WEBVTT 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:11.259 What's going on, Pursuers? Welcome to The Pursuit 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:14.460 of Calling, the podcast that provides you with 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.359 the strategies and tools needed to successfully 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:20.899 discover and pursue your calling. Whether it's 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:23.359 through inspiring stories, thought -provoking 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:26.280 interviews, or quick, insightful episodes on 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:28.679 personal growth and development, we've got you 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:32.479 covered. I'm your host, Thomas Carney. Enjoy 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:41.299 the episode. I have a condition called muscular 00:00:41.299 --> 00:00:45.100 dystonia. You might already know that. You might 00:00:45.100 --> 00:00:47.079 already know that. However, for those who don't 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:51.700 know, this condition, it's neurological, and 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:54.079 it's not always chronic, but mine is, and it 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:58.100 causes chronic pain. And today, a friend of mine, 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:00.340 Shane came over the other day to help me clean 00:01:00.340 --> 00:01:04.099 my place. So I dropped him off at my place after 00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:07.560 church, and he started cleaning. I went grocery 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:10.730 shopping. And when I got back, he had gone above 00:01:10.730 --> 00:01:13.510 and beyond, cleaning far more than what I actually 00:01:13.510 --> 00:01:16.930 expected him to do, which I honestly believe 00:01:16.930 --> 00:01:20.670 is what we as Christians should be doing to achieve 00:01:20.670 --> 00:01:24.969 excellence, exceeding expectations. Now, I could 00:01:24.969 --> 00:01:27.230 have done this myself, though, but it would have 00:01:27.230 --> 00:01:30.250 taken much longer and left me in a lot of pain. 00:01:31.609 --> 00:01:35.209 That moment reminded me, asking for help isn't 00:01:35.209 --> 00:01:39.980 a weakness. It's wisdom and it's maturity. But 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:42.799 it also reminded me of something deeper. Even 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.239 though people understand my limitations, that's 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:49.540 not my goal. My goal isn't to be understood. 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:53.819 It's to get things done. It's to do them well. 00:01:54.459 --> 00:01:59.879 And to live in my calling. People are going to 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:02.420 understand your limitations. And that's okay. 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:06.239 Like that's something that we should have lay 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.620 out for people, that we have limitations, that 00:02:08.620 --> 00:02:11.000 we can't do everything that other people can 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.819 do. But don't make that the goal. Don't let it 00:02:14.819 --> 00:02:19.259 stop there. It's easy for others to say, I understand 00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:21.560 why you couldn't do it. I understand why your 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:25.080 place is dirty in my context. I understand why. 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:29.960 I was going to leave it at that. I understand 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:33.240 why you couldn't do. The things that other people 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:36.259 can do. But if you stop there, you start lowering 00:02:36.259 --> 00:02:39.300 your standards. Lowering your standard of obedience 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:44.300 to what others can understand. What do I mean 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:49.939 by obedience? What is that standard of obedience? 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:53.860 It's obedience to God. I believe that God has 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:57.159 a calling on your life. God has a calling on 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:01.159 your life that is not determined by your circumstances. 00:03:02.669 --> 00:03:05.409 Our goal is not to be understood, but it is to 00:03:05.409 --> 00:03:08.930 be faithful. Colossians 3 .23 says, Whatever 00:03:08.930 --> 00:03:13.629 you do, work at it with all of your heart, as 00:03:13.629 --> 00:03:16.689 working for the Lord and not for human masters, 00:03:16.729 --> 00:03:22.090 not for men. That means even in pain, even with 00:03:22.090 --> 00:03:25.409 limited energy, we do what God has called us 00:03:25.409 --> 00:03:32.819 to do. And we strive to do it well. Not everything, 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:35.960 again, like we said this last week, if you didn't 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:37.659 listen to last week's episode, I dove really 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:42.360 deep into 323 and Colossians 323, and it dives 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:46.699 into saying, you don't strive to do everything 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:50.560 well, but to do the right things well, to do 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:54.620 the things that you can prioritize to live in 00:03:54.620 --> 00:03:59.020 your calling well. Faithful excellence isn't 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:01.539 doing it alone either. Before I mentioned my 00:04:01.539 --> 00:04:04.419 friend Shane. Shane, not shame. My friend Shane. 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:08.759 And asking for help isn't shameful. It's biblical. 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.919 That's what biblical community is for. God didn't 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:18.100 design us to carry every task alone. There's 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:20.740 strength in asking for help so you can focus 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:24.560 your energy on what matters most. If you're like 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:27.259 me and maybe you have chronic pain. Or maybe 00:04:27.259 --> 00:04:29.959 you have other limitations that I don't even 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:32.920 know exist. But maybe you're like me and you 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:36.720 have chronic pain. And you can't clean yourself. 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:43.620 You can't clean your home. Maybe you're like 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:45.839 me and you can't drive all the time by yourself. 