How do you grow in confidence? That was my word. Confidence. As I sat at the Global Leadership Summit almost two weeks ago, I was challenged as Craig Groeschel delivered the final message on leadership. He told people to pick one word from his list of five areas to focus on over the next year. It’s overwhelming to pick too many areas to improve. So choose one. One area to increase your capacity over the next year.
I chose an area to increase my capacity. My capacity as a leader. As a thought leader. As a ministry leader. As a family leader. As a person. Confidence. Confidence was my word. How do I grow in my confidence and expand my influence and capacity over the next year?
“Rise up. Rise up.” Those were the words from God. To me. “Rise up because I have called you and I will equip you. Rise up and walk. Rise up and go.”
Yet here I am. Over two years later after receiving that message. I’m still here. Wait. No to the “Yet”. There is no yet. I have stood up in the confidence of Jesus. Not of my own doing. I moved to a different state. I started a new ministry. I have created. Not of my own doing, but of the one who has called me and equipped me to do so.
Do I stop here? Do I rest here? Is that it? No. Because I feel called to more. I know in my brain that He will equip me for every good work. Yet I often sit in fear. Fear of other’s words. Fear of other’s opinions. Fear of not measuring up. Fear of not being good enough.
Girl, read what you just wrote. Read what He wrote through you. Read what He just wrote to you. No to the “Yet”. There is no yet. There is no pause. There is no pause to wait for confidence to begin. There is no pause to wait for life to start. There is no yet. There is no yet to sit in the fear. There is no sitting in the fear. Don’t hold still in the fear. Don’t be paralyzed in the fear. Don’t hide in the fear.
Perfect love drives out fear. He is perfect love. Perfect. He perfectly loves me. He perfectly calls me. He will perfectly equip me. With. Out. Fear.
It’s okay to see the fear. It’s okay to feel the fear. It’s okay to wrestle with the fear. It’s okay to face the fear. Because when I feel I can’t go on I get to ask my perfect Heavenly Father to show me the Angels. Show me your armies who are fighting for me. Show them to me lined up, shoulder to shoulder, ready to battle. For me. Battle for me. Because there is no yet. No waiting. No idling. No more trying to do this on my own. No more trying to build confidence in my own strength. I can’t. I surrender. I surrender to the “Yet”. I wave the white flag to the “Yet”. I stop living in the “Yet”. I am not the “Yet”. No more living in the pause.
I am done waiting. I am done waiting to step into confidence. I am done waiting to step into the life You have called me to. Because You have already promised to do more than I can even dream to ask for or imagine. I know you will equip me. I know you will make the way. I know You will bless this. Because You have ordained this. You have said it will be so.
So I say no to the “Yet”. No to the waiting. No to the pause. No to the fear. You are no longer welcome in my life. In this moment, right now, I step forward into the confidence you graciously give and stand in confident expectation to be used by You.
Nancy Thompson 