As a visionary leader, we are constantly dreaming and visioning about the future. There is always the hope for what can be and the future possibilities. Yet what keeps me from stepping forward in my pursuit of these dreams? Of course, as a Christian, I say things like, “I don’t know if it is God’s will for my life,” but did I actually take time to pray about this dream? Most likely not.
Michael Hyatt says that this is because I am, we are, afraid to take the leap because of the uncertainty. We want to be guaranteed that we will succeed, and how shape that success will take. Yet every choice, every risk we take, is based upon limited and incomplete information. We do not know exhaustively all the potential outcomes. If we allow this lack of certainty to cause us to risk, then Hyatt says we risk “dying with the music in you.”
And it is interesting that as we step out and make the decision to risk, the provisions and unexpected resources and encouragement we receive. There would have been no way to account for these additional motivators. They could only be experienced through the risk taking of commitment.
It is the very experience of risk taking and stepping out on our dreams that reveal God’s ability to come through with all the resources that you needed. It is one thing to say God will provide. It is entirely another thing to attempt something as a leader that will fail if God does not come provide.
I will comment on this post.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that struck me in reading your post and the one that inspired it is how driven we are by our need to succeed. In fact, God does not seem to be nearly as concerned about our success as we are, if at all. I appreciated your raising the role of prayer in taking that first step and I think that is the key to moving past our own fears and motivations. Are we operating under the leading of the Holy Spirit? If we are, I think we are then able to surrender our need to “succeed,” whatever that may mean to us, and focus our attention on becoming obedient.
ReplyDeleteGod rewards our obedience with the “provision…unexpected resources and encouragement” you mentioned. But does God do that when we seek our dreams or when we seek God’s dreams for us? I think that when we are truly walking in the will of God and through the Holy Spirit, those two come together in beautiful harmony. But when we pursue our own dreams without consulting God, then fear may in fact be the prudent response. Ultimately, our commitment must be to obedience to the will of God regardless of what risks may seemingly confront us.