Dying to Self

So conversation is PREMIUM if you want to do life with others. But so is dying to self, as often, our opinion is not what is needed, but a spirit that prefers others.

Matthew 5:9 says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God’.

I do understand that there are many healthy reasons people move on, but there are also many unhealthy reasons, and it is to this I refer.

To be honest, this is one of the reasons that I have personally found SO much joy in seeing others fly, because once you know them and love them for more than what they do, but for their hearts and dreams and potential and simply who they are, well, the sense of fulfilment in release is very deep, and again, one of the great surprises along the road of leadership.

To walk with people through hard times and good times, times of great blessing and times of great loss, just like your natural family, this family of God is developed and strengthened through imperfect seasons and seasons of great momentum. And in this understanding of time-tested leadership, I have discovered the very real and intensely deep joy of relationship.

There have been times along my own journey of late, when some of us who’ve been around a while have been less needed as far as the platform goes... oh my gosh, I have begged people, challenged people, and tried in my own strength to ensure a sense of worth in people even though we are making room for change and growth. But you do come to understand that sometimes people do transition well, and sometimes they don’t.

In the end, it is their own decision, their own choice - you as a leader can only do so much. And everything under heaven has a time and season, to recognise the season you are in is probably one of the great skills to possess as you get older.

I honestly think it is much easier short term to simply walk away and become one of the ‘misunderstood ones’, rather than becoming one of the pillars of strength for the journey, the wise siblings who count it all joy to share life knowledge, the ones who are committed to the race to the end, even as the role of WHAT you do changes. I honestly THANK GOD it does change!!

I have loved my own journey (mostly) to date, but am excited that the new looks like walking on water. I am so grateful for that!

I have discovered this whole new chapter, this whole new purpose to my last 20 or so years, as I see the reason that the worshipping heart is so critical becoming very clear in my inner man. And I know that this next season of worship AND jus- tice, the message of true worshippers taking their place in seeing broken human- ity restored, is so alive in me that it is like the whole last season of life was simply preparation for the new, and it feels STRONG and GOOD.

In my heart of hearts, I also have prayed over years that the Lord Himself would give me a revelation about what it means to serve the next generation, not just to be a leader or someone they can look up to, but actually serving their dreams, and their visions, and their new ways of doing things.
Challenging? Initially, yes. Inspiring? Absolutely yes!

When I see people around me, half my age, carving and pioneering their God-given pursuits, my heart is full and I am continually challenged to keep dreaming and creating, not allowing my own processes to become stale and nostalgic.

But I am still me, you are still you. Don’t apologise for your season, embrace it, bring the very best of YOU to the table. So let me ask you a question?

How are you doing with the whole deal of making room for others, and for many of us, actually handing over much of what used to be, to walk into all that is in front of us?
One thing that may help - I realised very quickly that while my hands were filled with the old, God could not fill them with the new.

Doing what we’ve always done brings a level of comfort that can be hard to let go of, not to mention that feeling out of our depth is emotionally risky, stepping again into unchartered waters means we cannot lean into tried and true methods (thank you Jesus!).

So, I am not saying it will be easy, but I guarantee it will not be as difficult as you think. If your heart and mind are not filled with vision (go back to Value Three), then this also makes it really hard for you to let go.