I want to show you from God’s Word what to do when you don’t know what to do. We all have those times in our lives when we’re up against that brick wall and we have no idea how to deal with it. Well, those are the times we need to know what to do, when we don’t know what to do!

Do you recall the story found in 2 Chronicles 20, where Jehoshaphat was facing war with a bunch of enemies who could undoubtedly wipe him off the map? He was a godly king of Judah, and when he realized this vast army was marching his way, he was alarmed—frightened, worried! Who wouldn't be? But as soon as he saw his predicament, he "resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”

Notice how he responded to a crisis—he resolved to inquire of the Lord. What is the first thing you do when facing an overwhelming enemy of some sort? It could be a relationship enemy or a financial enemy or a jobless enemy or a health enemy; they come in all types and sizes. Your first emotional reaction most likely is alarm; that's to be expected. But what does that alarm cause you to do?

Often the first thing I do is to plan my fight. Whatever the problem is, I start figuring how I can win this battle. I can do this or that; I can talk to this person or that one; I can pull this string or another one. Surely there is something I can do to fix this situation and fix it fast! So I start drawing up my battle plan.

Jehoshaphat knew better. He remembered to first "inquire of the Lord.” What is your mission impossible today, your impossible person, your mountain too high to climb? Have you inquired of the Lord yet for his guidance? Or are you struggling and working and fretting to come up with your own battle plan so you can solve that problem?

Just stop right where you are and inquire of the Lord. That means to tell him that you trust him, you believe he is smarter than you are, and you admit that your ideas usually make matters worse rather than solve anything. So, instead of fighting your battle, you're going to inquire of the Lord as to what to do. That's the first important step.

(Click here to download the Seven R's reminder card.)

We need a vision of what God wants to do through us, and that vision should be the motivation that helps us break out of our boxes and accomplish our dreams. But the first question we need to confront is whether or not our vision, our passion, is from God or not.

Is It of God?

Here are seven signs that I believe will help you answer that question:

Sign Number 1 – It won’t go away.

If God has a plan that will take you out of your comfort zone—out of some box you’re in—it will not go away. And as you pray about it (and that must be step number one!), it will get stronger not weaker.

Believe me, I’ve had lots of other “passions” and ideas that I thought at first were something God wanted me to pursue, but it didn’t take long for those things to fade. If you have to keep pushing the doors open and there is resistance on every hand, most of the time it’s because God is saying either “No, not that” or “No, not now.”

Of course, we have to be persistent and not give up at the first obstacle, but if it’s of God, it won’t go away in your heart. Instead, it will grow and even though it looks impossible, you just won’t be able to get away from it.

Sign Number 2 – Your motivation will be to serve God and others.

God doesn’t give us passions or visions just to make us feel good about ourselves or help us achieve our personal goals. If it’s from God you will be motivated out of a love for God and for people, and it will be all about serving.

Remember what Jesus told us in Mark 9:35: “He said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.’” God’s vision for your life will lead you to become a servant, in one way or another. Are you ready for that?

Sign Number 3 – There will be a need for it.

God is not inefficient and he does things “in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40). If God is leading you out of your box, it’s because someone needs you out of that box, doing what God has for you to do. It won’t be a whimsical flight of your imagination. It won’t be because you just want to do something creative or different. It will be to meet a need.

Sign Number 4 – God will open doors for you and confirm it through his Word.

If this vision is a God-thing, you won’t have to push and shove and beg and plead. You will have to be persistent, but God will open some doors for you and confirm that this is of him. You will see some small and/or large miracles as God opens these doors. You will be amazed, frightened, awestruck, and excited.

I remember when I began to see that my radio ministry was not just for one station in Chicago. I had been mentored and encouraged to enlarge my vision and take the program to other Christian stations. I don’t frighten easily, but as I began to think about growing this radio ministry, I was scared. This was way bigger than anything I had ever thought it would be and I would need resources that I didn’t have. So I said, “Lord, I need confirmation from your Word that this is of you, or I’m not going to do it. Give me clear guidance, please.”

My reading that day was in Isaiah 50. Verses four and seven simply hit me between the eyes that day:

“The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue to know the Word that sustains the weary….Because the Sovereign Lord helps me I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint and I know I will not be put to shame.”

