Whose Report Will You Believe?
Have you ever had a dream or an idea that you shared with someone, and once you did, you wish you did hadn’t? You were excited! You believed that this person had your best interest at heart and would be excited with you. You shared your idea only to have them shoot it down or ridicule you for having it.
When you’re feeling a little deflated, the choice becomes: do you abandon your idea or do you re-group and continue with what very well could be what Mark Batterson in his book Draw the Circle calls a God-Idea? What if this inspiration is from God and He placed that idea in you to come through you? Maybe He’s calling you to do something or create something – something that may seem ludicrous to others. The choice is whether to trust God or listen to the naysayers and abandon the calling.
Relationships are important, but we must be careful and cautious of the people we allow in our circle of influence. There are some people and relationships which are toxic. They can poison our dreams, crush our spirits, and dim our inner light which God created to shine. These are the naysayers who pronounce death to the dream God is calling you to pursue.
In his book Winning With People, John Maxwell says, “There are really four kinds of people when it comes to relationships. First are Adders: These are people who add value to others intentionally. They give of themselves. Then there are Subtracters. Subtracters take from you. There are Multipliers. These are people who use their resources to build and add more to you. And the fourth category is Dividers. These are people who take you down as low as they can as often as they can. Their negative actions are usually intentional and they try to make themselves feel better by making others look or feel worse.”
People bear the fruit of their character and the Bible cautions us to be observant of those we allow in our lives. Jesus warns us about naysayers and theysayers and tells us that we will know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:16). A stroll through Galatians 5: 22-23 reveals the character of those controlled by the Holy Spirit versus those controlled by the flesh. Those who are Adders and Multipliers usually bear such fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, all which are from the Holy Spirit.
We must be mindful of the fact that not everyone has our best interest at heart, nor will everyone understand the person, purpose, or promise God placed in your heart. The most important relationship we can have is a relationship with God. He stands at the door of our heart knocking and bearing much fruit. He has placed a purpose and a passion in you and is waiting for you to act on it. He is the wisest of all counsel and He promises that if you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He WILL direct your path.
So I ask you, with an invitation like that coming from the best friend you could ever have, whose report will you believe?
Peace and Blessings,
Gail