It’s hard to give back from a place of instability – Gary V.
This statement by Gary Vaynerchuk applies in so many ways, whether you want to give back financially, emotionally, or spiritually, you can’t do it from a place of instability or lack.
If I want to have anything to give to my own kids, my youth group, my church, my communities, or my world at large, I have to shore up the weak places; and I have not been doing that.
Do anything for 30 years and you’ll start taking things for granted if you do not, daily, build the inner man. This is not to say I do not pray, read my Bible, or have spiritual disciplines, but I have relied on past experiences with God far more than I should have rather than allowing a fresh move of God to overtake me on a daily basis. It’s harder than you think, ask the Israelites of the Old Testament.
I, like the Israelites, want to horde the manna rather than wake up daily for fresh manna. I want my deeds, my prayers, my experience to sustain me, and it just doesn’t work. I am entering a new era of trusting God daily for today, not tomorrow, and not using yesterday’s manna to get me by (Genesis 16)
If you’re reading this, and your under 30, I’m giving you the real deal of what it means to come to a cross road in life and ministry. If you plan on ministering to teens (or to anyone), long term, you’ll need to work hard every day at shoring up the weak areas of your life so you can give back and create a legacy that matters.
Pushing forward, trusting daily.