A collection of thought-provoking, encouraging, enlightening, and inspiring quotes from various sources that I have come across this past week!

 

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I get asked often for the references to quotes I use. This series is a way for me to keep track of and share the good ideas I come across each week! Where applicable, links are included in case you wish to dive deeper!

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“If you saw The Empire Strikes Back, you may remember the scene in which Luke wants to go and rescue his friends before he has finished his Jedi Knight training. Yoda begs him to wait. “Luke, you must complete the training.”

But Luke has seen the future, and he knows his friends’ lives are in danger. He says, “I can’t keep the vision out of my head. They are my friends; I must help them.”

Yoda finally issues a dire warning. “If you leave now, help them you could, but you will destroy all for which they have fought and suffered.”

Still, Luke is determined to go. He is so locked in on what could and should be that he feels compelled to leave immediately. So he does. And do you remember what happens? Everything works out great!

But that’s in a galaxy far, far away. Back here where we live, action before preparation usually spells disaster.

In the case of your divinely ordered vision, God goes to work in you to prepare you for what he knows lies ahead. Like Luke Skywalker, you may so urgently feel the need to act that it seems foolish to wait. But God is sovereign. Keep that in mind. Your vision is simply an extension of His vision. And His timing is perfect.

For a while, God will be working in you to prepare you to act on his purposes. And I think we can assume his purposes are in accordance with his timetable.

All this can be hard to hear, can’t it? I know. I have found that the complaint most associated with the process of visioneering is about God’s timing. Once the vision is clear, we assume we are ready. Otherwise, why would He have given us the vision in the first place?

Don’t be impatient. Don’t move before God leads. Accept His training and His timing. Meanwhile, your vision, though it may burn inside you, will enable you to endure the wait, because you know it’s worth it to get it right.

Vision always precedes preparation. Initially, your vision will exceed your competency. Within the context of that tension, God will go to work on you.

To the extent that you can, identify how God is preparing you now to fulfill your vision effectively later on.”

—Andy Stanley in His devotional Visioneering Day 2: “In God’s School” (via the YouVersion Bible app)

“When I address my resistance and don’t give in to it, I get stronger. It’s just like going to the gym and lifting weights. It might hurt, but the only way to strengthen anything is to face resistance.”

—Glynnis Whitwer via Proverbs 31 Ministries devotional titled When Life is Too Busy

“Do you act on what you see or what God sees?”

“We allow what we see to dictate how we feel, the enemy loves it.”

“Our faith cannot be in peoples applause because our faith will then die at the sound of silence.”

“Faith is believing in the unseen promises of His word and believing them till you see them come true.”

“We are called to do good works whether the outcome brings silence or applause. We are called to do good works whether we see what’s next or not. Our obedience is in the here and now and not in the what could be.”

—Jessica Hottle via the swHw app (swHw = She Works His Way) devotional titled The Unseen (July 30th)

“One of the most neglected virtues of our daily existence is appreciation.”

—Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People (Part 1, Chapter 2: The Big Secret Of Dealing with People)

“Our passion should be Jesus-focused and our purpose should be others-focused.”

—Somer Phoebus in her devotional End Game via the swHw app (July 31st); (swHw = She Works His Way)

 

“The bottom line is that the biggest and most complex obstacle you will ever have to overcome is your own mind. Let that sink in. You aren’t responsible for everything that happens to you in life, but you ARE responsible for undoing the self-defeating thinking patterns these undesirable outcomes create.”

—Angel Chernoff (of Marc and Angel Hack Life) via his email titled How to Start Changing Your Thoughts This Week (When You Can’t Change Anything Else) (subscribe to the email newsletters here)

“God knows that we need to be rescued from ourselves in order to experience the kind of growth required for the greatest impact on our mission.”

—Emily Copelandvia theswHw app(swHw =She Works His Way) devotional titled “Solitude” (August 1st)

 

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|Kaci

Reader Questions:
1/ Do any of these resonate with you?
2/ What’s the best quote you came across this week?