Staying in Our Lanes
Written by Anneke Toliver in collaboration with Erin Richer
Finding ourselves in the midst of our first significant transition, it seems fitting to write a more personal weekly truth. This past week I announced my transition out of leadership of the Bible studies and I wanted to share how God has shown His faithfulness.
One of the visions of Dive Collective we are trusting God to show us how to fulfill is how to see, call out, and harness the unique gifts and passions God has given all of us that are both life-giving and allow us serve one another and our communities.
On a personal level, I knew there would be times I’d have to do things that weren’t necessarily “in my respective lane” in order to get the ministry off the ground and so I have. Co-leading Bible studies is one of those things. Obviously no one saw Covid-19 hitting the world when we began this journey and I certainly didn’t expect it to impact me and my family the way that it has, but, indeed, the time has come to adjust, pull back, and shift focus sooner than any of us anticipated. In transitioning out of the co-leadership role, my initial response was a feeling of guilt. No one wants to be the catalyst for big changes. But if I had stayed there, we all would have missed God’s hand at work. Undoubtedly, He is in the midst of this. He is knitting the body together to accomplish Kingdom work.
A few weeks ago, we finished reading through 1 Corinthians. One of the things Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians is the fact that as believers, as the body of Christ, we’re all put together in specific ways, for specific purposes. “Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person…But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as He wanted it” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 18).
I think often, maybe even more so as believers, we say yes and do all the things because we feel like it’s the right thing to do. And sometimes that’s true. If there’s a need that’s waiting to be filled and we have the capability to fill it, sometimes the right thing to do is to just do it, even if it’s not necessarily “in our lane.”
And then there’s the truth that whatever work we find ourselves doing for the Kingdom, it’s not our strength accomplishing it anyway. “And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Paul is speaking about generosity and giving; we’re to give not out of obligation but with joy and gratefulness.
When I consider this in relation to the function of the body of Christ, it gets me excited. As each one of us as parts of the body give generously to one another in the lanes we were created to work within, God is able to make every grace overflow to us. So that in every way, having everything we need, we may excel in the good work He’s called us to do.
That’s life-giving truth.
He’s arranged all the parts of the body just as He wanted it. Sometimes that looks like jumping in and filling a need; sometimes it looks like shifting responsibilities to operate more in our lane and doing specifically what He’s gifted us with. The same God works all of it.
What I’m so grateful to be discovering is that what I felt initially was something that would put a burden on others, was actually God’s hand at work. By me moving out of this lane that didn’t quite “fit” my natural gifts and passions, it opens up space for others who love this aspect of ministry to come alive and do the work God has created them to do. When we look back at God’s hand in our lives, when we look at what He’s doing presently and ahead to all of the possibilities for the future, it is abundantly clear that He has perfectly prepared us for this exact transition. Even more amazingly we can see how we only have a small sense of the blessing this will be to every person involved, including and especially everyone we serve at Dive Collective.
Do you ever find yourself doing things in ministry for the church or for God that might not necessarily be life-giving but you did them because you were filling a need?
Do you feel the freedom to say, “this just doesn’t fit anymore and I need to shift my focus?” And if so, have you considered that perhaps this need you have for a shift in focus could be an opening for God to do something greater for you and for the body of Christ?
Have you considered what kinds of passions or life-giving talents God has put in you that you might want to offer the body that would make your heart beat faster, that you could do for hours and never tire of?
Lord, make us intelligent and discerning in knowing you personally, our eyes focused and clear so that we can see exactly what you are calling us to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life you have for us who follow you. Oh! The utter extravagance of your work in us who trust you—endless energy, boundless strength! (Adapted from The Message version of Ephesians 1:17-19)
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Hello again, Dive Collective! It has been so long since we’ve seen you, studied with you, sent you any news. So much has happened since we decided to take a break, and we will be telling you a lot about that in an upcoming podcast episode!