Beware! (You May Realize You’re Doing This)

I tried “God’s way” without results, so now I’ll do things my way. 

I couldn’t see this malignant heart-belief, but, certainly, it had taken root within me. God has let me down.

Amazingly, I wouldn’t have even recognized it, except I started judging someone, thinking, They’re striving by works, They’re so caught up in their mission, They’re missing the point.

God hit me back with love. Kelly, it is less about them, and far more about the heart-of-the-issue within you.  

Oh really, God??!!

But He was right… After all the prayer…  After all the giving… After all the believing… After all the seeking… All the hoping… All the wanting… All the pursuing… All the doing…

…God didn’t answer exactly how I thought He would.

Therefore, in the place of abiding, I started striving. Perhaps you are there today too.

You may be “there” if you feel:

1. God hasn’t yet shown up for you.

2. You get the sense you’re doing things wrong and have to fix them.

3. Nothing ever appears to change.

4. Greater is the mission God has for you than the work He is doing in you.

5. People are blockages to your goals.

Here, you may be saying, “The going has gotten tough, so the tough in me’s gotta to get going!”

But, daughter or son, beware. Work only toughens the skin around a heart; it never softens it. Additionally, it makes an idol out of impact.

You may, unknowingly or knowingly, be sliding into a works-mentality if:

1. You are becoming judgemental.

2. You are charting out your course, scheming “breakthrough” strategies, formulating outcomes, or believing organizational goals are your “breakthrough”.

3. You tell people what to do and how to do it.

4. You have a passive-aggressive or controlling approach.

5. If you find yourself less and less authentic with God and others.

6. You cannot receive love or help.

These are huge wake-up signs. They woke me up.

The reality is: God does show up. Today, I choose to cast off the lie that I am “in it” on my own, that God has forsaken me, that I fight my own battle and that I have to make people agree with me. Today, I receive the truth, that even when I do nothing, Christ has done everything. Today, I trust that even when I don’t “work” God is working all things out for my good. Today, I ask for forgiveness. Today, I delight in God’s perfect work within me. Today, I rest in love. Today, I trust His work to change others. Today, I make room for the leadings of the Spirit, verses the aspirations of Kelly. Today, I trust His timelines. Today, I breathe in the fresh air of God.

Check out my new book, Battle Ready: Train your Mind to Conquer Challenges, Defeat Doubt and Live Victoriously! Learn how to stand strong and faithful during trials.

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