Are you seeing this as RESPONSIBILITY or?...
You have a responsibility.
These four words are literally all that’s been running through my head for the most part of the day and to be honest I was a little annoyed at first.
A word like ‘responsibility’ isn’t exactly the most exciting and captivating word to use in a post on social media, or a message in a blog.
But in all honesty, saying what’s real as opposed to saying what ‘works’ always wins.
And you truly do have a responsibility. YOU – not someone else, or the person with more followers, or the one who seems to make this whole online business thing look easy. Well, they do too. But that’s not the point of today’s message.
I need YOU to understand how important YOU are.
Woah – trigger alert for some of you, right? This idea of self-importance.
“Aren’t we meant to die to ourselves daily, Naomi?” (You might ask this if you’ve been reading Luke 9:23.)
Yep.
But for what it’s worth, here’s my take on why that has nothing to do with the importance of who you are in this world right now and therefore, the responsibility you have.
You know when you commit to a new Bible reading plan, or a new rhythm to get you praying more and by day three you’ve slept through your alarm and you’re rethinking this whole new system?
I think there’s probably something to be said THERE about dying to yourself and getting over the less sleep thing and finding yourself opening that Bible bleary eyed or not – simply because you know it’s good for your soul. Like, really good. If you DON’T get around to that though, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, and nor is it likely to affect lots of other people. You get to try again.
But if you’re being called to create, do or share something with the world – specifically the people of the world who YOUR God-given mission is for – then ‘dying to yourself’ is actually pretty crucial.
Dying to it being a bit uncomfortable to write and share what you’ve been called to at the risk of sounding silly, or of no one listening.
Dying to your desire to just ‘fit in and be normal’ instead of creating something which none of your friends and family have done before.
Dying to the security of what a regular job and a pension can give you if you’re the sort of person who knows that you’re not meant to be working a regular job.
I honestly think that THESE aspects of dying to ourselves are a lot harder to overcome. And because they’re harder, they’re not done as much…
Which means that the people on the other side of you being FULLY who you’ve been called to be and sharing COMPLETELY in the way you’ve been called to share aren’t seeing you. It means that your desire to put yourself before what’s REALLY on your heart is getting in the way of someone else being who THEY are meant to be.
This isn’t a message meant to make you feel guilty, by the way.
It’s just what I have to remind myself when I want to watch Netflix, or distract myself with my housework (yes, it can be distraction) instead of being who God’s called me to be and sharing what He’s called me to share with who He wants me to share it with.
I have to decide to die to the part of me who would rather NOT choose the possibility of rejection and ridicule by sharing my soul’s work.
But do you know what?
When you show up for the call on your life powerfully without looking ‘to the right or to the left’ of what everyone else around you is doing – something amazing happens. You’re filled with this courage and peace which wasn’t there before. THAT is the assurance of the Holy Spirit and it truly is a peace which surpasses understanding. It means you’re in ‘your lane’ doing what you’re meant to be doing. To be honest, there’s nothing like it. Even IF on the outside it can look a little crazy.
The sad thing though, is how few people actually get there. The lure of ‘ordinary’ and ‘comfortable’ can certainly be more appealing than risk and uncertainty, can’t it? But then, what do you do with this call you can’t shake? Do you ignore it for the rest of your life? Do you wait for it to ‘pass’?
What if it’s not meant to.
What if this responsibility which knocks on the door of your heart is here to stay. Don’t just get comfortable with the knocking. Open up and invite who you truly are to take a seat.
This can also be a hurdle – the whole ‘who you truly are’ thing. I know it was for me. I spent almost all of my 20’s as a High School Teacher. And so when the concept that my blog – which was previously just a hobby I sporadically dabbled in- could be something which birthed a business which I could work in full time.
Of course the IDEA of that sounds great on paper – but what’s on paper doesn’t include the eyebrow raises, the ‘is this actually a real job?’ comments, the first few weeks and months where you’re not sure if you’ve made a dreadful mistake and everything else between. And yet THAT is the stuff many people can’t get past. THAT is the stuff keeping countless people stuck.
Too uncertain to make the leap into a decision which would change everything.
Too comfortable to risk discomfort.
Too nervous to FULLY trust.
It’s time to do things differently. Click the link below to learn how you can by working with me.
The world is waiting for your work!
By the way… If you know you’re ready to finally draw a line in the sand as far as hanging out at hobby status or side hustle goes, I have just the thing. My ‘What’s in Your Hand’ live workshop has been created to empower you with the skillset and mindset you need in order to bring your God-given mission to life using the very gifts, skills & talents you already possess. You’ll walk away with a 4-week action plan and will be ready to get going immediately. To learn more and to register for next week’s workshop, click HERE.