By Lisa Jernigan
As my daughter-in-law waited in line at her favorite home away from home, Starbucks, a thought popped in her mind to purchase drinks for the car waiting in line behind her. It was something simple that offered exciting possibilities.
When she gave the money to the employee and informed him of her plan, she learned a surprising fact: this had happened once before. As the employee shook his head in amazement, he told her about another time when someone offered to buy drinks for the car behind him. Amazingly enough it created a chain of generosity that continued to 50 cars! The action was infectious. People were eager to get on board with something bigger than themselves when one person was willing to get it started. “Intentional acts of kindness,” the simple ones, can transform a bad day into a good day, and significant ones have the potential to alter a person”s eternity!
The problem is, we look at the outcome as the starting point, and it paralyzes us from even beginning. Could you imagine trying to get 50 cars to purchase frappes and lattes for each other? The power is in the simple act of getting it started. You have to let go of the outcome and let God take it from there. A little loose change and an ordinary cup of coffee is all it took to motivate people to be a part of a story bigger than themselves.
Make a Difference
Does the thought of being a “world changer” overwhelm or excite you? This doesn”t mean you have to discover the cure for the next pandemic or take on a global crisis. It means getting involved in your corner of the world and making a difference””one person at a time.
One weekend while my friend Patty and I were involved in prison ministry, she was asked to share spontaneously one of her specific life experiences””the murder of her mother. She was exhausted, unprepared, and unenthusiastic. After praying, she reluctantly agreed. The result from that 15-minute story: a life altered for eternity.
She could never have known the impact her life experience would have that morning on one lady who was struggling with chemical abuse and was about to walk out on her marriage. What that gal heard was a simple message that touched her heart and changed her attitude, marriage, and world. As a result, that gal now helps other women and is sold out for the Lord.
The term “world changer” can sound daunting and appear as an undertaking reserved only for those abounding in resources, talent, and time. If most of us are honest, we”d have to admit we don”t feel like we were at the front of the line when God was handing out exceptional giftedness, talents, and abilities. Women especially tend to compare themselves unfavorably with those around them. This type of thinking can open the door to paralysis by analysis and can steal the “abundant” life right out of you!
What stands in your way, keeping you from pursuing your passions to make a difference in this world? Is it a fear of defeat, lack of time and resources, not enough education, being too young or too old, or just feeling inadequate? God sees beyond all of our excuses and wants to say, “It”s not about you, it”s about me!”
One of my favorite quotes that never fails to inspire me is by Theodore Roosevelt:
It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.
It”s about getting in the arena and getting involved. Give yourself permission to make a difference and be used by God. You are in great company if you feel inadequate and ill-prepared. I”ve met very few people who felt ready and totally prepared for what they want to do or are being called to do. I am always amazed when I read a biography about a “successful” person. We tend to glamorize such a life and see only the great accomplishments without looking beyond to all the failures and disappointments experienced along the way.
Abraham Lincoln, for example, remembered as one of the greatest presidents, did not start off with much promise. He experienced more than his fair share of defeats, discouragements, and rejections. But he didn”t quit or step out of the arena.
A world changer starts by pursuing a passion without counting the costs, and he won”t let up until he makes it happen. He moves with urgency, realizing the need for the power of the Holy Spirit. There is a divine capacity within each of us waiting to be used by God to leave his fingerprints on this world. We long to be a part of changing the world and impacting the future. Unrealistic? Not with God.
The Time Is Now!
Anne Frank said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
With no guarantees that tomorrow will come, we can”t wait for the perfect moment, the right opportunity, or enough resources. Besides, where does faith come in? If we can achieve it on our own, where is God and our need for him? We need to step out of our comfort zones and into the adventure””into the world””that God has waiting for us.
God is looking for people to step up and be the catalyst for world change. The next time you feel God”s prompting to buy someone a cup of coffee in line, extend an invitation, or just say a friendly hello, realize that God may be using your life to create a bigger change than you could dream up on your own. Are you willing to get it started? He can do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
How You Can Change Your World (sidebar)
Pursue Your Passion
What are you passionate about? What do you think about? What needs do you see around you that stir your heart and soul? When do you find yourself saying, “I wish someone would do something about that?” What would you get up in the morning to go do?
Passions are packaged dreams, desires, and longings. Unpack them and give them away. Is there a neighbor, coworker, family member, friend, or a complete stranger waiting for what you have to offer? It might be as simple as an invitation to dinner or church.
Make It Happen
Sometimes it is hard to know where to begin. We usually want to start at the top or make it happen quickly. Significant changes usually require time, diligence, and sacrifice. Living in an “instant” society, we do not want to get involved with anything that resembles a marathon. We want the quick, 50-yard dash!
Just start. Great things usually start small and simply. . . . David started with a slingshot; Moses, a rod. God did the rest!
Ask yourself, what do I have in my grasp, within my capability? What do I have right now, that if I placed it in God”s hand, he could use to make a difference? Do you have a voice? Why not use it and say a friendly hello to someone who looks down? You never know where a simple gesture like that can lead. It just might alter someone”s eternity!
When you get up in the morning, before your feet ever hit the ground, stop and ask God, “What do you want me to join you in today? Who needs what I have to offer?” Then watch out . . . God will make it happen! Don”t miss an opportunity to see him in action. Take the initiative.
Lisa Jernigan is cofounder and chief visionary officer of Girlfriends Unlimited (www.girlfriends-unlimited.com). She lives in Mesa, Arizona.
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