These three things will probably resonate
You’re looking to make a difference for God in the context and circumstance you find yourself, but it may not be as straightforward as it sounds.
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The bible has a huge amount to say about Strength which I wrote about in this article a while back.
God wants to strengthen and build you up in Him. When we seek our identity and life and direction in the Lord, guess what? We become expanded. Like a balloon that’s inflated with air. We become more ourselves, and ever freer to love God and those around us. We became inflated in the right sense, inflated with the breath of God.
“I battled with fear for years. I picked up a debilitating fear of public speaking after experiencing a rather damaging encounter at school as a teenager. ”
Fear however can have the opposite effect on us. A diminishing effect. A deflating effect. It can diminish and cause us to become smaller. The enemy would love for the Church in the UK to feel diminished through fear. But God invites us to step out in boldness and faith, to trust him and follow his lead.
I battled with fear for years. I picked up a debilitating fear of public speaking after experiencing a rather damaging encounter at school as a teenager. When I became a Christian at University, guess what, that fear didn’t go away, but God began to speak to me about it. He said to me, ‘you’re not on your own with this now’, and I realised things were different. Then God started speaking to me about moving forward, one faith-filled step at a time, moving into an ever-spacious place. I felt God was giving me a vision for communication but didn’t know how to step into that place other than one step at a time.
“God began to speak to me about it. He said to me, ‘you’re not on your own with this now’, and I realised things were different. ”
Fast forward a number of years, I was ordained and leading a church and found myself regularly in moments where public speaking was just a normal part of everyday life. It didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen on my own. I will always carry an awareness of my dependence on the Lord when it comes to public speaking, and I would rather it be that way around.
The reason I mention it is because there are three principles which I think apply to others too, even if the circumstances may not be the same. See whether you resonate:
1. You want to make a difference in the world for God.
2. You will be or are confronting some unknowns about how
3. God wants to give you what you need to get there
This is the place that Stronger is seeking to show up in. We want to see you succeed in taking the next step for God.
The little graphic explains a bit more about the different ways you can connect with Stronger Network at the moment.
The different channels and how you may be strengthened in your journey of faith, enabling you to take what should feel like a next step rather than a leap.
Whether you need a mentor or a coach, a conversation with a peer, a platform to share your ideas, some content to inspire you on, or a team to gather around you. There are things that God wants to strengthen you with through the different facets that we’ve brought together.
Check out some of the feedback that came in after an event recently. This points to some of what I’ve been saying above. People receiving strength and courage to take the next step of the journey through different ways:
‘Hearing like-minded teams and individuals speak words of encouragement…’
The talk about Gen Z encouraged me in youth work…’
‘Reminded very much of how God is working in the hiddenness’
‘This conference has given me confidence….’
Maybe God wants to do something similar in your life? These are times when God is inviting each of us to take a step forward in faith and trust.