There was no doubt in my mind that these two verses were God’s voice to me, his promise to me, and his green light to enlarge my ministry. I can’t tell you how many times in the past years I’ve gone back to that passage. When you get out of your comfortable box and start pursuing the passion God has given you,

¿Qué quieres ser cuando seas grande? Esa es una pregunta familiar que se le hace a la mayoría de los niños pequeños en varias etapas y edades, y escucharás respuestas como un médico, bombero, maestro, astronauta, ¡lo que sea! Pero, ¿cuántos de nosotros estamos ahora haciendo lo que dijimos que queríamos ser cuando fuéramos grandes? Los niños pueden soñar grandes sueños; aún no han adquirido el mal hábito de ponerse en cajas.

Puede ser que nunca hayas alcanzado tu potencial y hecho las cosas buenas que Dios ha planeado que hagas porque permitiste que alguien o algo te convenciera de que no puedes hacerlo o que no eres el indicado para hacerlo. Tal vez sea hora de tener el coraje de volverse como un niño, como dijo Jesús que debemos hacer, y soñar algunos sueños y abrazar algunas visiones de lo que Dios quiere que hagas.

Cuando yo era una joven profesional, el mundo apenas comenzaba a abrirse a las mujeres para que siguieran cualquier carrera o trabajo para el que estuvieran calificadas. Las puertas ya no estaban cerradas para nosotras; se volvió ilegal prohibir a una mujer un trabajo, solo por fuera mujer. Tuve opciones que no estaban disponibles para las mujeres en generaciones anteriores.

Las cajas en las que nos habían guardado durante años se limitaban bastante a:

Ser esposa y madre

Profesora

secretaria

enfermera

Obviamente, hubo algunas mujeres que salieron de estas cajas en ese entonces, pero definitivamente eran una minoría. Tenías que encajar en una de esas cajas o no se te consideraba tan femenina como deberías ser, solo un poco rara.

Hoy sería difícil encontrar un trabajo u ocupación en la que las mujeres no participen y, en la mayoría de los casos, prosperen. ¡Mi primer trabajo en ventas había estado cerrado para las mujeres anteriormente con el pretexto de que las mujeres no podían cargar el pesado equipo! Bueno, no solo podríamos hacer eso, sino que podríamos llevar grandes cuotas de ventas y sobresalir en esa posición. Las mujeres no solo tuvimos el beneficio de esas nuevas carreras, sino que las empresas que nos contrataron se beneficiaron mucho de tenernos a bordo.

Pero todavía tenemos cajas hoy, cajas de nuestra propia imaginación; cajas que hemos construido para nosotros mismos o nos hemos metido en alguna caja que alguien más construyó para nosotros.

Pregúntate en qué caja o cajas te has metido. Estas son algunas de las más comunes:

Soy demasiado viejo para hacer eso, o demasiado joven.

No tengo la educación adecuada.

No tengo la experiencia adecuada.

No tengo suficiente dinero.

No tengo tiempo.

No soy bueno con la gente.

Soy demasiado tímido para hacer eso.

Nunca podré aprenderlo.

No tengo el aspecto adecuado.

¡Soy demasiado grande o demasiado pequeño!

Ese no es mi don.

Esta lista es virtualmente interminable. Tu puedes estar en tu propia caja única. Piénsalo: ¿qué te has estado diciendo a tí mismo que no puedes hacer por alguna razón? ¡Es hora de superarlo!

Efesios 2:10 dice: “Pues somos la obra maestra de Dios. Él nos creó de nuevo en Cristo Jesús, a fin de que hagamos las cosas buenas que preparó para nosotros tiempo atrás.”. ¿Podrías estar perdiéndote de las buenas obras que Dios preparó para ti porque permitiste que otros te pusieran en una caja, o más probablemente, te pusiste a ti mismo en algunas cajas y simplemente no puedes creer que Dios te quiere fuera de eso y te equipará para hacer lo que él pretendía que hicieras desde el principio de los tiempos?.

Proverbios 29:18 dice: “Donde no hay visión el pueblo se desenfrena”. La visión nos da esperanza y propósito y la capacidad de perseverar y resistir. Si nunca tuviste una visión de lo que podrías hacer,

(as presented by Lisa Bishop)

When is a time where you felt fear and didn’t let it stop you? A time you chose to obey and trust God despite being afraid? Trusting God is an act of courage.

