Surviving Chaos

I’m reading a book by Lance Witt called Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul. In it he discussed Image Management where he says,

“The greatest danger, really, isn’t in projecting a false image; there’s a Pharisee inside all of us, and I suspect we’ll struggle with this as long as we live. The greatest danger is in getting comfortable with it, learning how to ‘succeed’ with a disconnected soul. Over time we can become very adept at playing the image-management game. The truth is you don’t have to have a healthy soul to be seen as a success in ministry.”

“You are walking in a ministry minefield when your outward success begins to outpace your inward life. In recent years we’ve seen people whose outward success was beyond what their character could handle. Part of what makes this so challenging is that outward success brings strokes and affirmation and applause. It’s easy to put energy in the areas where I feel significant and important.”(

This caused me to pause and reflect for a moment. Ministry is hard. Jesus said it would be. Jesus said standing up for the truth would mean people hating you and even calling for your life (Matthew 24:9-14). But in the end, we will overcome.

We will overcome the world. We will overcome death. We will overcome sin and temptation. We will even overcome our own self-importance. How? By allowing our character, grounded in Christ, grow day by day.

Character is our moral heartbeat. It gives life to the fruit we desire to grow. If we are rooted in our own self-importance or selfish ambition, our character is stunted and never reaches maturity. Its fruit is bitter and small, leaving us unsatisfied and craving more. But if we are rooted in Godly virtues like faith, hope, and love then the fruit of our character becomes attractive and satisfying. We see God move in our lives like we’ve only dreamed. We see our passions and desires blossom in the lives of others, giving us a sweet taste to savor repeatedly.

I’ve never truly realized why God has only allowed me to serve in small places over the last 20 years. I want to be an influencer. I want my ministry to be world impacting. I want my talents to be known and talked about. But that’s exactly the point. My heart wants to do great things for God within my spectrum of influence, not God’s. By allowing me to serve in the places I have, God was protecting me and my character. He knows my heart is easy to corrupt and lead astray. He knows my struggles with pride. He knows I want to do BIG things for him. But He also knows that for me to do BIG things for him, I need to make sure I am rooted deep in HIS virtues and desiring to live according to HIS ways without hesitation.

So, day by day, he adjusts my character, chipping away at my pride by teaching me humility. He deeps my need for instruction by encouraging me through His Word. He shows me what love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control look like by allowing me to walk close to my children.

I was made for greatness. My life will make an impact. I can feel it in my soul. But the greatness I’m called to strive for is not found in this world. It is in the kingdom yet to come. God is fine tuning my character so I will be great in HIS kingdom instead of my own. He is adjusting my inward soul to match my outward goal. The healthier my soul, the more impactful I become for the Kingdom of God.