Growing Down

What would you say if I suggested we need to spend as much – if not more – time “unlearning”as we do learning? 

In a society that highly values the acquisition of knowledge and learning, that may sit uncomfortably! 

At the beginning of this year I was on our annual youth camp and we were in our Saturday night session with 65 youth. It had been a special night seeing the Holy Spirit minister to so many youth. The youngest girl on our camp, who was 10 years old, shared with her leader that she had a picture of encouragement from God she wanted to share with the group. When she got up to share, I could sense the excitement and anticipation that people had to hear the words this young girl had to share. What she shared was profound: “People’s hearts are on fire, but Satan has a bucket of water trying to put the fire out, but God is saying he had an endless supply of fire starters”. People roared with joy and celebration as she shared. What struck me was the boldness and simplicity of the way this girl shared. And it was in this moment I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “Emma, you can learn from her”. 

As I pondered this thought driving home another thought came to mind. Ironically, in learning from this girl, it would actually involve a process of “unlearning”. 

As we grow older we start to learn or adopt habits that I believe are unhelpful or restricting to our faith. Things like control, fear, independence or superiority. And in fact, what becomes essential to our walk with Jesus is that we would “unlearn” these behaviours and return to a childlike faith. In Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus calls us to adopt the faith and the position of a child. Childlike faith is absent of control, fear, superiority and independence – its vulnerability and humility before the Father. 

A child’s dependence on their parent is remarkable. They need the parent to care for them in all aspects of their life. That dependence starts to reduce as they get older. I believe Jesus is calling us to increase our dependence on him; to return to a dependence on the Father as a child would to a parent. To go to him for every need, every direction, to have no fear, and trust without hesitation in his leading. To seek to do only what the Father is doing. (John 5:19) 

An area for me to unlearn has been control. I like to be prepared, which isn’t always bad in itself but I need to be flexible and have room for God’s leading; to not have my feet so fixed on the ground that I won’t move where the Spirit leads. My need for control often reflects my lack of trust – or my desire to have faith in what is seen instead of trusting the unseen. Control means I miss out on faith-building opportunities because I am too concerned with the outcome I believe we should follow, instead of God’s. God has called me to give up control, to step more freely in the freedom He offers. As I give up control, I allow him to increase and me to decrease, demonstrating a wonderful childlike position before the Father.  

To give up control is inviting the Holy Spirit to lead me further into freedom and obedience. To ask the Holy Spirit to lead me further into the truth of being God’s child and how that impacts my life. Or as Charles Spurgeon puts it, “We have grown up, as we call it, so let us grow down today, and become as little children…”

What is it today you need to “unlearn”, in order to step more fully into the freedom that is offered in Christ Jesus, and to “grow down” so that our wonderful Jesus is exalted?

Positioned for Influence - Part 3

No compromise. 

As we step into our sphere of influence, there will be moments when the enemy tries to lead us to a place of compromise. I know in my walk with God, there have been moments when I have compromised experiencing the fullness of God in order to obtain momentary satisfaction. When we do compromise, our influence is hindered and the task before us can become blurred and confused. 

Often the biggest driver of compromise is fear. Esther was given opportunities to compromise on her calling but she remained steadfast. Approaching the king without being summoned was against the law and Esther could have been put to death. Instead of giving into fear, Esther simply replies, “If I perish, I perish” and urges her people to fast on her behalf. She does not compromise and remain silent. When Esther does make the request for her peoples freedom, she has another opportunity to compromise. King Xerxes offers her “up to half the kingdom”, however Esther still risks personal comfort for the sake of her people. She denies this offer and remains true to the purposes of God. In doing so, she exposes the darkness – the evil plans and purposes of Haman. 

Esther demonstrates for us someone who knew exactly the influence she was to have and kept her eyes fixed on the task ahead. She was walking in step with the Father’s will. We will often compromise when we lose touch with walking in step with the Spirit. We must, as John 15 calls us to, remain in Him. For apart from Him we can do nothing. 

