Becoming Amateurs Again
Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it. - (Isaiah 43:19a)
On a recent trip to Nashville, TN I was listening to a prophetic minister by the name of David Wagner. It was a gathering of Restoring the Foundations leaders from around the country and he was reminding us of the importance of remaining alert to the new things God is doing in and around us. For often they are signs of what it is that He wants to do through us. In the midst of his teaching, he dropped in a line that both summarizes his thoughts and extends to us an invitation to step out in faith. He said, “God is wanting to turn us from being professionals in the old thing in order that we might be amateurs in the new thing.”
In our culture today the common understanding of a professional is he or she gets paid, while the amateur does it simply for the love of doing it. But there is also the idea that a professional is believed to be accomplished or competent at the task they are doing. While the amateur is still learning, expected to make mistakes and therefore expected to perform at a lower level. In the context of his message, he was communicating that in order to stay aligned with what God is doing today, the new thing, we need to leave the comfort of being a professional and become willing to become an amateur once again.
That God once gave the same instruction to the people of Israel is clear from his instructions through the prophet Isaiah, “do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold (pay attention), I will do something new” (Isaiah 43:18-19a). Clearly, God is showing us that if our vision is preoccupied with the old, we will miss the new thing that God is doing.
Our New Testament model to follow is Jesus Himself. Jesus stayed in perfect alignment with what the Father was doing at any given time by watching what His heavenly Father was doing in the world around Him. Jesus said in John 5:19, “truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself unless it is something He sees His Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” God the Father has a plan for our lives that reflects His will and purposes. We ensure our being about the new thing by keeping our eyes on what God is doing and aligning ourselves with it.
A professional in the old thing or amateur in the new thing, which would you rather be? Seems like a pretty easy question to answer, doesn’t it? Yet, when it unfolds in front of us, we are many times reluctant to leave the old, our professionalism, behind. It is comfortable, certain and has proven to be successful in the past. But it takes faith, humility and often a fresh act of surrender to do new things God’s way. It also puts us in a place where we must trust God for things, and trust Him for methods that He has not used with us, or maybe anybody, before. None of those things are comfortable and we naturally resist them.
What are the new things God is wanting to do in and through you? Do you know? Are you willing to ask Him and find out? Churches and ministries die because they get lost in the old things, the way God used to do things when their church or ministry was alive and producing fruit. As individuals, we can lose our way as well.
If God would lead you to do it, spend some time reflecting on whether you are a professional or an amateur? The right answer is an invitation to live again.
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
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