Taking Action Is The Way Forward

Have you ever seen someone do something and think to yourself, “I wonder if I could do that?”  I’m thinking of podcasters, YouTubers, ministry leaders, authors, bloggers, influencers, people that you follow in general. They all started with a deep breath and this question: I wonder if I could do that?  This turning point was the moment a powerful seed of faith and belief was planted. What if we turned big questions like that into statements? 

I think I’d like to do that.

I could see myself doing that.  

listening to that little voice

This resonates with me deeply as I am recording podcasts and writing blog posts. A couple years ago, I had this thought and wondered if I could do it. I wondered if people would listen. What was underneath that was a quiet inner voice that whispered, “It’s possible I could do that.” This was the first step along a path that I was placed on by God. I didn’t have clear vision at first. But I believed my small actions and consistent effort would produce fruit.

It’s possible there’s something here that’s making my baby leap. Now, I don’t physically mean my baby leaping within me, but every single person has been given a mission by Jesus to accomplish here on earth. And when we see other people in that particular mission, something within us leaps. We get excited or we think to ourselves, “I wonder if I could do that?”  

And listen, you are called to follow Jesus. You’re not called to follow your calling, okay? Following Jesus means that you’ll be stepping into divinely appointed assignments that were predetermined by your heavenly father for you to accomplish. You can visit Ephesians 2:10 for more on that. You’ve always known you were supposed to accomplish something because there’s this incessant nag that just won’t let you go. This small thing just humming along in the back of your mind. You truly are the right person for the job. At the same time, you don’t feel comfortable enough to take action and you don’t have a clear plan. But you also don’t have peace because you haven’t taken the necessary steps to start the thing you think you might be good at. You’re in the in-between place where you know you need to take small steps toward that thing but you’re frozen in a state of indecision and fear of success. Sound familiar? The in-between place is not a good place to camp out. 

time for a pat on the booty

In this blog, I hope to provoke you to a position of peace and positive change in such a way that gives you a little pat on your booty to get on with it and take decisive action because there is no perfect moment to start. You’re following Jesus, which means you are on mission. But I have to ask a very serious question:

Why are so many believers acting like they don’t know what they are supposed to be doing?

“How do I know what I’m called to?” you might say. Well, follow Jesus and pay attention to what other people are doing around you. What does it drum up within you? I promise you have seen other people doing something that made you feel giddy and it made you entertain those big dreams. 

So, are these clues?  I think so. I think it’s a major clue. And why is no one talking about this?  I think it’s because we believe it’s inappropriate to be imitators of one another. Which, okay, fine. Point taken, but I have a question.  What made Elisha burn his entire life down in order to go with Elijah? Was it not that he had the opportunity to do what Elijah did?  Was it just for the double portion, or did he understand that he had a mission deep inside of him that had to be completed?  How could he know to burn his plows unless he had an opportunity to see an assignment that resonated with something deep inside? 

life lived on mission

I joke with my close friends and ask them if something made their ministry baby leap.  When you see someone doing something and you think to yourself, “I wonder if I could do that?”  this is a major clue and I’m afraid that you’re missing it. You’re counting yourself out rather than counting this as a seed. Most of us spend more time worrying about how to come up with the money just to be able to afford learning a new skill, especially if it’s something that you’re naturally gifted and talented in. Most people are afraid to invest in themselves. But this is more than investing. This is being able to look around and ask, “Jesus, what do you have for me to do this season?” 

You’ve bought so many courses. You’ve been to so many trainings. You’ve signed up for all the webinars. You’ve seen how other people do it. You’ve studied people. You’ve read books. You’ve been listening to podcasts.

But here’s the problem. I don’t see people planting and nothing grows when you don’t plant. I was actually having a conversation with one of my besties on Marco Polo last week, and we were talking about the difference between investing in something that we feel called to do and actually planting and doing the thing we were called to do as we are still investing and learning and growing. And we both came to this conclusion that you learn more as you sow.  You can’t eat the fruit of anything that you don’t plant. I just don’t believe that there are a bunch of believers who don’t know what they are called to do with Christ this season. 

You know what I think?

I think we’re afraid. We’re afraid to plant because we either don’t know how to plant, we don’t know what we’re doing, we don’t know if we’re going to do it right, or even worse, we believe it might not work. I get it. But it was during those Marco Polos last week with my bestie where we both agreed that we feel thankful because when we didn’t know what we were doing, we still planted. We did the dang thing.

you learn as you…sow

We saw someone else do something and we both wondered to ourselves, “I wonder if we could do that?” 

And then guess what? We decided to take that as a confirmation to try. Give it a go. What’s there to lose? And here’s the beautiful part. You learn as you sow. Notice I didn’t say you learn as you go. I know a lot of people watching courses and investing their time thinking about sowing. They are going in circles. You learn as you sow. You’ve got to bend down and take action. You’ve got to put seed in the soil and then water it. This is the best way to gain a deeper understanding of what you are undertaking. You’ve got to push record. You’ve got to upload. You’ve got to show up. There is a time to prepare, but the word says that a man who waits for perfect weather will never get the harvest.  And here’s a word of encouragement: it’s possible there is someone doing something that makes your ministry baby leap, and it’s possible that it’s your next assignment. And you know, maybe it’s not. But here’s what I do know: you don’t know until you sow.

