Overcooked or Undercooked Faith

Today I decided to take a break from podcasts or talk back radio on my drive home from a delivery I made. Flicked on my iTunes and it played More than Able by Elevation.

I have heard it a few times and always enjoyed the musical space in the chorus but I also have to admit that I have a problem with it. Not the song really, but what it causes me to do, the reaction I have to it specifically. When I listen to it it makes me think and ponder many things. Some macro and some micro.

For me personally I begin to question whether I really do believe the sentiment.

During the chorus is makes we consider whether I do believe God is more than able in my life or whether through all my hurts that my faith has been tarnished?

And then that phrase at end reflecting on whether God is finished with us yet, or us individually, that gets to me honestly, because I have many times wondered whether He has finished with me?

As I pondered this more and more I kept coming back to something that I have always believed from his word, that faith is what pleases God.

It is not the looking good. Or nailing some spiritual discipline for everyone to see. It seems to always come back to be faith.

So here I am pondering faith, my faith, where ever that might be...

And then I pictured others reaction to this song and the same sentiments.

I have seen polarised positions on this recently.

One group are believing for amazing things. They are praying hard. They are responding in a worship service according, stirred to believe God is more than able as the song is sung.

There is another who struggles to believe God for anything beyond the most simple. Who look at the first group with a healthy dose of cynicism for their hyper faith.

Honestly it is easy to be in either camp!

You can be caught up in moment believing for the most amazing.

Or you can be practical, maybe even cynical in another moment in time.

What I keep coming back to is personal.

It is not what the hyper faith believe or what the cynics say to counter things.

It is always what is happening in my heart that matters most.

So maybe what I am trying to say is this...

Don't compare you faith or passion or belief to everyone else like you have to compete to receive.

Don't allow your heart to explain things away, or be bitter due to hurt and cynicism.

Try and do faith just you and God in quietness and confidence.

Pray and allow God to shape faith in your life and do what you can to live by faith.

That is part of my journey right now. Maybe that is part of yours as well?

Something to think about....

I Learned...

We launched our business after the first Covid Lockdown.

I had recently taken some much needed time off to reflect and recover (which has taken much longer than I expected to this day) after my previous career and role simply was not available to me anymore. And after much thought I decided to launch a business doing what I seemed to be good at historically, events.

Yes you guessed it. I launched an events business when you couldn’t actually do events. 

Of course I didn’t know that was the reality. 

I wasn’t trying to be clever. 

It is just that no one knew the pandemic was not a few months and instead charged ahead for years.

So what do you do when life has changed dramatically and even your best efforts to re-invent yourself in a new career isn’t going to plan?

What have I learned so far from this uncomfortable experience?

I learned I needed to be flexible 

When my business plan appeared to be a plan for failure pretty quickly I had to flex. I had to look at what other things I could do. 

Yes a business plan should be precise and have measurable goals, and maybe I can get there one day when things are different. But my current success trajectory is based on me and my business being more flexible and responding to opportunities that I might think randomly come my way.

I say yes to new opportunities if they fit the skills we have.

I say yes to uncomfortable with the hope it develops us further into something pretty special.

I say no to needing to have all the answers why, and go with what is in front of me now.

I learned I needed to keep learning

I have honestly loved learning things all my life. And in this season I am pushing myself to keep learning no matter what. To keep adding to my skills and understanding literally a little every single day.

When you are a little older and with a lot less energy reserve this is a challenge. But this world appears to belong to those who want to gain fresh understanding and an expanded skill base, without loosing your values!

I learned that I was not superman 

But I still have something to offer…

I spent too much time during my life on reflection trying to prove myself. In fact the best thing you could ever say to me for many years to motivate me was to tell me I couldn’t do something. That was one of my kryptonite’s. One of my triggers. So I worked stupidly hard to achieve the unachievable, with some sort of an undiagnosed superman complex.

Today I try and live different. 

I am not superman but I am something the world needs. I have skills and values that just need a good home. It is better that I focus on the flex and the learning while growing into the best version of me. A version of Locky developed at a pace that makes better sense for where I am at now.

Maybe one or all three of these points resonates in some way with you today?

In full disclosure, when I say “learned” I probably mean “learning”.

This process hasn’t stopped for me. I am still trying to learn flexibility, to keep learning, and that I don’t have to be the super hero in every moment.

Something to think about...