I love taking action. I preach taking action. I believe in taking action.

God is a God of Action.

But when I listen to what God has to say to me, he doesn’t ever talk to me about DOING more.

He talks to me about TRUSTING more.
About listening, truly hearing and responding.

Admittedly, I often respond like…
“God! Are you talking to me?”

Because I’m a BIG truster…or at least I think I am.
But time and again, I hear it.
The message is clear.

It’s time to trust at an entirely new level.
At the next level. The trust that got you here is not the level of trust that will get you there.

As a coach and catalyst who often helps move people into the ACTION side of faith, I have gotten really used to doing, creating, and producing.

And, Heaven has generously blessed the fruit of my labor and works of my hands.

Yet still – there are three stages of trusting God–and many of us don’t venture beyond the first one.

What do I mean?

Stage 1 is Seeing.

To have the courage to see what God has for you and to understand who you are in His eyes requires that you trust God’s divine design for your life. Instead of seeing, most people look too long when God is asking them to leap! They end up turning seeing into staring. This is what most people do when it comes to entering their calling.

They are content to know that they could be more, but are unwilling to take the steps necessary to actually become that person fully. It’s much easier to look at (and keep looking at) what’s possible versus leaping into God’s plan. Staring doesn’t take much faith or trust.  Visionary living and seeing what God is sending is at the core of living with faith and trust in action.

Stage 2 is Stepping.

This is the type of trust needed when God is asking you to proactively step out into a new territory.It’s usually pretty scary because you are not always sure where you’re going or how you’re going to get there. But, you feel the tug…you feel the call…and you know it’s time to take a leap of faith. You know it’s time to answer. In this stage, you trust that God knows what He is doing. He knows where He is taking you and that His ways are bigger than your ways. So, you take a step…even without seeing the entire staircase.

I have to jump in here and let you know that I’ve come to realize that I’m really pretty darn good at these first two stages of trust. I see and trust God’s plans for me. I’ve seen Him show up time and time again. And I’ve always landed on solid ground when He’s asked me to leap.

So, as a leader and visionary I tend to live in this “Stepping” stage! I love to launch. I love to start and embark upon a new faith adventure. I also love to share how God shows out when we step up and show up. Heck, that’s what I do for a living now. I help believers and dreamers around the world elevate their faith by “starting” and stepping out of their comfort zone to enter into the glory zone of their divine calling.

What I’m not so hot at is the next stage of trust.

Stage 3 is Surrendering.

Surrender requires that you be willing to abandon your way, your training, your full-proof plans, and whatever else you’re holding onto as your roadmap to the next level. And I admit… to be fully transparent like this is not my favorite thing.

I love wisdom. I love knowledge. Lord knows I love to learn how to do things with excellence. But, anything that serves as a louder GPS for your life (or my life) than God’s voice becomes an idol — one that can cause us to exit our anointing… not strengthen it.

Truth be told, real surrender is scary.

And, that’s where I’m at.

My vision continues to grow. It’s global. It’s big… really big.

On one hand it’s exciting to see new horizons. But on the other hand, even as a coach, expert & strategist, there are some things I just cannot figure out.

I don’t know how God is going to bring some parts of this vision to fruition.

I don’t know where the support is going to come from.

I don’t know where the resources are going to come from.

And, I don’t know how I’m going to balance it all.

But when I look back over my life, I realize that I really never knew what I was doing anyway! Even when I thought I did, it was all God’s doing. He keeps the training wheels on us and just lets us think that we’re pedaling on our own.

So, today I’m not an expert – not when it comes to surrender.

But, I’m working on it.

The only thing I can tell you right now is what God has shown me: Surrender is a fundamental ingredient in having a healthy, real relationship with God.

And, I don’t know about you, but I that’s what I desire.

An ever-growing relationship with God in which each day, the “big” faith & trust I had yesterday pales in comparison to how much I trust Him today.

What about you?

Where do you struggle when it comes to trust?

In what areas is God asking you to surrender?

To trust Him more?

I look forward to hearing from you… Please feel free to leave your responses below.