The Holy Spirit often calls us out of our comfort zone and to actively live out our faith proclamations. There have been times in my life where I have sought comfort in the face of fear, particularly when I felt under-qualified for a task. A particularly challenging area for me was being called to leadership roles. Generally, I am quietly spoken and am not drawn to being up the front. Given those tendencies, I completely disqualified myself for leadership. I was limiting myself, ruling myself out by what I considered to be my weaknesses. 

As we consider how we influence, we must be open that the Lord may call us to influence in ways that stretch us uncomfortably. I heard someone once say that God often uses our fears for his plans and victories. I believe that God can turn our fears into our greatest means of influence. Are we open to God working in our fear areas? Esther could have used her influence in a way that resulted in greater comfort for herself, but she pursued the greater and much riskier option that God was placing on her heart. The beautiful thing about the way God works is that he loves to use our weaknesses and turn them into ways he can reveal his power. 

Are there ways that you could influence that you have previously discounted? Kris Vallotton, says, “you cannot conquer what you refuse to confront”. Choosing comfort stops us conquering our fears, which could in turn become our greatest mechanism of influence. Are there areas in your life where fear is leading to a pursuit of comfort rather than wholehearted obedience in faith? 

Positioned for Influence - Part 2

An effortless display.

The story of Esther shows us two ways a person can display and practice influence. One is contrived, toilsome and short-lived; the other is humble, effortless and lasting. 

There is no doubt that King Xerxes had a position of influence in Persia. He ruled over 127 provinces and accumulated great wealth and power. King Xerxes made every effort to ensure that people knew of his power and wealth. He spent 180 days focused on doing exactly this! The end goal for King Xerxes was personal vindication. Haman acted in this way too and organised a gathering of family and friends, just to speak of his success, wealth and position of honor. He needed to prove his influence to his family and friends, and as a result his pursuit of influence was toilsome. In both King Xerxes and Haman we see their influence is easily compromised and fleeting. The honour that Haman so desperately sought, was given rightly to Mordecai. Furthermore, his evil plans were exposed and this led to his imminent death. For King Xerxes, in his toilsome pursuit of creating monuments of himself, history tells us this was cut short as he was assassinated by Artabanus. 

Even though these men had momentary fame, power and influence, it would fade in the light of the enduring purposes of God. 1 Peter 1:24-25 says, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of grass. The grass withers, and the flowers fall off, but the word of the Lord lasts forever.” Are we pursuing influence that is lasting and for the glory of our Father, or are we more concerned in the displaying our personal success? 

As we look to Esther we see that that her influence is effortless. By effortless, I do not mean an absence of steps of faith or obedience, but rather that her vindication was not something she sought. In her obedience and trust as Mordecai commissioned her, and through the compassion she had for her people, she influences a change that lasts. Esther did not promote herself, use her influence for personal indulgence, but took hold of opportunities to influence for the good of others. 

We see the end result of the courage of Esther and Mordecai result in a Purim being made. The Purim was a Jewish festival that was established to celebrate the deliverance of the Jews from the lot (“pur”) that was cast by Haman.  The Purim was a beautiful image of God’s sovereignty and echoed Proverbs 16: 33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” Haman’s plots to destroy the Jews would falter under the providence of God. This Jewish festival was a day of remembrance for the Jewish people; a day not only of joyful celebration but where they would also bless the poor with gifts. What an incredible outworking of Esther and Mordecai’s faithfulness! Even though Esther and Mordecai were recognised for their influence, it ultimately resulted in the blessing and serving of others, and pointed to the sovereignty of God. 

Our sphere of influence must be seen through the lens of servanthood and result in the blessing of others. Jesus influenced events in history in the most profound way by adopting the position of a servant (Philippians 2:7) of God and others. He was never interested in self-promotion, but rather to promote and advance the glory of His father. Jesus ministered in the normality of life to reveal the impossibilities of God. Esther demonstrates Christ-like servanthood as she risks her life to save her people, God’s chosen nation. By adopting servant hood we avoid the risk of seeking notoriety, which leads to a focus on the self. 

