Sometimes, I think way too highly of myself.

Although not necessarily a conscious choice, in practice, I tend to [wrongly] assume that others should do things in my way, on my timeline and to my standard. In short, I tend to assume that everything should revolve around me.

But that whole mentality could not be further from the truth.

A few years ago, my women’s mid-week Bible Study went through Kay Arthur’s Precept study on Covenant. Although there were several aspects of this study that left a deep impact, one of the themes that stood out the most was the clarity of the big picture.

Ultimately, this study pointed us (again and again) to the Covenant relationship we have entered with Jesus Christ…

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. —Hebrews 13:20-21, New American Standard Bible

…but throughout the entire 11 lesson study, while pouring over the details of the Abrahamic, Noahic and Davidic covenants, and of ancient near eastern covenants in general, we were also led to see this beautiful, awesome, compelling and powerful Covenant in the context of God’s “big picture” story.

Tracing the beginning of the Covenant promise back to the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis all the way to the promises in the Book of Revelation, while coming to a greater understanding of the details, we also observed how faithful God was (and is) to His Covenant promises throughout the span of thousands of years.

And it’s from that perspective that I found myself becoming intimately and acutely aware of the reality that I am one, small, miniscule part of that big picture.

Since that study, I have spent a considerable amount of time contemplating, studying about and praying over the difference between my dreams and my God-given callings, how to reconcile the two if/when different and as a result, how to discern where God is leading. It has been awesome (in the truest sense of the word). And it has been hard. And in some ways has left me with more questions than answers.

But through all that this study of Covenant unveiled, the one over-arching, all-encompassing truth I keep returning to is this:

It’s not about me.

And in considering my dreams and God’s calling for my life, I have come to the realization that I often allow the sins of fear and pride to advance and therefore allow myself to think that if I take a wrong turn in discerning God’s calling, I somehow not only thwart, but completely and utterly ruin His eternal plan.

Umm… not likely!

Do I participate in the covenant relationship? Yes.

Does it require certain things of me? Absolutely.

But does it depend on me? No.

When I allow myself to become all-out consumed by what MY dreams are and what MY calling is and what MY direction should be (not that those aren’t good things to consider), I lose sight of what GOD is purposing and where GOD is calling and how GOD is leading.

So, I am beginning to not only realize, but take hold of, that the best thing I can do to discover and stay true to my God-given calling (which by the way, I don’t think I’ve really discovered… at least not in full… I’m sort of on the one-step-at-a-time plan), is to keep:

my heart grounded in the truth of the Lord,

my soul in a constant state of unwavering trust in His promises,

my mind focused on Him alone,

and the strength of my whole being seeking hard after HIM.

Because it’s not about me.

But it is all about Him.

And He is faithful.

Do you trust the truth of that promise?

 

*This article was originally written/published by the author under the title “It’s Not About Me.”