In surfing, the term “hang ten” refers to a particularly challenging maneuver. While the back of the surfboard is covered with the wave of water, the surfer walks to the front and hangs all ten toes off the edge with arms outstretched above his head.
What in your work life has you hanging ten? In other words, what difficult thing do you face that you’d love to accomplish given the proper setting and circumstances?
I read a bulletin from a colleague who writes of being a loser for most of his life. Through the years he has launched into careers and projects and learned lessons on the run rather than sitting and studying for extended periods. In other words, he has a bias for action.
He’s made mistakes and admits it. He also knows that he has been in the second or third revision of some projects while his competition was still thinking about getting started. There is energy in taking action, and he has been able to ride that energy into wonderful opportunities throughout his career.
Among your responsibilities at work, what is most challenging to you? Perhaps it’s getting along with a supervisor, co-worker or someone who reports to you. Maybe it’s that big project with the seemingly impossible deadlines; or the supplier or customer with whom things rarely seem to go quite right.
If you’re asking God for help before and during your workday, you have the greatest coach and mentor in the universe. You have access 24/7 with no appointment necessary. This is the same God who knows everything, can do whatever he pleases and has impeccable timing. Rarely, however, does God’s timing coincide with ours and we often feel we’re awaiting word on a request or intercession while the world is passing us by.
That may be happening because action rewards us in the world of work. In God’s kingdom, however, he is the master and we are his servants. That means that we wait to see where God is working and, at his invitation, join him in that work. That’s the toughest challenge of all for so many working people, because there’s no formula to know what God is thinking and what he has planned for us.
The implications are clear. First and foremost, a servant does not share plans with the master and ask for the master’s backing and blessing. Instead, the servant does his master’s bidding, and awaits orders from headquarters patiently.
Second, even though God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, we have some clues in the Bible. That’s where we can take one thing to the bank: God has never and will never go back on his word. It simply doesn’t happen. When God promises something, it comes to pass. There really are no secrets of success where God is concerned. It’s no secret that God wants to enjoy a real and personal love relationship with each one of his children. He wants our hearts first, then our minds and our energy. Where God is concerned, it is commitment first and action when he asks for it. The beautiful and wonderful thing about this whole process is that God is there for us every step of the way.
Kingdom work is all about doing God’s bidding. Stay on God’s schedule. Watch and listen closely in your relationship with God to see where he’s working. He is constantly involved in life all around you, so be observant, because he can ask at any time and in any way he chooses. It’s up to you to be ready for the call, listen and respond in a way that glorifies God and shows your complete and utter trust and faith in him.
Carroll is an entrepreneur and author based in Mount Pleasant. E-mail him at jcarroll@uperform.com.