In Daniel 6 we see a well-known story of trust and courage: the story of Daniel in the Lion’s den. To refresh our memories, Darius, King of Babylon was appointing men to high positions of leadership in the kingdom. Daniel, known as the servant of the living God, was one of the appointed leaders and had so distinguished himself as a man with an extraordinary spirit that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. The other men were jealous and did anything they could to discredit Daniel. “But, they could find no charge for corruption, for Daniel was trustworthy, and no negligence of corruption was found in him.”

So the men set a trap for Daniel, knowing that he was a man of God, and got the king to issue a decree that anyone worshiping any god or man besides the king would be put to death. This is where Daniel’s stellar track record of courage and faithfulness to God is displayed. Despite the decree forbidding worship and the threat of death, Daniel still was unwavering in his faith. He got down on his knees three times a day, prayed and gave thanks to God. In the face of fear for his life, Daniel, had courage to be obedient and faithful in worship and prayer. And his allegiance to God and not man landed him face to face with death in the den of lions. After being holed up in a den of not so friendly felines for a night, the king opens the door to the den the next morning only to find Daniel unharmed. We read that Daniel was taken out of the den uninjured for he trusted God.

It takes faith to trust God. It takes obedience to trust God. It takes courage to trust him especially in the face of uncertainty. And while our physical lives may not be threatened like Daniel’s and so many of our Christian brothers and sisters across the world, there may be times where we will be ridiculed, mocked, canceled or shunned for our faith in Jesus. It can be tempting to be a covert Christian, especially at our workplace, for fear of what people might think. Yet will we still remain true to God? There are people he has put in your path that need the love and hope of Jesus.

Instead of bowing down to a culture which is anti-God, will you be courageous to live set apart? To be seen as one trustworthy, with an extraordinary spirit, being faithful in prayer and diligent in worship as you love and follow Jesus?

What is one way you can be courageous in trusting God?

(Click here to download the entire message for this week.)

(as presented by Lisa Bishop)

Setting yourself apart from the crowd is an act of courage.

Not too long ago I worked with a woman who loved to gossip. Even in casual catch-up conversations you could just tell she was itching to share some story from the workplace tabloids. I would ask her how she is doing, or, what’s new, and she would give me that look. The one where she was about to tell me something she knew she shouldn’t. You know the look. Maybe you have even given it at some point.

When a co-worker or friend is trying to suck you down a rabbit hole of dishing about another person, it takes courage to set yourself apart and not indulge. We get tempted with juicy information and it can be alluring to jump on the gossip bandwagon but resist the urge. Gossip kills cultures. Gossip undermines trust.

The thing about gossip is this: if a person is sharing information about someone that is not theirs to share, you can be certain they will turn around and do the same thing to you. And you undermine your integrity if you are the one with loose lips.

Be trustworthy. Have integrity. Set yourself apart. Don’t gossip. Gossip is after all a false sense of connection. You might think you have a close friendship with someone but is it anchored in talking about other people? If so, it is a friendship built on sinking sand.

Other ways we can set ourselves apart at work are by being honest and not telling lies or bending the truth. By avoiding talking poorly about your boss and engaging in that meeting after the meeting conversation where you tear him or her down.

Set yourself apart by refraining from boasting or taking credit for something. Instead, give someone else on your team the shout out due them, lift them up and let them shine.

First John 2:15 instructs us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.“ Not loving the world means we do not reflect the world’s ways. And, it takes courage to go against the grain.

As a follower of Jesus, you already have been set apart. Might people look at you weird or not include you because you don’t play by their rules? Maybe. But remain humble and gracious. There will be people who see you living differently. And when they ask you why, you have an opening for a spiritual conversation. You can share how your faith in Jesus causes you to live and love like him.

(as presented by Lisa Bishop)

What is your relationship with conflict? Do you love a good conflict or do you run from it and try to avoid it? Addressing conflict is another act of courage.

Conflict. Just the word can make the hair go up on the back of your neck, your body tense, your heart race, or send that warm nervous sensation throughout your body. I think we have all seen or experienced all too often times where conflict has gone wrong, and we don’t know how to properly lean into hard situations so we try to avoid them, or so we think. The truth is, we can really never avoid conflict. Avoidance does not make a difficult situation go away.

