Don't Swap Success for Satire (or, as I like to say: Just Do It)

It all begins so clearly. You have vision and passion for where you should start, grow change and build. It all wells up inside and before you know it- you've hit your stride.

Hardship- you punch through it. The first time may be tough, but you find the callouses building and you gain strength with each hurdle. You begin to get a grip on what to do, how to pivot and soon enough (or years in), you're starting to feel like a pro.

Along the way, there are some beatings, though. Those hurdles take small tolls. Maybe not always noticeable, but you avoid a thing or two. Sometimes it's from learning but sometimes it's simply too close to a past failure to try. The world has started to see you as an expert, however, so how do you admit fear or lack of knowledge? That would be....vulnerable.

Recently, I was meeting with an owner who walked this path. He walked this scenario out- starting at zero, prayerfully approaching the vision God gave him. He accepted the calling and then came the accolades. He was growing well and moving forward. Then, something happened. An opportunity for a bigger step came. Bigger steps require a lot however- more risk, loss of control (or should I say, the handing off of control) and his knowledge base would have to grow.

It all seemed plausible and excited- until it had to actually happen. Things started to get dicey when:

• someone made a different decision than he would have

• the outcome was good but he didn't get to know about it in advance

• he needed to learn something new and wasn't the expert

• his advisors pushed him

• his brain sensed change

  
  

Essentially, the hard parts of growth had him running and by the time we got on this call, he had turned on his heels questioning everything with this decision. He was now fighting the once harmonious leadership team that surrounded him, and he was looking for new advisors because his "current team no longer understood him."

As leaders, change (paired with some enemy backing) can do that to us. What felt exciting and inviting became hard and complex. The pain points touched old wounds and before we know it, we are heading for the hills back to the safety of where we were.

Scripture says something about that, too. God calls us out to new places. He has promised lands and wisdom to share if we would simply allow Him to teach us and grow us. The Jews were excited for their deliverance from Egypt until they found themselves in the desert unsure of what to expect. God knows how we are made, conveniently. He gives us this account so we know we all struggle with the fear of the unknown- that it makes us want to run back to the safety of what was before, even if it is no longer where we should live. There just might be manna and a crazy Promised Land we've never considered ahead.

So, what do we do when we want to run back?

Here are a few tips to evaluate what's really going on:

1. Check your source: is this wisdom or fear?

Is the resistance coming from God… or from past pain?

Fear often sounds like logic, but it’s rooted in self-protection.

2. Look for patterns, not moments

Are you reacting to this situation…

Or is this connected to something unresolved from before?

3. Ask: what version of me is leading right now?

The called leader?

Or the wounded one trying to stay safe?

4. Return to the original “yes”

What did God say at the beginning?

Has He changed… or have you?

5. Don’t confuse discomfort with misalignment

Growth almost always feels like loss before it feels like expansion.

At some point growth requires you to move into more unknown. You will go places that require more development and trust people you haven't needed before.

So, when the feeling hits, and you want to turn back, remind yourself:

• Egypt wasn’t just a place… it was predictable and known.

• The desert wasn’t just hard… it required trust and movement.

• The Promised Land required becoming someone brave and new.

The question isn’t “Is this hard?”

The question is “Is this where I’m being called to grow?”

Because if it is—you don’t run. You become.

Gut Check

Checkout Exodus for more on the tension to brave the wilderness or run back to familiarity.

Where are you feeling the struggle to run backward and give up the fight for new ground?