Motivation Monday - Building Your Character
When we think of leadership it is not hard for our minds to make the quick jump to giftedness. We do it in church settings all the time. “Oh, that person has such a gift.” We sit back and we admire. Gifts can be flashy and easy but we put the cart before the horse because the foundational work is the stuff that is done underground. What matters more is our character.
Every time I visit my sister in San Diego I love to visit this tree in Balboa Park. It is a massive tree up on a hill with all of its roots exposed. It is fascinating and every time it reminds me that the most important work is done underground.
In Matthew 7, Jesus says “don’t be impressed with charisma, look for character.” It reminds me of that tree with the long and winding roots. Character is the underground work. The stuff that happens when no one is watching. The wrestling, the hard questions, and the small seeds of hope planted by a God who is more gracious than our minds can comprehend. He builds our character through our surrender. He shows us who He really is and changes us from the inside out.
Many years ago God took me through a season where he gradually and graciously healed my view of Him. For so long I saw him only as an authoritative Father. I operated in a way that said God is simply waiting for me to mess up so he can teach me a lesson. I wasn’t even conscious of it. I didn’t believe deep in my bones that He was good. For years, he meticulously deconstructed and rebuilt my view of Him and I started to see him as unwaveringly good. I started to trust His character. What I couldn’t have known was that I was about to enter a season marked by pain and what I needed more than anything was a Kind Father. I will never get over His graciousness to me in that season.
When we allow God to do the underground work in our lives, we lead from a place of wholeness. It starts in us. Every good thing we want for the people around us, we should want in ourselves. Our proximity to Him changes us forever.
I want to be someone unafraid of the underground work. Someone who allows herself to be strengthened and built up and then simply trusts that the tree itself will be steady and strong. Well watered and full of life. A benefit to those around her.
The good work is being done. It’s done in the secret places. You may not be able to see it all yet but make no mistake, it is foundational to your life and to the ministry God has called you to.
- Carley