Trust

Trust

I can’t remember the specific date, but I believe it was in May or June of 2008, just about 1 month after I became saved, when God was pressing the idea on me of brining the Renew training team closer together. We called ourselves a team, but it felt like there was so much division and selfishness. We all enjoyed working with eachother, but we would only help eachother out when it would benefit us. I was part of the management team and we would have weekly meetings on all aspects of the business. This is where I felt the biggest challenge was. It was myself, the general manager, and the two owners. I felt so much negativity in those meetings and there was a lack of trust. I simply didn’t trust anyone, even though I loved the guys and enjoyed working with them. This lack of trust had been building up for several months and I would pray about it on my way to work and on my way home because I felt so much un-easyness about it. God spoke to me to lead a team meeting on Trust. About this time, I was required by management to lead 1 meeting per month with all staff and management. This was God giving me the opportunity to lead.

So I prayed about it and I bought a great book on trust and read it for several days before the meeting to help me get some ideas on what to talk about and some exercises to do during the meeting. I didn’t have much confidence and wasn’t comfortable up in front of people and the whole time I felt like I was jumping around, my ideas were scattered, and it was choppy. One of the owners had to jump in a few times to help me get through the meeting. It was an okay meeting and I got some constructive feedback by one of the owner after the meeting. From this, I felt God was very proud of me, even though I didn’t feel so good about it, because no one else had talked about this issue with the team before.

I continued to pray about it for the next few weeks because I knew I wasn’t finished talking about it and I didn’t get the message that God wanted me to get acrossed. Finally, it was time for me to lead again and this time I was even more prepared. I asked God to be with me and give me confidence to speak and be bold. I won’t go into all the details but basically I had confidence, the meeting went smooth, everyone was involved, and it got the team thinking about how they can become a better teammate. Trust takes time and it requires humility and vulnerability. Jesus demonstrated humility to it’s finest. If someone wants to lead a group, that leader has to demonstrate humility and vulnerability. I gave the team examples of my vulnerabilities because I wanted them to know that I needed them to help me as a teammate and to break down any barriers that we may have. After the meeting, I got called into the office by the owners, again, and this time their reaction is not what I had expected. I got hugs and hand shakes and was told that that was the best meeting they’ve had in years. I thought wow! I knew God was with me and he gave me the confidence to get up in front of the group and deliver that message of Trust.

After that, the team just seemed to bond together and we were stonger. That was the last time I gave a meeting on Trust, but it shouldn’t have been the last. Trust is a process and is ongoing, but we eliminated the weekly meetings and turned them into monthly meetings. I knew God wasn’t finished with me on giving that message, but I let other circumstances get in the way.
When I left Renew for my current job, it was a very difficult decision because I felt in one sense that God wanted me to stay to finish what I started, but this job was everything that I had been praying for.

2. What scriptures has God given to you pertaining to this vision or idea?
1 Timothy 4:12-16
“12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers In word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laing on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress amy be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”


3. What has God put in your hand to do right now?
God has given me this new job to speak and empower students. I feel blessed to have a great job and I get to inspire students to go onto higher education. I feel that He wants me to be an example to the students. Not sure how long the Lord will have me doing this, but I feel he has me here because he is preparing me for the the next step. Maybe it has to deal with youth or maybe he wants me to get back into Education????