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:48.480 You're going to need to ask for help. You're 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:51.500 going to need to be dependent on others on this 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:54.540 pursuit of your calling. You can't probably also 00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:57.319 can't do all the things you want to do. If you're 00:04:57.319 --> 00:04:59.120 like me, you're a high achiever. If you're like 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.420 me, you strive to do a lot of things and you 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:03.699 strive to do them all well, but you also realize, 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:05.839 you might probably realize pretty quickly and 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:08.600 pretty early on that you weren't able to do it 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.959 all by yourself. So what did you do? Did you 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:16.529 quit or did you find somebody to help? If you 00:05:16.529 --> 00:05:20.069 quit, I think now this is the time to find someone 00:05:20.069 --> 00:05:22.069 to help you live in that calling wall, to help 00:05:22.069 --> 00:05:24.350 you figure out how to do the things that you're 00:05:24.350 --> 00:05:28.730 not able to do on your own. Live in such a way 00:05:28.730 --> 00:05:31.750 that people don't understand how you did it. 00:05:32.750 --> 00:05:35.829 Let people look at you and look at your life 00:05:35.829 --> 00:05:39.290 and say, how does he keep showing up like that? 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:45.430 How does he get it all done? He has these limitations. 00:05:47.209 --> 00:05:49.670 Like, how is he able to do it? How do they keep 00:05:49.670 --> 00:05:52.569 showing up like that? When they see that, they're 00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:55.149 not seeing you. They're seeing God's strength 00:05:55.149 --> 00:06:01.649 made perfect in your weakness. Hmm. And what 00:06:01.649 --> 00:06:05.310 I love about that is that it calls people higher, 00:06:05.569 --> 00:06:09.230 even people without conditions. If we, in our 00:06:09.230 --> 00:06:12.930 own conditions, if we, in our conditions, If 00:06:12.930 --> 00:06:16.949 we, with our limitations, can strive to live 00:06:16.949 --> 00:06:21.490 in our calling well, can strive to express the 00:06:21.490 --> 00:06:24.589 fruits of the Spirit, to joy, peace, faithfulness, 00:06:24.709 --> 00:06:27.310 kindness, and self -control, and I know I'm missing 00:06:27.310 --> 00:06:33.290 at least one, that will call others higher. If 00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:35.329 we strive to live in our callings well, others 00:06:35.329 --> 00:06:40.649 will strive as well. God can use your condition. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:43.480 for his glory. Do not forget this. This is the 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:47.839 most important point of this whole episode. God 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:51.379 can use your condition for his glory. Whether 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:54.259 or not God caused your condition, he can redeem 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:56.379 it. So this is actually something that apparently 00:06:56.379 --> 00:07:03.699 is a high -tension topic, I believe. So some 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:05.480 people believe, and maybe you're one of them, 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:09.160 that God causes these conditions in order for 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:13.759 them to be our cross to bear. And in order for 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:16.399 us to learn from, in order for him to be able 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:19.420 to use us in a particular way for his glory. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:22.759 I don't exactly believe that. I believe that 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:26.379 because of sin entering the world, these conditions 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:31.560 are a part of our reality. And despite that, 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:34.740 despite the evil that was meant by it by the 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:38.980 enemy, God still turns it around for good. He 00:07:38.980 --> 00:07:42.639 can use anything and does. So that means God 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.240 is going to use your condition for his glory. 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:51.740 All you got to do, all you got to do is be open 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:54.860 to that. All you got to do is say, God, show 00:07:54.860 --> 00:08:01.980 me how. Show me how I can use my condition, how 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:06.300 I can use my condition for your glory, how you 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:08.519 are going to be using my condition for your glory. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:16.019 Help me be dependent on you, God. Romans 8 .28 00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:19.339 says, and we know that in all things, God works 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:25.560 for the good of those who love him. God, look, 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:28.819 I don't know why we're in these conditions. The 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:32.279 only reason I have is that God is using it for 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:36.940 his glory. And I don't believe it's some cosmic 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:39.059 mistake. I don't believe you're in pain because 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:41.399 of your sin. Like they believed in the Old Testament. 00:08:41.460 --> 00:08:43.080 I don't believe that you're cursed. I believe 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.840 that you're blessed. I believe that I'm blessed. 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:50.580 Because my faith has grown exponentially as a 00:08:50.580 --> 00:08:54.799 result of my condition. And I'm striving to live 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:58.419 my calling every day for his glory because this 00:08:58.419 --> 00:09:01.779 is what I'm called to do. I'm called to provide 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:03.779 people with the tools needed to successfully 00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:06.019 discover and pursue their God -given calling 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:12.960 despite my circumstances. Your circumstances 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:16.600 don't define your calling. God does. Your pain 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:21.960 isn't wasted. It's your platform. Your calling 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:24.220 doesn't disappear when your body hurts. If anything, 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.120 it becomes clearer. Cutting out things in your 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:30.000 life and causing you to focus on what's most 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:34.799 important. Instead of asking God, why me? You 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:38.220 can ask God instead, God, how do you want to 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:44.450 use this? Hmm. I know I'm repeating myself, but 00:09:44.450 --> 00:09:47.649 it's important. Just pray. There is no bad prayer. 