are far more likely to “think outside the box” than we grownups are, don’t you agree?

Ask yourself what box or boxes you have put yourself in or you’ve allowed someone else to put you in.  Here are some common ones:

  • I’m too old to do that—or too young.
  • I don’t have the right education.
  • I don’t have the right experience.
  • I don’t have enough money.
  • I can’t carry a tune.
  • I’m not good at math.
  • I’m not good with people.
  • I’m too shy to do that.
  • I’ll never be able to learn all this.
  • I don’t have the right looks.
  • I’m too big—or I’m too small!
  • That’s not my gift.

You may be in your own unique box.  Think about it: what have you been telling yourself you cannot do for some reason like this?  It’s time to get over it!

Ephesians 2:10 says: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  I’m convinced that many of us are missing out on the good works God prepared for us to do because we’ve allowed others to put us in a box, or more likely, we’ve put ourselves in some boxes, and we just can’t believe that God wants us out of the box and will equip us to do what he intended from the beginning of time for us to do.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  If you’ve never had a vision of what you could do, if you’ve never aspired to something so big that it scared you, then you may be perishing on the vine.  In the parable of the talents Jesus taught us the principle that if we don’t use what he gives us, not only will he not give us more, we will lose what we have!  (See Matthew 25:14 – 30.)  Without a vision we begin to shrivel up and settle for mediocrity.

As I look back on how God led me to this ministry, I realize it began with a passion to minister to women like me—women who went into the workplace regularly.  I started where I was, with a Monday night Bible study in my home.  Then God put a vision in my mind of how good it would be to have a radio program that was directed to women like me, and though I had no connection with anyone in radio and no experience or credentials, I prayed about starting a radio program. I remember feeling weird praying about something that I was so totally unqualified to do and so ignorant of.  But I couldn’t get it off my mind.

Finally, I decided it was time to put feet to my prayers and I made a decision to find out how to start a radio program.  On that very day as I arrived at work there was a newspaper on my desk with an article about a new Christian radio station in Chicago. I was determined to give them a call and ask some questions.  But on that very day, before I could call them, they called me and asked me to be on a talk show coming up on the feminist movement.

Where they got my name I still don’t know. But I didn’t figure that was a coincidence, so when I went to do the talk show, I told a woman who worked at the station about my idea for this program.  She encouraged me to move ahead on it, I asked some questions, and started the ball rolling to make it a reality.  This was in May of 1984 and by August I was on that one station on Saturday mornings at 8:45 for fifteen minutes.

I believe God placed a passion in my heart and since it would not go away, even though it took me way out of my box, the passion became a vision, God opened some doors, and the vision became this radio ministry, and God has kept us going for all these 29 years.

I don’t share my experience as a model of how it will work for anyone else.  But what will work for a person who has a vision of what God wants you to do and is willing to step out of whatever boxes you are in, is that God will guide you step by step and will lead you to new avenues of service that just shatter all the stereotypes and boxes that you or anyone else has tried to impose upon you.

Philippians 1:6 says: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God won’t give you a vision or a passion and then mock you or frustrate you.  If it is of God, you can be confident that he began it and he will carry it on to completion.  How do you know if this passion or vision is a God-thing or not?

Here are seven signs that I believe will help you answer this question:

Sign Number 1 – It won’t go away. 

If God has a plan that will take you out of your comfort zone—out of some box you’re in—it will not go away.  And as you pray about it (and that must be step number one!), it will get stronger not weaker.

Sign Number 2 – Your motivation will be to serve God and others.

God doesn’t give us passions or visions just to make us feel good about ourselves or help us achieve our personal goals.  If it’s from God you will be motivated out of a love for God and for people, and it will be all about serving.  There will be sacrifice involved on your part; it will require you to give of yourself in new ways.

Sign Number 3 – There will be a need for it. 

God is not inefficient and he does things “in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40).  If God is leading you out of your box, it’s because someone needs you out of that box, doing what God has for you to do.  It won’t be a whimsical flight of your imagination.  It won’t be because you just want to do something creative or different.  It will be to meet a need.

Sign Number 4 – God will open doors for you and confirm it through His Word.

If this vision is a God-thing, you won’t have to push and shove and beg and plead.  You will have to be persistent, but God will open some doors for you and confirm in some ways that this is of Him.  You will see some small and/or large miracles as God opens these doors.  You will be amazed, frightened, awestruck, and excited.

Sign Number 5 – Your spiritual leader(s) will counsel and/or encourage you.

All of us need and should have those people in our lives who are our spiritual leaders, and for the most part, that should come through our church leaders. There may also be other wise people in our lives who we trust to give us godly counsel and who will speak the truth in love to us.

Not all of our visions will require support or approval from our church leadership, but it is always good to talk things over with trusted people before you jump out of your box!

I am blessed to be part of a church where the spiritual leaders are godly people, and that has been so very important in my own ministry. If I had forsaken my commitment to my church, I don’t believe God would have blessed me.

Sign Number 6 – God will give you the right people to help you.

Your passion will most likely involve others, and you’ll need help and guidance.  If it’s a God-passion, those people will come your way.

Sign Number 7 – You probably won’t be qualified to do it.

The Apostle Paul told us why this is true:

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:27 – 29).

Your recognition of your inadequacy is the best thing you’ve got going for you, because it will force you to depend on God, to be humble, to be teachable, and you will always know it was all about God.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned and am learning along the way as I’ve stepped out of my box to follow God’s leading in my life.

  • Not all of my bright ideas are God’s passion for me.
  • Some passions have a waiting period while God prepares me.
  • Not everyone will share my passion and some people will discount it or try to discourage me.
  • Perseverance is a large part of pursuing my passion.
  • Passions take lots of hard work and there are some days when I wish I’d never had a passion.  (But not many—not many!)
  • Passions sometimes have a life-span; a beginning and an ending, and I have to be sensitive to know when it’s time to move on.
  • When one passion dies, another comes along.
  • A God-given passion is always a joy; it is fulfilling; it is in itself rewarding.

Remember this when it comes to pursuing your passion and getting out of your box:  If you don’t go for it, it will fade and you’ll miss the blessing.  Use it or lose it. If you don’t pursue it, not only will you miss the blessing in this life, you’ll miss the reward in eternity. And the more you pursue your passion, the more ability and gifts you will have to accomplish it.  God is not going to waste talents on you if you’re not going to use them.  So, he’s waiting to see if you are serious about pursuing the passion he has put inside of you.

Please, for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ and the glory due to Jesus Christ, get over putting yourself in some box that prevents you from the good works God has planned for you to do.  When you get out of that box, you will move into the abundant life that Jesus promised for those who love him.