The Inconvenient Truth about Increasing Your Capacity, Part 2
And now for the million dollar question…
How do I increase my capacity?
I’ve learned that pressure is a sign that God is giving me an opportunity to increase my capacity. I’ve often found myself feeling overwhelmed, in over my head and uncertain of what is going to happen. If you’ve ever felt that way too, buckle up, let’s go on the journey increasing of your capacity.
1. Opportunity and Willingness
Opportunity is a catalyst for increasing your capacity.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. Genesis 12:1
If only opportunity presented itself as an exciting door of possibility. In reality, the opportunity to increase your capacity often looks more like:
· A crisis or unexpected event
· An urgent need suddenly appearing
· A Holy Spirit (HS) stirring to take on a new area of responsibility that may not make sense at the time.
Willingness means that we choose to allow God to take us into opportunity and lead us through the journey of capacity increase.
2. Faith and Risk:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:18
The first step toward increasing your capacity is to respond to your opportunity with faith. Faith means ‘leaning in’ or saying and internal ‘YES’ to opportunity on the basis of God’s promises. When we operate in faith, we intentionally seek Gods promises as they relate to our circumstances. We then choose to allow God’s promises to shape our decisions and responses to those circumstances.
Faith does not mean ignoring the risks associated with the opportunity at hand. Faith means that you understand the risks and minimise the risks where possible. Scripture tells us to count the cost of our opportunities (Luke 14:28).
Walking in faith means that we measure the risks associated with our opportunity against the weighty assurance of God’s promises to us. Faith is the place where your capacity begins to increase and it feels like a painful stretch; internal, invisible and expensive.
3. Grace and Discipline:
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Cor 12:9
Healthy capacity operates with deference and reference to God’s grace. The places of weakness where we reach the end of our capacity are the very places we can receive His grace. Grace equals empowerment. God’s empowerment both creates and sustains an increase in our capacity. His grace gives us the capacity for adversity and the endurance to keep going.
Discipline works alongside grace to ensure that our capacity stays healthy.
Discipline empowers us to say YES to things within our scope of grace and NO to what lies outside.
Discipline keeps us from abusing our capacity which leads to burnout.
Discipline means that circumstances are not given the right to shape the condition of our hearts.
Discipline positions us to make spirit-led, vision-inspired, intentional decision about where we go and what we do.
So all that being said…
insert long and deep exhale sound, I think I need a strong cup of coffee and a large piece of cake…
How willing are we to pay the personal price required for an ongoing increase in our capacity?
Love you and believe in you.
Stay inspired