The “T” In STEWARD
Last week we started an email series on the word STEWARD. Now we're on to the T, so let's dive into all the T words in this week's declaration:
I am a tenacious, tireless servant, taking territory for my King.
Tenacious
Tenacious means we are strong and unyielding. Satan is not going to just sit back and let you be a fantastic, successful steward. He's going to distract and attack you at every turn. So you have to have an unyielding, I-will-never-give-up mentality. Of all the characteristics I've gained through my journey with chronic illness, being tenacious (or determined, if you want to call it that) is probably the top one.
I don't know if this will land for everyone, but I'm not great at math. One thing I do understand, though, is mathematical probability. If I keep trying, if I never give up, eventually something will work. Eventually there will be a harvest.
Galatians 6:9: "Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Tireless
I have a verse on a card in my bathroom so I'm sure to see it every single day:
Colossians 1:29: "To this end I also labor, striving with all HIS energy working powerfully within me."
Listen, friend, I need this message just as much as you do: more of our tiredness comes from taking on things that aren't for us, or worrying about things we can do nothing about, than it does from needing more energy.
I'm not saying don't take care of your health so you have optimal energy, because maybe there are things you need to do there too. But we highly, highly underestimate how much people-pleasing, trying to escape feelings we don't enjoy, (like pain) and worrying steal our energy.
I've heard it estimated (don't quote me on the exact number, but it definitely tracks with what I see in my clients) that women spend roughly 80% of their mental energy worrying about things out of their control, or worrying about what other people think of them. That is NOT being a good steward of our mental energy!!! (No judgment, I need this too!)
How different would your life be if you got 80% of your mental energy back? What if you spent that 80% on something productive instead? Prayer. Planning your future. Thinking on hopeful things instead of hopeless ones?
That makes me think of Philippians 4:8: whatever is good, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable and praiseworthy, think on such things…
Friend, Take. Your. Mind. Back. Use it the way God intended: to focus on the future, with an eternal perspective. No judgment here. I don't get this right all the time either. But the older I get, the more I understand why God tells us to do this.
This is what I do with clients! I help them take their mind back.
Taking Territory
I still remember the day in 2014 when I started reading through the Bible in a year, and someone explained to me that the Israelites only occupied 10% of the land God promised them. (WHAT?!?!?)
Not because it wasn't there or available to them, but because they didn't take it. They didn't clear the land, and they didn't drive out the people living there.
There are two territories you are in charge of while you're here: your mind, and the people God has placed in your path.
You've probably noticed I talk about the "mind" piece a lot, and that's because it's foundational.
If you don't get that under control, you can't effectively take territory inwardly, and if you can't take it inwardly, you can't take it outwardly.
Now, under the new covenant, it isn't physical land we're taking back. It's taking everything that's broken, including people, and bringing it all under the lordship of Christ. We do that by unreservedly giving our best for our King, sharing our time, talents, and treasures with those around us.
Whatever God has put in your hands to do, do it with excellence. And this can look so different for each of us. Doing something with excellence is about our attitude, not the visibility of the thing itself. Don't think that just because your calling isn't flashy, it's any less than anyone else's.
I'm reminded of a story I heard long ago.
A man was walking down the street and asked the first construction worker he passed, "What are you doing?" The man said, "I'm laying a brick."
He came across a second worker and asked the same question. "I'm building a wall," the man said.
Then he came across a third worker, on that same site, working on that same wall, and asked him the same question. This man said, "I'm building a cathedral that people will come to for centuries to worship and find safety!"
All three were doing the exact same job. But the third man had vision. The other two didn't.
It doesn't matter if you're handing coffee out of a drive-through window or you're the CEO of a huge corporation. It doesn't matter if you're changing diapers or leading a massive following on social media. What you do matters. Do it with all your heart. Do it with excellence.
Taking territory also means sharing our testimony about our King: what He means to us, what we're learning about Him, all the ways He's protected and provided for us, and all the peace He gives us. You are the only light of Christ some people will ever see. Make sure you shine brightly.
So here's my question for you this week:
Where have you settled for 10% when God offered you the whole territory? What's one place, your mind, a relationship, an opportunity to share your testimony, where you've been passive instead of tenacious?
You don't have to conquer it all today. Just pick one square foot of ground and take it back.
Next week, we'll dig into the letter E.
In passionate purpose,
Dorothy
Father,
Make me tenacious where I've grown weary, and tireless in laboring with Your strength instead of my own. Show me the territory You've already given me, my mind, the people You've placed in my path, and give me the courage to take it back for Your glory. Let my testimony be the light someone needs today. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.