I’ve been reading in Exodus the past few days. God has just kind of planted me in it, reading the same story over and over.  A familiar story, but one that He keeps pointing out key details to me.  A few days ago I wrote about my battle with fear and Him parting the Red Sea.  I knew He had that post detailed in my head to write about, but a verse kept jumping out at me.  Exodus 13:17 “When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” I had an “aha moment” when I read this verse and He used it to tie some things together for me.  I feel like in a way, it wraps up my “red sea” and “fatal flaw” post into a little package with this other part to the puzzle.

If you remember, when we see Philistines referred to in the Bible, on more than one occasion they are referred to as “giants”.  Goliath leaps in my mind.  He is probably the most famous Philistine giant we hear of.  God knew that if His people that He had just liberated from several hundred years worth of slavery escaped via the Philistine country that they would just give up and turn around.  Head right on back to slavery.  They weren’t ready for battle.  He had to take them on a route where He could make the way and they wouldn’t let the fear overwhelm them.  He did that via parting the Red Sea.  We also know that many, many years down the road the Israelites DO defeat the Philistines.  God used a little shepherd boy named David to take care of that with his sling, a stone and great faith.  Somehow between those two points there was a shift from where God knew that they would not be able to handle facing them and giving them the strength to do so.  Now, this is where I point out that I’m not a theologian, I didn’t go to Seminary and I have zero doubts that I have missed many many key events here.  God connected some things in life for me in my head using these two examples, so please give me grace if I don’t have the full history and background spot on.

What did He tie together for me?  When we begin a new journey that scares us, whether it is business or anything else, I think many times He knows we can’t handle battle right away.  We have to lean on faith and the skills that He has already gifted us.  Hence my ‘fatal flaw’ post the other day.  Focusing on who we are and using those skills is huge.  Many times He does “part the red sea”, we go through in faith and He gives us victory.  That said, I don’t think this is a pass to not work on ourselves.  Improve those areas where we are weak.  At some point He did determine the Israelites could handle battle.  At some point, we have to be able to handle it too.  Practical example so I can make this make more sense to you.  My first convention to attend, I was already a Diamond in the company.  Our CMO (now President) called me and asked me to speak on behalf of all the diamonds. In my head, this is battle.  Not against flesh and blood, but against fears, feelings of inadequacy, you name it. I hate public speaking.  Not a fan.  However, I believe that God has given me this journey and if I can somehow bring glory to Him, I’ll do it and trust that He will give me the words.  Each time I speak, it is taking something that is a weakness for me and trusting that He is able to carry me through it.  However, I have to be WILLING to do it.  Now, if the CMO had called me my first month in the company and asked me to do the same thing, I would have probably bolted right then and there.  I was not ready to face that Philistine yet.  In your journey, you have to be willing to grow.  To take those things that are weaknesses for you and work on them.  It’s not a pass to just never do those things (I’m preaching to myself here).  It also doesn’t mean you have to do them all of the time.  Self development is the key.  So, the fatal flaw I talked about the other day was focusing on you are NOT.  I think the secondary fatal flaw is saying “well, this is just who I am…” and refusing to change.

I jokingly say that if I realized that every day of my life was going to be spent working on myself once I was in a leadership position, that I would have run the other way.  I’m kidding though.  God has been constantly molding me in ways that amaze me over the past 3 years.  I feel like I’ve seen Him chip away at the “old Heather”.  The one who refused to turn so many things over to Him and slowly I’m starting to see the girl He always planned me to be.  I have a LONG, LONG ways to go.  Where will you be in 3 years?  Do you want to allow Him to prune you so that you can face battle?  Or do you want to be stuck in the same place?  I love it when He parts the sea for me, but there is also something amazing knowing that He finds me strong enough to be a warrior.  That’s my goal. What’s yours?