http://www.extremelove.com/stay-in-your-lane/
Lately, I have had
this phrase running around in my head, STAY IN YOUR LANE. I’ve been pondering the power of staying in
our own life lane. What do I mean by
this? Well, each one of us has been
created with individual, gifts, talents and abilities. There is no one created just like you. You have a call on your life unlike anyone
else. Only you can fulfill the purposes which God created you for, which is the
lane He has called you to “drive” in. Sometimes,
in a quest to fulfill our “destiny”, we move out of our lane and try to operate
in someone else’s.
This is an area I struggle in. I am pretty good at vision and so I often
will have lots of ideas and plans in a lot of different areas but I have to ask
myself, are they the areas or the lane I am called to? For example, I know I am currently called to
pour time, energy and resources into my children. Often over the last ten years when I get
before the Lord to refocus my priorities He will put my family and kids at the
top of the list. The other day I was
talking to a friend and we got on the subject of legacy – I was moved to tears,
as I found a deep longing rise up within me for a legacy to be created out of
my family of rich love and enduring faithfulness and overcoming
righteousness. This doesn’t just
magically happen. My children do not
grow up into these attributes, they must be trained, and time spent cultivating
an atmosphere in the home for them to learn and grow. If I am off driving in someone else’s lane,
my family will suffer.
In the workplace or
mission field, the same is true. When we
try to take on too many lanes we lose credibility and can become the “jack of
all trades master of none”. Lay a foundation for yourself in the ministry/industry
that you love and are called to and you will have established influence. A lesson I’m in the middle of living is that
it’s smarter to focus on fewer things and make major progress in each rather
than try to do too much and make little progress overall.
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I
have a delightful inheritance.” Psalm 16:6
It’s easy, in a life filled with internet, social media,
blogs and networking sites, etc. to feel like the “grass is greener on the
other side”. Maybe if I try the lane
someone else is in, things would work better for me, but comparison and competition
never produce good fruit. When we move
out of the lane/lanes God has called us to, we lose traction, focus, valuable
time, our vision for the finish line wanes and we can enter into feelings of
overwhelm. Maybe you have heard the
quote, “comparison is the thief of joy” So true!
We each have a lane specifically marked out just for us
based on the assignment God has given us to complete in our lifetime. We are
fully equipped (2 Peter 1:3) with everything we need to stay in our lane and
run the race towards our God-given destiny.
“Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that
hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us.” ~Hebrews 12:1
You are Amazing! Know
your role, and what you bring to life’s table, with your specific gifts and
talent mix and may you bear much fruit for eternity by staying in that
lane. Today as we minister in our
families, our workplace, our mission assignments, may we stay in our lane and
hear our Father say, “Well done, good and
faithful servant!” ~ Matthew 25:23
