What do you want to be when you grow up?
Throughout my childhood, I had a variety of dreams. A famous singer, olympic swimmer, a mom, a missionary, a physical therapist and finally, a youth pastor’s wife. Some of those things are laughable- especially if you know how squeamish I am around blood and injuries, but some are interesting for me to reflect upon.
What about you? What dreams did you have that you never saw come to fruition because you did not know or think it was possible? Perhaps it was because of your gender, your social status, your athletic ability, your academic achievement (or lack thereof)- what dreams did you have as a child that you never pursued for one reason or another?
Now let me ask you this question- what dreams do you have now that you are not pursuing? You see, we have a whole host of what we are going to call limiting beliefs. For one reason or another, we do not allow ourselves to chase our dreams because we don’t think we have what it takes to achieve them.
So for those of you who are feeling unqualified for a dream that God has put in your heart, let me remind you that Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran away, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossip, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old and Lazarus was dead. Joseph was sold into slavery…. but God.
Joseph could have been overwhelmed by limiting beliefs:
- Joseph was too young
- Joseph was hated
- Joseph was doubted
- Joseph was an outcast even in his family
- Joseph had haters/people who wanted him dead.
- Joseph was not valued.
- Joseph was easily replaceable
- Joseph was a slave
- Joseph was thrown away
- Joseph was a prisoner
- Joseph watched others live their dreams
- Joseph was an afterthought
Or he could lean into launching beliefs- “But God” allowed him to be:
- Faithful
- Wise
- Appointed
- Trusted
- Free
- Redeemed
- Restored
- Reunited
At any point Joseph could have given up because of his very valid limiting beliefs.
If I’m being honest with you, my fear for the Church is not that God is distant, but that the people God is calling to step into leadership are too concerned with their ability than with God’s. As cliche as the phrase may be that “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called” I believe it to be true.
If you think you are the only one who has valid limiting beliefs, check out any story in the Bible. For real. 2 Corinthians 12:9- His power is made perfect in weakness. Our dreams aren’t even about us!
In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote to the church leaders in Corinth saying, “Remember your calling, brothers; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. BUT GOD chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Paul wrote these words. Paul who was formerly called Saul. Paul, the man responsible for the killing of many Christians in the early church. Paul, someone who had to leave the regulations of religion, the comfort of wealth and the security of power in order to lead many to faith in Christ. Paul- the man who had to leave behind the limiting belief that he had done far too much bad to ever be used by God, the man who is responsible for writing much of what we now have as the New Testament, the man who spent more time in prison than free. Paul, the man who when God got his attention, left everything behind to follow Christ. Paul who wrote in Philippians that “Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
I believe with my whole heart that God has the desire to change the world through His Church- not through the buildings, but through the people who are the church- those who like Paul can say “I consider everything else garbage for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
I can encourage you to dream big about things that you want. It is not bad to want to be debt free, to get married, to own 6 cars (though that may be a bit excessive), to get into a great college or whatever it is that you have on your list of dreams, but I strongly believe that if we are chasing after dreams that make us happy and fulfilled, then we are missing out on something so much better. Here’s the thing, if we are going to achieve the dreams that God has put in our hearts to impact the world around us, but must clear the path in three ways.
First, we must get rid of the limiting beliefs and things holding us back.
Have you ever told yourself that you’re not smart enough, you’re not attractive enough or you don’t have the right gifts and talents to accomplish that or you missed your chance? Chances are, these did not begin with you- someone or something communicated these lies to your head and they stuck in your heart.
Joseph had every reason to give up.
What limiting beliefs are holding you back from walking into all that God has for you?
Second, we must create space for God to speak to our hearts.
I once tried to give up social media for a weekend to give myself space to rest, but do you know what happened? I got hooked on a tv show and wasted more time watching television than I would have spent on social media and I missed out on time with my family, friends and time with God.
Joseph had the “gift” of time in a well, time in prison and time leading. While the Bible doesn’t explicitly state how or when he spent time with the Lord, we understand him to be a man of God, and that means he knew how to create space. After Moses led the people out of Egypt (spoiler alert if you don’t already know the story) he would often go away to spend time with the Lord. For Moses it looked like going up to Mt Sinai, for Jesus it was escaping the crowds, for Paul it was in prison. Where is it for you? Where can you go to create space for God to speak truth into your life?
Third, we must listen for the truth of who God is and who he says we are.
You know what I love about the story of Moses? He asked God, “Who am I?” and God responded with essentially saying, “that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who you are, it matters who I am and because of who I am, this is who you are.”
Because Joseph knew the character of God, he could remain faithful even in the most hopeless of situations. He could trust that God was working through the broken pieces of his life. It took DECADES to understand why things were happening in the way in which they happened, but in the end, Joseph was able to say “BUT GOD.”
You and I have hopes, dreams and goals. We also have limiting beliefs because of circumstances and situations. The ultimate question is, are you going to be defined by your circumstances or by the One who never fails?
Xo,
Shaina