Transition and change are popular topics, especially in today’s corporate world. Everybody is teaching it, everyone’s talking about it, and many are even trying to experience it. But the fact remains that transition is extremely chaotic because you are letting go of a known, and grabbing an unknown, and before you grab hold of the unknown you have to totally let go of what you know works for you up to that point.
Someone once said that what took you here, won’t take you there. This is an uncommon principle I have put to work in my life. There is an old expression that unfortunately has become misused in organizational growth: “Dance with the one who brought you to the dance.” The problem is, there will come a time you will have to make personnel changes because what got you to one level does not always take you to success in future levels, and not everyone is capable of going with you.
Many people will be called in and out of your life for a reason, some for a season, but very few for a lifetime. In the Bible, a man named Elisha had a mentor named Elijah come into his life. Elisha was following a life of mediocrity, plowing unending fields. There is certainly nothing wrong with people who work in the agricultural field. The picture being painted in this story, though, is a person with no ambition, no vision for tomorrow, and unaware of the potential that’s on the inside of him.
When a mentor came into his life and saw what he didn’t see in himself, the mentor threw his mantle of leadership on top of him. When that mantle hit Elisha, he began realize that the mediocrity he had been so committed to would no longer work for his life. But he did something very, very strange: He took the yoke of oxen, the plow, and everything that resembled the present level he was living on and he burned it. Imagine that, taking everything you have that sustains you and helps you perform your current functions of your job, and destroying them! That’s what he did, and what it’s teaching us is the commitment you have to make to move into new levels as a leader. Many times you will have to burn up everything that would draw you back to your past, so you won’t be tempted to go back when times get tough (which they will!), and you find yourself longing to go back, gripped with fear that your new thing won’t work out.
Elisha was smart enough to know that before he moved forward with Elijah, he would have to burn anything that would provide incentive for him to go back when things got tough, when things made him want to quit, when things got difficult, when he got to the place he felt like he couldn’t go on. He had to eliminate anything that would be comfortable for him to go back to at some point.
Elisha was much smarter than most of us. He was willing to abandon mediocrity. Think about it; he was plowing with the yoke of oxen, with eleven others, and he was the twelfth. It’s a bad day when everything you are following is dumber than you! Elisha’s life was spent in the mediocrity of a system that afforded him no vision, no end in sight, following something that wasn’t even as smart as he was. All it took, though, was one great voice in his life to cause him to abandon everything. That’s the power of seeking out, and protecting, the right voices and relationships in a leader’s life.
Wow this is awesome because Maurice & I have been introduced to a wonderful business but it has been tough. I know it’s because we are no longer going to accept mediocrity in our lives and it’s going to take us to a whole new level in our & our families lives. Thanks apostle!
Awesome message..As I reflect back on the last season I went through……I see how God worked me through a similar situation. I think he will sift for us…………We may not have ever had this revelation. I didn’t realize what God was doing in my life. I just knew it was tough, I was stuck and breakthrough was happening. Praise God He’s Mighty and forgiving. Praise God through the storm! Pastor Carpenter it amazes me no less everytime I see God moving. It brings me to tears most of the time. Thank you as always for the word.
I don’t usually post messages like this but I coundn’t resisit. Although I have never personally met Apostle Ron it seems as if someone one is emailing him the story line of my life as it unfolds in front of me. Not only does this message touch my life but I’ve been able to encourage others going through tough transitions. And I’m not talking about what I call a lollipop transition where you get a couple of licks and it’s over but transitions that will ultimately alter how one’s life might end up. It’s messages like this that have provided me with so much clarity regarding my transition that it makes me wake up each day ready to face life challenges. I realize that just like GOD uses Apostle Ron to speak directy into my life without ever meeting him face to face it shows how much he loves me and to what extent he’ll go to, to make sure his child.stays encourage. Thank you Apostle Ron for being that person that allows GOD to use them anyime any place and in any way. From a distance you’ve been my mentor through some tough times and I thank GOD for you and your faithfulness to continue to empty yourself and allow GOD to fill you with his wisdom that blesses so many.others.
The message you gave the other night on TBN about darkness vs. light, deliverance vs. freedom and how we are to walk in God’s light each day really opened the eyes of my heart even more!
The above article also is relevant to me since i am and have been an at-home, homeschooling mother/wife now for over 13 years! My heart is telling me God has more, and i believe i have strong voices telling me there is more that God has for my life!! At 46 years old, i am not such a risk-taker anymore!!!
Does God understand that??? I want to move on to more abundance and prosperity, but i am so used to my comfortable, mediocre lifestyle that i don’t know what else to do right now!!
God has been faithful, and i know He will never fail me!! So show me something God if you are ready to move me into something NEW for YOUR GLORY ONLY!!!
Thank you, Pastor Ron and God bless you!!
Keep on keepin’ on!!! HALLELUJAH!!
Thanks Apostle Ron ! I’m gonna use this Sunday Morning ! In greenwood SC. On the other side of Possum Kingdom. LOL. Kingdom Realasionships are so Important to our Destiny !
I love this article because it drew out of me another question that is equally challenging. Are Leaders willing to abandon “Success” to follow the Call of God into unknown circumstances? This could have been an unsettling question for Joshua, who the LORD chose to succeed Moses. Unlike Elisha, Joshua did not have a “mediocre” existence when he took up the mantle of Moses. Joshua had been racking up successes for some time. He was a significant figure in all the events of the Book of Exodus. He accompanied Moses part of the way up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. At the River Jordan, the waters parted for Joshua as the Red Sea had parted for Moses. Joshua was a highly respected military strategist. In one battle, he asked the LORD to make the Sun and the Moon stand still so the Israelites could finish the battle in daylight. His request was granted, as was the victory.
Joshua knew Moses was closer to God than any one. When the LORD chose him to succeed Moses, he probably had some doubts about taking responsibility for the children of Israel. Could he deal with being a conduit between GOD and a rebellious stiff-necked Nation? Could he handle the “mess” they put Moses through? The LORD gave Joshua the same mandate He gives all leaders: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed ….” I’ve never used the word “dismayed” so I looked it up. A truckload of words beginning with the letter “D” jumped out at me: Distressed, Depressed, Distraught, Despair, Downtrodden, Disenchanted, Disillusioned, Dissatisfied, Disturbed … and (my personal favorite) Discombobulated.
Spirit-lead Leaders believe the LORD will enable them to handle whatever they must confront. And they have the Host of Heaven for “Backup.” Still, there are questions that must be answered. Can you abandon “Success” in familiar waters and launch out into the deep surrounded by fear and uncertainty … if the LORD bids you? Can you dismiss the temptation to return to the comfort and stability of familiar work that elevated you in the eyes of your peers …if the Holy Spirit moves you to walk away? We who populate the pews don’t struggle with such lofty questions … that’s why we HOLD OUR LEADERS UP IN PRAYER.