Live expansively!
This was originally written and published in 2017, when I was going through Havilah Cunnington's Bible study, Soul Food (highly recommend). Day 12- Room to Eat really got my attention, and there's a message I really want to share with you. As you read the following passage, replace "Corinthians" with your name. This is a letter Paul wrote to believers in Corinth many, many, many years ago, but its message is still so relevant for us today. 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 from The Message Bible:
Dear, dear Corinthians, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Live openly and expansively!"
Personalized from The Message and written in the margin in my journaling Bible. (This is the Christian Standard Bible). The girl is a custom illustration from Beth Castro of Beloved Society. I print them on clear sticker paper so the text is still visible.
Do you feel small? Are you feeling stuck in a job you wish you didn't have to go to? Do you wonder if your dreams even matter, or if anyone even cares? Maybe you feel like you'll never be all that you long to be or do what you long to do. Are you overwhelmed with the mundane tasks of making dinner and doing laundry? Do you have something inside that you'd love to share, but you don't know if or how well it will be received so you don't even bother?
Friend, can I encourage you? You were meant for so much more. God has created you with so much beauty and passion. Those things He's put in you are meant to be pursued and shared. You are meant to shine! Not for your own glory, but for His. Do you know that using the gifts He's given you brings Him glory? When we shy away from our natural passions and giftings, we're limiting our effectiveness of sharing Him with the world.
What's holding you back from embracing your gifts and living wide open? If you're like me, it's probably fear of vulnerability. We feel insignificant and worry what others may think. We struggle with those dreaded "who do I think I am?" thoughts. We limit ourselves and live small because it feels safe. But doesn't it also feel a bit restricting? Like you kinda want to explode because there's something burning inside you?
Let's let this be the year we free ourselves from our own limitations. Let's venture out and walk in the abundant lives we were meant for. The Light of the world is in you! Do you realize how powerful that is? What an amazing gift that is? Don't try to hide it! Lights are made to shine. When you allow the Light inside you to shine, you make things brighter for others.
Whatever that talent or passion is that's been burning within you, I encourage you to go for it with all your heart. You don't have to do it in your own strength. Ask the Dream Giver to guide you. He has already given you all you need to accomplish what He's put in you. I know it's scary to begin, but isn't it also exciting?
When you decide to walk in the calling that He's placed in you, you're choosing to live the abundant life you were created for. Your circumstances may not change right away, but I bet your perspective will. You'll feel lighter and more hopeful. You'll feel fulfilled instead of stuck. You'll have joy and more peace. Let's stop living small. Let's take Paul's advice to live openly and expansively. (And like Paul, I'm speaking as plainly as I can, and with great affection. Shine your light girl!)
Last night my son was telling me about a commercial he'd seen about a guy who goes into a shoe store and buys some shoes that are obviously waaayyyy too big for him. Have you seen it? Take a look:
The final line says, "Just because you drive the official vehicle of the NBA, doesn't make you an official NBA player."
I love the confidence this guy has. He's livin' large and ducking under doorways. What if we all lived like that? Like we're destined for greatness and we start walking like we are who God says we are! He puts dreams inside us that are waaayyyy too big for us to accomplish on our own... but if we say Yes to Him and yield ourselves to His plans, we can start walking in our destiny even in our insignificance.
This time of year, many people are dreaming dreams and writing down goals. Often, those things are written down or thought about for a while, and soon forgotten. Or worse, we feel like they're too big so we scale them way back to something we can actually achieve in our comfort zones. It can be really powerful to spend some time with each goal or dream, and think about what it would be like to accomplish them. Imagine how things would be different, how you would feel. Allow yourself to visualize them being reality. Walk in that hope. Write down all the steps it would take to make it happen. Schedule tasks that bring you closer. Buy the shoes and duck under doorways! Live expansively!
