Here in the South, we are all about manners. We say please and thank you. We grow up learning to ask permission to do any and every thing. This is good and right. But there comes a point where we begin to ask permission for everything, and we ask permission for things that God has already said “yes” to.

I grew up a Catholic in New Orleans. It was very traditional and prim and proper. I accepted Christ during my sophomore year in college. The new Christian circles I began to travel in started out with Southern Baptists and then moved toward the Charismatic sect. In any given corporate worship setting now, I raise my hands, clap, and dance. This demonstrative style is very much the opposite of how I grew up. By no means is one way better than the other. But I do like how I worship.

I recently attended a women’s conference at a sweet Methodist church. The women were kind and welcoming. I go to a non-denominational mega church where we are loud in worship and we talk back to the preacher during the sermon. I’m not used to services being so quiet. The Lord has done a work in me regarding how I worship. I learned to keep my eyes fixed on Him and to not care what others think. Both days I sat in the front and worshiped my little heart out. I “amen’d” Lisa Harper a lot as she spoke. She liked it. Throughout the course of the conference, probably about 5 or so women that I didn’t know approached me. They all said that they loved how I worship. They said they wish they could do that. A couple of them even said how they now felt permission to worship more freely.

Y’all I get this from quite a bit of people when I find myself in other church environments. It blesses me beyond words! Over the past several months, I have begun to realize that many of us are waiting around for someone to give us permission. We wait for permission to share God’s Word. We wait for permission to use our gifts. We often wait for permission to pursue our dreams.

Why? Why do we wait for someone else to give us permission?

Ultimately, God has already given us all the permission that we’ll ever need.

He has created us, called us, and equipped us.

God is our enough.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” {2 Corinthians 12:9}

I find myself living in this insane cycle of shame and inadequacy. I don’t ever feel equipped enough for all that God has called me to do. There is a constant struggle with feeling not enough and too much, but I thank God for the process. He is teaching me how to rely fully on Him instead of myself. I am just a vessel for His presence to flow through. My efforts and strength will always fail. They are fleeting and inconsistent. The Lord knows this. Our weaknesses don’t come as a surprise to Him. He never expects for us to have it all together. He only expects us, as His daughters, to wholly trust in His power and what He can accomplish.

Lead from the front.

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” {1 Corinthians 11:1}

This verse in Corinthians is integral to discovering how not to seek permission from others. When we discover that we are leaders, we view ministry, leading, and serving in a different light. We realize we actually do have something to contribute, something of value. We actually have something the world needs. God has intricately woven us  with gifts, skills, talents, passions, and burdens. Sometimes that’s hard for me to accept because I get caught in a web of comparison and jealousy. I forget how much I am loved by the Father. I forget that He calls me an ambassador for His Gospel. We all are. We are all needed to advance it to the billions who have yet to know Him.

We need to step forward and understand that, whether we realize it or not, others are watching us. They are looking at us to set the pace. They are looking to us to lead by example.

I want to lead well.

I want to lead with confidence.

I want to lead out of the enough-ness of God.

I don’t need permission from anyone to share the Gospel, use my gifting, or pursue my dreams. And neither do you.

[linebreak]

Share on Twitter:

God never expects us to have it all together. He only expects us to trust in Him. {Tweet This!}

Leave a Comment