00:09:47.889 --> 00:09:49.590 God, how do you want to use this? Don't aim for 00:09:49.590 --> 00:09:51.470 people to understand your pain. Aim for them 00:09:51.470 --> 00:09:56.490 to see your purpose through it. Aim to not understand. 00:09:56.870 --> 00:09:59.909 Aim to be misunderstood. They can understand 00:09:59.909 --> 00:10:03.090 that you have limitations, but have the misunderstanding 00:10:03.090 --> 00:10:06.309 that maybe they thought because of your limitations 00:10:06.309 --> 00:10:07.610 that you weren't going to be able to achieve 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:16.139 as much. Aim to be misunderstood. Achieve more 00:10:16.139 --> 00:10:20.559 than what the world tells you you can. If you 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.320 knew... Sorry, I skipped ahead a little bit. 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:29.080 Okay, so this week, I want to pause and ask, 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:33.940 I want you to pause and ask, where have I been 00:10:33.940 --> 00:10:36.820 aiming to be understood instead of being faithful? 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:43.809 Or... Another way to ask that, where am I okay 00:10:43.809 --> 00:10:50.070 with living underneath my calling? Where am I 00:10:50.070 --> 00:10:54.269 okay with living under where I'm called to live? 00:10:54.529 --> 00:10:56.750 You're called to live here and you're living 00:10:56.750 --> 00:11:01.470 here. If you're watching the YouTube video, I 00:11:01.470 --> 00:11:05.649 have one hand above the other hand and saying 00:11:05.649 --> 00:11:10.139 you're called higher. That's why I had the merch 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:12.039 that we'll bring back one day that says you were 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:14.720 made for more. Sorry if I just clapped and I 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.080 heard it in the microphone, but you were made 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.379 for more. You're made for more than your circumstance. 00:11:19.580 --> 00:11:21.179 You're made for more than what the world has 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:25.220 told you your purpose is. Your purpose is not 00:11:25.220 --> 00:11:29.740 your pain, but it will amplify it. Wait, no. 00:11:30.220 --> 00:11:33.860 Your purpose is not your pain, but your pain 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:40.559 will amplify your purpose. Okay, one final question. 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:42.759 One final question. If you knew that I could 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:46.620 help you live in your calling well despite your 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:49.860 circumstances, what would you do? I don't know 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:52.779 if you know, but I'm a certified life coach through 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:56.340 Maxwell Leadership. And what that means, essentially, 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:59.220 is that I'm trained in having thought -provoking 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:01.779 conversations. You might be like, what the heck's 00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:09.419 that? It's the... Let me continue. If you're 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:12.600 still listening to this episode and there's something 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:15.240 stirring in you, if you're tired of surviving 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:18.500 and want to start thriving, this is what we're 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:23.500 going to do. I'm going to talk to you about what's 00:12:23.500 --> 00:12:25.960 holding you back, where you are currently, and 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:28.120 what it could look like to live in your calling 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:31.059 well. You remain on purpose and for a purpose. 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:36.600 I want to pursue that together. Part of the coaching 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.139 where I'm just trained at asking good questions. 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:43.980 I'm trained to get you to see where your calling 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:48.639 is if you don't already know. And then be able 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.100 to create an actionable plan in order to achieve 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:52.940 that well. And then there's the accountability 00:12:52.940 --> 00:12:57.639 part of that where every week you come back and 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:00.879 we talk about what you did last week. what your 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.559 aim to do next week, what the obstacles are in 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:08.500 the way, and how you're going to do it. And that's 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:10.460 every single week. That's the layout that I just 00:13:10.460 --> 00:13:13.720 left you behind the curtain. And I want to do 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:16.320 it for you, the people that are in these circumstances, 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:21.720 the people that feel like that others think that 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:24.000 their circumstances define what they are able 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.120 to achieve. And I want you to be able to say 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:34.580 no. So click the link in the description of this. 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:38.539 It's just a free 45 -minute discovery coaching 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:42.320 call. I want to help you pursue your calling. 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:45.220 And if you go through this and you don't like 00:13:45.220 --> 00:13:47.159 it, hey, the worst thing that can happen is that 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:54.379 you spent 45 minutes to see what it could possibly 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:58.019 mean to live in your calling well. That's the 00:13:58.019 --> 00:14:00.580 worst that can happen, 45 minutes, and you don't 00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:05.379 get back. Do you have 45 minutes? I think you 00:14:05.379 --> 00:14:08.919 have 45 minutes. You got nothing to lose. So 00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:12.820 guys, if anything, go back and answer the questions 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:15.240 I asked you earlier. Where are you living under 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:17.720 your calling? And if you liked this episode, 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:22.259 please give it a five stars on Apple Podcasts 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:23.919 and Spotify, wherever you listen to your podcasts. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:25.940 Give it a review and share it out on social media. 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.659 Share with a friend. All right, I'll see you 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:31.340 next time. Keep pursuing your calling well. Peace. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:33.600 Thank you.