Stay In Your Lane
...or lose the race.
I learnt something new recently. In a race where each runner has a lane of his or her own, if the runner moves into another runner’s lane, they are disqualified — regardless of if they won the race or not. If a runner doesn’t stay in their lane, they won’t receive their reward even if they got to the finish line first. We see this in scripture as well:
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
2 Timothy 2:5
Great performance alone doesn’t equate victory. Is that performance in accordance with the rules? This applies in our individual ministry (service) to God. It’s not good enough that you’re serving. Are you serving in the right place?
Sometimes, we either forget or fail to realize that when we stand to give an account to God for all we did on Earth, we will be judged by how much we conformed to His will for our lives. God isn’t simply satisfied by you doing a lot for Him. He wants you to do the “a lot” that He assigned you to do — not just any “a lot.” God has a specific purpose for every individual and He wants us to live by that purpose. Your usefulness to God is determined by how much you do His will.
In our day and time, we have a lot of people trying to run their race in someone else’s lane. They leave the assignment God has for them and carry out the one God didn’t give them.
Some reasons why people run in other lanes:
Their lane isn’t as popular: “Everyone seems to be holding online meetings. I’ll hold one too.” Some people just want to do what’s popular. If it’s not popular, it doesn’t seem important to them. They leave what God would have them do because it isn’t really “trending.” Just because everyone is doing something doesn’t mean you’re obligated to do it. Purpose isn’t determined by what’s trending. Purpose is intentional. You can’t walk in purpose by following the crowd. Each individual was created uniquely by God. Our purpose, callings, assignments, and instructions are not the same. They can be similar, but they’re not the same. So you can’t assume that because something is popular, you’re also called to do it.
Their lane isn’t as flashy: “Being an intercessor doesn’t make me stand out. I want to be doing impartation and making people fall under the power.” The significance of purpose is NOT in its flashiness. Think about the human heart. It’s locked inside the body and isn’t seen by the outside world. That’s definitely not flashy. But if the heart decides to stop doing it’s job because it’s not flashy, the entire body dies. The validation of men is not equal to the validation of God. Standing out to men doesn’t mean you’re pleasing God. Even if men don’t see how much work and effort you have to put in, it’s fine. You serve God, not men. And this God is El Roi — the One that sees you even when no one else does. If you understand this, then it should be the validation you need.
Their lane doesn’t seem as impactful: For some people, what God would have them do just doesn’t look like it will have much impact. So they step out of their lane in a bid to find something that they think would actually be significant in furthering God’s cause. What people need to understand is that God doesn’t waste space or resources. He doesn’t invest into things for fun. If God decided to call you into something, then there’s a purpose behind it — a purpose of eternal value. And that’s regardless of if it looks impactful to you. Remember, God doesn’t see from the same level as you do. You might not think you’ll make much impact by staying in God’s purpose for you, but that’s where God wants you. And because that’s where God wants you, that’s where you’ll make most impact to God.
They don’t know their own lane: The most common! One of the biggest reasons people step out of their lanes is that they don’t know what lane they should be on. This is why seeking purpose should come before walking in purpose. But we have a lot of people that are hungry for action. They just want to get doing. Since they don’t know God’s will for their life, they just pick something and start doing it. Myles Munroe said “When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable.” As long as you don’t know your purpose, anything you do will be an abuse. Like we’ve established, God isn’t satisfied with you serving Him in any way. There’s a way He would have you serve Him and He’ll only be pleased when you choose that way. To stay in your lane, you must know your lane.
We don’t seem to understand how detrimental it can be to the Church whenever people step into lanes that aren’t theirs. Each time someone doesn’t stay in their line — but imitates others — what happens to their lane? What happens to what God wanted to do through that person? What God wants to offer the body of Christ through an individual goes to waste when that individual decides not to stay in their own purpose. We do a great disservice to the body every time we leave our assignment in order to imitate others’.
When an evangelist leaves their calling to be a ‘kingdom financier,’ what happens to the souls they ought to preach to? When a pastor decides to become a gospel artist, what happens to the Christians that ought to be discipled and equipped in their church to do God’s work? Each time you step into someone else’s lane, your lane is left empty.
Not everyone can be a content creator. Not everyone can be an apostle. Not everyone can be a teacher of the Word. Not everyone can be a musician. Not everyone will own a church. Not everyone will be a kingdom financier. Don’t leave your lane. Know what your purpose is and stay in it.
From Yahweh’s Grace,
M.I Writes. ✍️