Wild Goose Chase: Throwing down the Staff of Success
One of my awesome clients told me she was reading a book that i may like: It was Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. As you may have already been able to tell, I am a huge Mark Batterson Fan! She loaned me her copy. This is my THIRD Mark Batterson book in 3 months but his writing resonates with me.
As Mark Batterson teaches, the staff served as Moses' protection and his security. Now God was throwing it down and it became a snake and Moses jumped back!
I answered honestly: I am willing to throw down the staff of Success.
Listen, failure terrifies me. Success is my protection. It's what lets me know I have some semblance control. It's what comforts me.
Now what this means to me is that I am willing to look foolish for a season. In a sense I am doing this by running my own business. However personally I am willing to forfeit what surface looks like to the "world". As I recount my own wilderness experience in 2014, I was so bent out of shape because I didn't have superficial success....and oh how superficial that success was.
However I am willing to throw down what I thought success would look like.
This week in my relationship class one of the topics was: Am I willing to be wrong about what I thought the right man for me would look like in my life? Am I willing to be wrong about what I thought it would be?
One of the ladies is high powered and has an MBA, PHD. Very accomplished and in leadership. Her husband turned out to be a Fed Express Driver and she is now in a thriving Purpose Driven marriage. Because he is smart and a good steward, he supported her entrepreneurial goals both financially and emotionally.
Other ladies had similar testimonies.
They stopped looking for what the world says is successful (titles, looks, money, degrees, etc) and started focusing on values and character. A lot of times we will get into trouble focusing on all of that surface level nonsense because we listen to people who tell us this is who we should be with.
Anyway...I'm off on a tangent!
The point is I'm willing to throw down the staff of worldly success if it means that God will be glorified and I get to teach and encourage others!
Amen!!
To God be the Glory
The premise of his Book Wild Goose Chase is that Celtic Christians called God "Wild Goose". His idea is that if you're really following God and not a religion that God will send you on a Wild Goose Chase.
If you read this blog, then you know that it seems like I'm on a Wild Goose Chase. We go from pillar to post. One minute I think I've got things figured out and then guess what? That wasn't it after all! I can totally relate to what he's writing about.
So much of the time it doesn't make any sense at all but then it makes all the sense in the world...so who knows? I've given up on trying to figure it out!!
Testimony Time
So this past week I was short for a major cash payment that I needed to make. I decided to proceed with business as usual. I prayed for provision and I thought of my theme for the week:
"The Lord himself will fight for you...Just stay calm"
So there it went. Later that morning I get a phone call and the rest is history. I was covered...and then some!!
I realized that a lot of time I am operating out of fear. Since I like to keep tabs on everything and be prepared...when things aren't adding up, I shrink back and don't make moves. I deliberately went for a different approach this time.
I am learning something! To God be the Glory!!
Throwing down the staff of success
In his Book Wild Goose chase, Mark Batterson recounts the story where God meets Moses in the wilderness tending sheep. God tells him to throw down his staff.
"Throw it down on the ground," the LORD told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.
As Mark Batterson teaches, the staff served as Moses' protection and his security. Now God was throwing it down and it became a snake and Moses jumped back!
Then the LORD told him, "Reach out and grab its tail." So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd's staff in his hand.The question Mark Batterson asked of us is what are we willing to throw down? What security and protection are we willing to throw down?
I answered honestly: I am willing to throw down the staff of Success.
Listen, failure terrifies me. Success is my protection. It's what lets me know I have some semblance control. It's what comforts me.
Now what this means to me is that I am willing to look foolish for a season. In a sense I am doing this by running my own business. However personally I am willing to forfeit what surface looks like to the "world". As I recount my own wilderness experience in 2014, I was so bent out of shape because I didn't have superficial success....and oh how superficial that success was.
However I am willing to throw down what I thought success would look like.
This week in my relationship class one of the topics was: Am I willing to be wrong about what I thought the right man for me would look like in my life? Am I willing to be wrong about what I thought it would be?
One of the ladies is high powered and has an MBA, PHD. Very accomplished and in leadership. Her husband turned out to be a Fed Express Driver and she is now in a thriving Purpose Driven marriage. Because he is smart and a good steward, he supported her entrepreneurial goals both financially and emotionally.
Other ladies had similar testimonies.
They stopped looking for what the world says is successful (titles, looks, money, degrees, etc) and started focusing on values and character. A lot of times we will get into trouble focusing on all of that surface level nonsense because we listen to people who tell us this is who we should be with.
Anyway...I'm off on a tangent!
The point is I'm willing to throw down the staff of worldly success if it means that God will be glorified and I get to teach and encourage others!
Amen!!
To God be the Glory
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