Just the other day I needed to address a concern with a coworker. She had dropped the ball on something and it reflected poorly on our team. It took courage to initiate the conversation rather than just stew on it or tell others about my frustration.

Instead of going in with guns blazing or with an accusatory or critical spirit, I approached the situation with kindness, humility, and curiosity. I told her what I observed and how that impacted the team. She graciously owned her mistake and then we talked about how to mitigate the same mistake moving forward. I then asked her how I could be of help and support her. I wanted her to know that I was for her. She actually ended up thanking me for the conversation. Now I realize that not everyone will react the way my co-worker did; some will act defensively. But I am, you are, ultimately, responsible for how you approach and respond in situations. We cannot be responsible for other’s responses.

When we approach conflict with biblical wisdom and a Christ-like attitude of heart, leaning into a tough situation can actually be an opportunity to strengthen and deepen relationships.

Proverbs 3:3 says “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.” Both kindness and truth are important. Proverbs 15:1 says “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” A gentle answer, a kind approach, is one that shows respect and comes from a humble heart.

Speak gently instead of coming out with a critical spirit and biting word. Keep your voice calm, your words sweet, and your attitude humble. Get your heart right before the Lord and ask him to give you courage and a kind spirit in conflict.

(as presented by Lisa Bishop)

Another act of courage is letting go of an offense. Choosing to forgive when you have been hurt.

Think of the last time someone said or did something that hurt or offended you. Just a few days ago a close friend of mine sent an email that had my heart racing and my blood boiling. I felt the email was hurtful and insensitive. If I am honest, I ruminated on and rehearsed the offense which only led to greater dis-ease in my body and not so kind and loving thoughts flowing through my mind. As I got a grip on my emotions and brought them to the Lord, he graciously helped me calm down and bring my hurt and concerns to him.

At first he showed me how in the past I have done the very same thing that my friend did to me. There have been times when I have said things that, while not intended to cause hurt, have certainly been hurtful and offensive to others. There have been emails I have sent that had a not so gracious and loving tone to them. It was the ole “look at the log in your eye first Lisa!” Now this is not to discount that I felt hurt, but rather than continuing to brew on the offense, I took it to God.

Has a co-worker said or done something that offended you? Is there a friendship that has become distant because of a relational hurt? It takes courage to extend forgiveness. It takes moral strength to obey God’s instructions when it comes to letting go of an offense. And God’s Word has a lot to say about forgiveness:

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice, forgiving one another, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30).

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).

Now that is a tall order but with God, it is possible. Bring the offense to God and ask him to give you courage to overlook it.

(as presented by Lisa Bishop)

What comes to mind when you think about courage? You have probably heard it said that courage is not the absence of fear but feeling fear and choosing to act. I will be reviewing five acts of courage, and the first act of courage is taking responsibility. Admitting when you are wrong.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where something went awry? A conversation turns into conflict, a misstep turns into a mess, a project at work takes a turn for the worst…. And if you are honest, it was your fault but you didn’t want to take the fall for your poor choices so you placed the blame on someone else?

Eve and Adam did that in the garden of Eden. In Genesis God had given them access to every tree in the garden pleasing in appearance and good for food except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One tree was off limits when the rest of the garden was free reign. The serpent tempted Eve and at that moment of temptation she started doubting the goodness of God. She eats off the forbidden tree and Adam who was with her follows suit. What happens next is blame. When God calls out to them and questions their actions, we see that Adam’s response is, “The woman you gave to be with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree so I ate.” Then God asks Eve what she has done and she follows along with the game of blame and says, “It was the serpent, he deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:10-13)

The blame game. It started in the garden and has a grip on us to this day. I wonder what would have happened if Eve would have taken responsibility for her actions rather than pinning it on the serpent? If Adam would have owned up to his error, how could that have positively impacted his relationship with Eve, with God? We see blame happening all around us. We are a culture of blame. We lack the guts to admit we are wrong. We more easily point the finger and make it someone else’s fault. Admitting we  are wrong takes humility. It takes risk. It takes integrity. It takes courage.

If you want to live a life set apart, admit when you are wrong. Take ownership. Admit how you played a part in a breakdown, miscommunication or mishap.