I find it curious when I feel jealous towards someone doing something that I think I’d like to do, but I don’t have the courage to actually do it. Starting something new requires me to be a beginner at something. Everyone starts in pre-K. You do have some skills right now that you’re so advanced in that you’re afraid of being in pre-K again and looking silly. The fear of failure or looking silly for trying is powerful.

Welcome to walking with Jesus. You can get so good at something and then the Lord will tell you, “Hey, drop your nets, come with me. I got something else for you to do this season.” I’m sure Peter didn’t feel like his net mending expertise was very helpful when Jesus commanded him to heal the sick. You learn as you sow.

The world is rigged to tell you to “follow your dreams”,  that was in air quotes by the way, while also condemning you for not being original, while also offering counterfeit protocols for discovering your purpose. 

But here’s the deal. As Christians, we’re on mission with Christ and we are to follow Him. His Holy Spirit is either nudging you to do something or you’re not paying attention. It’s not a question of whether or not Christ is leading you this season and if He has assignments for you. Who is he putting on your heart to imitate this season? Who is your Elijah? Who is your Paul? Elisha and Timothy sowed by getting to work in the guidance of great believers who simply went before them.

there’s a spot for you at the table

Yes, we are to follow people with great character, but what is it that they are doing? You see, if you’re called to start the podcast, if you’re called to start a YouTube channel, if you’re called to be a coach, if you’re called to whatever it is  then maybe it’s time to do that. Everybody has a unique voice and there’s room for everyone at the table to do this. And the best part is most of these people who have gone before you are loaded with wisdom. They can help you to avoid some of the downfalls and the pitfalls that they’ve experienced. They have a leg up in wisdom, so to speak, and they know things to avoid. They are fantastic resources. 

But let’s go ahead and take this a layer deeper. Those who are doing what you think you might be called to do, they invested to become that and you will need to, too.  I want you to know something that’s important. There’s only so far that free can take you.  Everyone who has something you want paid for it in time and resources and you will have to follow suit. The disciples literally gave up everything to follow Christ in order to usher in the new covenant.  There is going to be time and money to invest in the mission that you have to accomplish. The good news is, is that God provide and he will give you everything you need in order to fulfill the mission that he has for you to accomplish. 

God’s provision and my investment

He also gives you opportunities to invest and increase in order to make those things happen. It will stretch you and it will put you in a position where you’ll need to make your requests be made known to God.  

God provided and I was also willing to invest in the call. After all, it’s all his money and time anyway, right?  My point is, when you see others getting what you want, you have to ask, have I been brave enough to get in the game? And have I invested and taken action on this? Or am I stuck in the counterfeit purpose wheel that the world offers? What’s in front of you right now that you are needing to be more faithful in?  

Hey listen, sometimes it’s not your season to sow the thing that you see other people doing. So if you’re sitting here wondering, how am I going to do what I see others doing? It makes the baby within me leap, but it’s not time. Fair enough. Use wisdom. The point here is that we can only reap what we actually sow. And we are either sowing or thinking about sowing. 

I’m speaking to those who are reading this, who feel afraid to sow because of what others will think of them or you might wonder if you’re too late. Take action, even if it’s small action in obedience.  Small action in obedience is better than disobedience. Every time. Go back and do something with the investments that you’ve made. Plant the seed, confess your overthinking, and then get your hands dirty. Whatever that is for you this season. 

God says that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, that you could tell this mountain to be moved. I really want to encourage you that when you see someone you respect and you appreciate and they’re just somebody who you want to be when you grow up, pay attention to that. It is good to be imitators of those who are making good decisions. They are sowing into good things. They are doing assignments that make you feel excited and these could be clues as to the next assignment God has for you.  

being open to the mission

I never saw myself as a podcaster per se, but I saw people who had a podcast and I thought to myself, “I wonder if I could do that.” 

And now here we are, almost 40 episodes in. 

Nothing is wasted. You have wasted nothing. The only time that you waste is the time where you keep holding seeds in your pocket, rather than planting.  It’s one thing to get ready to get ready, but it’s another thing to see something that someone’s doing, get curious enough, do the hard work and then give it a try. Push play, show up for the thing, actually take action. Don’t think about taking action, but move forward and do something that says, “I’m going to plant the seed and I’m going to water it and I’m going to watch the Lord grow it or I’m going to realize I have some more learning to do.” 

You have nothing to lose by doing the good works. If your motive is pure and you have the Lord’s blessing, get to work. Put those garden gloves on, get out there and put your hands to work every single day. And just think…this blog, my podcast and the other things I’m working on wouldn’t have even exist if I hadn’t just started.

And now it’s your turn. 

Share this with your bestie if she’s hesitating to do the dang thing and then lovingly encourage her to lean in!