Recently, Beth Redman (follow on Twitter @BethRedman) tweeted: "The impact God wants you to have does not come when we pursue impact, but when we pursue God."
Wow! Despite altruistic motives, our greatest impact only happens when we pursue God.
I thought about this for some time, and I agree. Why?
The story of Joseph. Joseph was the second youngest in a large, dysfunctional family. Yet, he was his father's favorite. And Joseph used that to his advantage. Genesis 37 tells us of a 17-year-old Joseph who told his dreams to his older brothers and even his father and mother. Dreams where they all bowed down and worshiped him.
Joseph thought he had achieved impact at age 17.
But Joseph wound up a slave in Egypt. And, despite the Bible saying "God was with him," Joseph eventually wound up in an Egyptian prison.
It was 13 years of slavery and prison before Joseph was elevated to second in command of Egypt, effectively the second most powerful man on earth at the time. Joseph's impact wasn't on his own, but from God.
Or consider Moses, great liberator of the Jewish nation from slavery in Egypt. Moses was raised in the house of Pharaoh; eating the best foods, wearing the best clothes, learning from the world's greatest scholars. But that didn't produce the great leader we read about in Exodus. It took 40 years under God's instruction in the wilderness to mold Moses into an impactful leader.
How about King David, arguably the greatest King in all of Israel. The King for whom the star of their national flag is still named.
David says, "God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me ..." (I Samuel 17:37 - MSG)
David knew it was God who would provide the impact needed to defeat Goliath, not his own strength. David knew true strength came from pursuing God, not impact.
Those are "Old Testament" stories, so maybe you don't relate. How about something from the "New Testament" of the Bible?
A learned scholar, top of his class, envy of all, was commissioned to hunt down these rebellious followers of Jesus and kill them. Authorized by the Chief Priest and leaders of Israel, Saul began his journey to Damascus to seek and destroy the young church.
Saul thought he had achieved ultimate impact. He thought he was on top of the world. And from his vantage point, he was.
But God entered the picture, and this ambitious young man was blinded and had to be lead into the city by hand.
And after a miracle, after some time of instruction in the desert, and after some mentoring by leaders of the church he once sought to destroy, Paul (renamed by God after his encounter on the road to Damascus) finally realized just how big of an impact he could be IN GOD.
Paul is credited for taking the church to the Gentiles. Christianity was a Jewish faith when it first started. Through Paul, God made it world-wide.
What impact can you have if you simply ask God to show you His plans for your life and stop chasing after your own?
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