Is there a situation or relationship that is out of sorts in your life? Maybe your part in the breakdown is obvious. Maybe it’s not. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the part you played. Then be courageous. Have a conversation with the people your choices impacted. Admit your mistake to your co-worker or boss. Take responsibility for your choices and actions that led to a friendship or relationship breakdown.

Choose courage over blame.

What do you want to be when you grow up? That’s a familiar question that most young children are asked at various stages and ages, and you’ll hear answers like a doctor, a fireman, a teacher, an astronaut—whatever! But how many of us are now doing what we said we wanted to do when we grew up? Children are able to dream big dreams; they haven’t yet formed the bad habit of putting themselves in boxes.

It may be that you have never reached your potential and done the good things God has planned for you to do because you’ve allowed someone or something to convince you that it can’t be done or you’re not the one to do it. Maybe it’s time to have the courage to become like a child, as Jesus said we should, and dream some dreams and embrace some visions of what God wants you to do.

When I was a young career woman, the world was just beginning to open to women to pursue any career or job for which they were qualified. No longer were doors closed to us; it became illegal to prohibit a woman from a job just because she was a woman. I had choices that were not available to women in former generations.

The boxes that we had been kept in for years were pretty much limited to:

Wife and Mother

Teacher

Secretary

Nurse

Obviously, there were some women who broke out of these boxes back then, but they were definitely a minority. You had to fit into one of those boxes or you were considered just not quite as feminine as you should be, just a little weird.

Today you would be hard pressed to find any job or occupation where women are not involved and in most cases flourishing. My first job in sales had been closed to women previously under the pretense that women could not carry the heavy equipment! Well, not only could we do that, we could carry heavy sales quotas and excel in that position. Not only did we women then have the benefit of those new careers, but the companies that hired us profited very nicely from having us on board.

But we still have boxes today—boxes of our own imagination; boxes that we have built for ourselves or we’ve crawled into some box that someone else built for us.

Ask yourself what box or boxes you have put yourself in. Here are some common ones:

I’m too old to do that—or too young.

I don’t have the right education.

I don’t have the right experience.

I don’t have enough money.

I don’t have time.

I’m not good with people.

I’m too shy to do that.

I’ll never be able to learn it.

I don’t have the right looks.

I’m too big—or I’m too small!

That’s not my gift.

This list is virtually endless. You may be in your own unique box. Think about it: what have you been telling yourself you cannot do for some reason? It’s time to get over it!

Ephesians 2:10 says: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Could you be missing out on the good works God prepared for you to do because you’ve allowed others to put you in a box, or more likely, you’ve put yourself in some boxes, and you just can’t believe that God wants you out of the box and will equip you to do what he intended from the beginning of time for you to do.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Vision gives us hope and purpose and the ability to persevere and endure. If you’ve never had a vision of what you could do, if you’ve never aspired to something so big that it scared you, then you may be perishing on the vine. In the parable of the talents Jesus taught us the principle that if we don’t use what he gives us, not only will he not give us more, we will lose what we have! (See Matthew 25:14-30.)  Without a vision we begin to shrivel up and settle for mediocrity.

I want to encourage you to let go of your past. I know—it’s not easy to do that. But like everything else in the Christian journey, it’s something you learn to do by faith, not necessarily by feelings. The passage in Scripture which speaks to this so clearly is from Philippians 3:13-14, where the Apostle Paul writes:

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul says that he’s not all the way there—he doesn’t have everything figured out. But he knows that in order to go forward, he has to forget what is behind. That doesn’t mean you can literally erase your memory, but rather that you refuse to re-live the past, to dwell in the past. It’s gone and there’s nothing you can do to change it.

You must stop telling yourself that you are a victim or you aren’t qualified or you’ve messed up so much that there’s no hope. You can’t undo the past, but you can make today and all your tomorrows promising and good through the power of Jesus Christ.

There’s a prize ahead for you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. There’s a reason to be hopeful and joyful because of Jesus who has called you to be in heaven with him. Dwelling on your past keeps you mired in hopelessness, self-pity, anger, or depression. God has good days ahead for you. Can you, by faith and through his power, let go of your past? Just pray right now that God will make that a reality in your life and keep praying it as often as you need to. You’ll discover that what you can’t do on your own—let go of your past—God can do for you.

(Click here to download the entire message for this week.)