Doing will never lead to Being, but Being always leads to Doing. Be your calling.
Many spend much time doing. They wake in the morning with a long list of things to do. This list fuels an anxiety driven day trying to do everything that they feel they are called to do. Visit enough, pray enough, read enough, pray some more, call or text enough, give enough, witness enough… all very good things to do, but are they God things to do?
At the end of the day, as we strike one more item off the To Do list, we see all the things we didn’t get done and feel tired, overwhelmed, shamed, guilty, angry, and, in extreme cases, like giving up. Pastors and Spirit Leaders are very susceptible to these feelings.
We will never Do enough to Be what God has purposed in our hearts. We will never work our way into a state of being. It is not the doing that creates the being, but the being that creates the doing. As Dr. Wayne Dyer so wonderfully said, “If we are what we do, when we don’t, we aren’t.” Let that one sink in.
God wants us to Be. We are to Be His child, Be His servant, Be His under-shepherd. God says “I Am”. We too must say, “I am.” When we realize who we truly are, the outflow of this sense of Being is the activity of Doing. Because we become our true purpose and operate each day from the place of our purpose, our priorities become aligned. The things we do come from our sense of Being.
Being is a place of Spirit. Doing is an act in the world. When I sit confidently in who God has made me to be, I also flow confidently into what God would have me do. The actions are fueled by spirit and love – love for the Father. As we come from this place, we no longer seek the approval of people. We “did” something because God purposed it in our heart. Man’s approval is not required.
Take the time today to simply Be. Stop the frantic Do list for a couple of days and realign with God. Return to purpose and Be. Once there, the Do will flow naturally.