First Steps

Have you ever felt unprepared to do something?

That’s how I felt yesterday right before I was to teach Bible Study. We are reading through the book of I Peter. The scripture for the night was difficult. It seemed to contradict what I had taught previously and I knew some in the group would read it and feel condemned.

I prayed and asked God for revelation but I didn’t feel as if I heard anything.
I thought of just avoiding it. The easy thing would be to pretend that verse didn’t exist and find a verse on my favorite topic, prosperity.
I read commentaries but nothing I read sat well with my spirit.
I thought of calling my pastor and asking him if he would rather teach my Bible Study than preach at church that night.

But what I decided to do was humble myself and tell the group simply, “I don’t understand this verse. What are your thoughts?”

And that is what I did.

As I presented the verse for discussion and listen to the comments of others, God begin to give me fresh revelation of the meaning of the scripture. I begin to see the scripture in a different context that brought hope and released others from condemnation.

Here is what I learned last night from that experience.

1. As a leader, I need to be okay with showing vulnerability; I need to be okay with admitting I am not an expert in every topic. A good leader models dependency upon Christ and not on themselves. A good leader is okay with not being the smartest person in the room.

2. Embrace hard conversations, difficult circumstances, uncomfortable topics. Growth is on the other side.

3. We need each other. We need our tribe to help discern the word of God. God will sometimes give us each a piece of the puzzle and we need each other to see the big picture.

4. When you step in the water, the rivers will part. Sometime we are waiting on God, but actually God is waiting for us. Your provision is on the other side of your act of obedience.

5. The best place to be is at the end of yourself. That is where we learn to rely on Him and not in our abilities. His grace really is sufficient.

Boys and girls, don’t avoid the hard things God is calling you to do today. God is in the middle of it.

“But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭3:15-16‬ ‭CSB‬‬