Stay in Your Lane!

Therefore, brothers and sisters, be eager to confirm your call and election.

Do this and you will never ever be lost.

2 Peter 1:10 (CEB)

     “Stay in your lane” is a saying that literally means to know your place and purpose in this world, and to not move out of it. So many people are lost, unhappy, confused, frustrated and discouraged because they are traveling in a lane that is not for them, either because they have allowed others to put them there, or they themselves are trying to fit into a mold that is ill-suited. Sometimes parents want to push their children toward certain career choices to assure financial success or even because they vicariously live through them, instead of encouraging them to prayerfully research and explore all of their options before making a decision. This can result in burn-out, stress, emotional and even health problems later in life.

Teach us to realize the brevity of life,

so that we may grow in wisdom.

Ps. 90:12 (NLT)

     It’s important to know your purpose in life as well as in the Kingdom of God, where people often seek after titles and positions of status that have no bearing on anyone else’s well-being, other than to exalt the person who carries the title.  Why would anyone want to be called a prophet or prophetess, yet they never have an encouraging word for someone else? Why become a pastor when you don’t really love people?  Maybe your calling in life is to feed hungry people on the street. That’s an awesome mission that often goes unnoticed and probably won’t get front row recognition in a church building, but God sees…and He will reward you openly.  So many ways of serving and helping others have no official credentials on paper, but the spiritual effects are great. Everyone will not be a mega-church pastor or have an international ministry, but everyone can find his or her place in life and be at peace with who we are, which brings our greatest joy. If you know that you are being led by the Lord, don’t allow people, groups, or organizations to convince you that what God put in your heart to do is unimportant, or that you need to be doing something else. Usually when others do this, it’s for their own benefit and not yours, and certainly not God’s.

Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

~Matt 7:13-1(MSG)

      Your place in this world is unique, and is based on God’s plan and purpose for your life.  Are you struggling with “staying in your lane”? Keep looking forward, and don’t get distracted, because if God is guiding your journey, you’re going in the right direction!

Free to be Me!

     Have you ever felt the pressure to belong, to be understood, or just to be like everyone else?  I thought about that today while looking at all of the conformity and compromise that has been going on in the worship ministry as of late. I'm not talking about the conforming to God's Word that we are supposed to do, but the trend to do what everyone else is doing or to try to outdo what we see others doing to "fit in". It seems as if many of us want to do whatever it takes to get the platforms, the notoriety and the validation of those who we think will help us "make it"---whatever that means. In the process, we lose our uniqueness, identity, and creativity and although we may get what we were seeking from people, we are losing God's approval of what we do. 

What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? (Mark 8:36, The Message)

    What are you trading your soul for, in order to become what people want you to be to make them comfortable with what you do? God has given you a unique way of showing Himself to the world through your gifts and talents, but because you haven't seen anyone else minister (serve) in that way, you are compromising and changing your kingdom assignment to become acceptable to man. Or, maybe someone criticized or made fun of your ministry in front of others and you allowed that to stop your flow.  It is very hurtful to be made fun of or rejected, but when we answered the call from God, we agreed to be a partaker with the sufferings of Christ. He was criticized, he was mocked, he was humiliated publicly, but He did not ever change what God assigned Him to do in the earth.( Matt. 27:29-31; Mark 3:22) Thank God! When you back down from the works that God called you to do in the way He has inspired you, there are people who are missing out on what God wants to do through you. He will not anoint compromise. He is not concerned with who is the most popular, if they are out of His will. It is very possible that the very ones we are trying to follow may not even be getting God's attention, most of the time. Only He knows the condition of their hearts, but we are not called to please people!

      Whenever anyone preaches or teaches about compromise, most of the time they are referring to questionable lifestyle choices such as certain types of entertainment, activities, associations, sexual sins, and the like. But beyond the obvious is the more insidious type of compromise that doesn't appear to be wrong---when we stop being ourselves to become someone else that people will like or accept. Maybe you are supposed to do mime and only make-up half of your face (like the Phantom of the Opera), but because you haven't seen anyone else doing it, you change your look to "fit in", and lose God's approval and anointing.

  What has God given you to share with the world?  Don't allow others to control His expression through you by their approval, opinions, or behavior. There's no room for compromise!

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