Are we adopting the posture of servant hood as we enter new opportunities to influence and minister? What selfish ambitions is the Holy Spirit calling us to let go of, in order for us to discover His higher and greater ways?  

Positioned for Influence - Part 1

There is something incomparable about the joy we receive when the Lord gives us a personal revelation through his Spirit.  A word that pierces the heart and gives inspiring vision is something that can bring great enlightenment in a believer’s journey. 

A few months ago, the Lord blessed me with a revelation that did exactly this. He reminded me that he has “positioned me for influence”. Where he had placed me, in varying contexts and environments, and who he had placed me around, was no accident. It is in fact the sphere of influence where I have been positioned to love well. 

God has really stirred my passion to see women operate in their gifting and full potential in Christ over the past few years, for women to see their sphere of influence. No matter what our environment is, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, we can influence it positively with values of the Kingdom. Unfortunately today, I believe many miss this call by being caught in the cycle of busyness, or being crippled by fear, insecurity or apathy. 

For me personally, these are huge hurdles I constantly need to overcome. I think it is crucial for women to start unpacking lies from the enemy they have believed that stop them from knowing that they are in fact positioned for influence. We all have a sphere of influence. In our workplaces, families, and universities, we can influence for the spread of the Gospel by the power of the Spirit. 

So, how exactly do we as women effect change and influence in our contexts and surroundings? I think the story of Esther provides some great insights into this area. 

Esther was clearly someone who was positioned for influence at a perfect God-ordained time, “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). The book of Esther is inspiring. There are clear markings of Esther’s ministry and life that reveal why she was so effective in her advocacy, leadership and influence. 

“Graced” for the task ahead

In the book of Esther we are told on a number of occasions that Esther “won the favour” of those around her. Her ministry was marked by, as Josephus the historian states, “a thread of grace”. 

Although God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, we clearly see Him preparing the hearts of those Esther would come into contact with, to advocate for the Jewish people, and achieve the purposes of God. It is clear that this was a point in time that God had chosen Esther to advocate for his people, and his empowering favor allows her to achieve justice for the Jews. The Hebrew translation of the word ‘favour’ is the same word that is used for ‘grace’ – chen or in the Greek translation, charis. We see the source of favour is God; it is a demonstration of His grace as he empowers his children to achieve His purposes. 

Psalm 84:11 says, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless”. The word “bestows” means a given gift, honor or right. God’s favour is an outworking of His grace for us, a gift that He gives us in order to bring Himself glory. By no means does favour warrant complacency in our journey, or an expectation of a “challenge-free” ministry, claiming prosperity for personal comfort. That would simply lead to an indulgence of the self. What it does, is bring us deep encouragement for our ministry because we know that the Lord “graces” any task the Lord puts before us by preparing the way before us and gifting us with his Spirit. Even when suffering or challenges come, we know that the Lord will achieve what he needs to.  

A good friend of mine was in charge of planning a large youth conference, with hundreds gathering together to worship the Lord. There were multitudes of challenges, plenty of things to feel anxious about, but the Lord gently reminded her that He had “graced” her for this task. He would prepare and change the hearts of the youth attending, and give her what she needed to use her position to influence for the Kingdom. 

Personally, as the Lord has laid different tasks on my heart, I am realising that I can minister from peace, not fear. I can choose to be terrified by the task before me, or I can rest knowing that his goodness and mercy follow my steps. In order to step into our sphere of influence, we need to first remember that God has graced us for this task. Why? Because, we then can minister from a place of peace not fear. The focus moves from us to Him and it moves us to a place of dependence on Him, as He is the author of our purposes. 

Esther understood that God was with her and in her courageous obedience she used her position to advocate for her people. What sphere of influence is God calling you into? Are you ministering from a place of confidence, knowing that you are “graced” for the tasks put before you?