One word to describe pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr.’s “Mature Me” pod with guest and fellow pastor Travis Greene: thought-provoking. It’s a chance to peel back the layers behind the minds of two renowned men of God who reach countless people in their respective ministries.
In Episode 24, the pair dive deep into a conversation about stewarding God’s provision and understanding his timing. After an entertaining exchange about the throwback mainstream hits that sound like worship songs, they dove deep to share some gems that could come in clutch in our faith journey.
Here are three keys we’ve taken from the episode that we hope will bless you:
1. Your frustrations might be linked to your calling.
“One of the ways that you can get vision is by simply paying attention to your frustrations,” Rich, the pastor VOUS church in Miami, Florida, told Travis. “ Because if you pay attention to the things that frustrate you, those may be indicators of things you may be called to do.”
Before planting Forward City Church in Dentsville, South Carolina, Grammy-nominated singer Travis complained about gospel music before being led to be the change he wanted to see in the industry. Even though he was tired of “church as usual,” where he couldn’t find both sound theology and a worship experience he connected to in one place.
He believes his frustrations fueled his passion. To find a place that was high on excellence and the spirit of God, a place for kids to have a great experience, and a place where they could find truth in God, Pastor Travis felt led to plant a church.
2. Hope is heavy.
There’s a saying – “don’t get your hopes up.” Some might think it’s pessimistic. Rich agrees with this notion.
“I’m not supposed to get my hopes up. Hope is heavy. I put my hope in God. My hope is not in the outcome, it’s not in the result. It’s not in the building. If I can keep my delight in Him over and over again, He’s going to regenerate this heart and my desires are going to be His desires.”
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Rich referenced the scripture when reminding us to manage our expectations for blessings.
“God gives you your desires, and then you lose your delight. I think that we as believers, we have to recognize that as God begins to bless us, there’s this thing that I call blessing management,” he shared. “We got to steward that which He’s given us and say, ‘Lord this is all from you. My delight is in you. It was never in the thing, it was never in the building.”
3. Preparation is proof of your expectation.
If God answered all of your prayers, would you be ready for them? That’s a question that Rich says keeps him up at night.
“I’m going to do my part, but am I stewarding what He’s giving me already,” he questioned. “If we fail to maximize what He’s already given us, He won’t multiply it.”
After sharing that “preparation is proof of your expectation” for God to answer your prayers, Travis pointed out that people become discouraged when they start praying for things that God never promised them. He explained how a lot of people can take Psalm 37:4 out of context.
“This idea of Him giving you the desires of your heart first comes by delighting in Him, walking with Him, praying with Him, and observing spiritual disciplines. Doing these things.. then you can be trusted with the desires,” Travis shared. “This doesn’t mean He’ll give you what you want. He’ll give you what to want.”
In the digital age where we are exposed more than ever to the lives of countless people, Travis says, “ There are a lot of people asking and paying for something that you were inspired by on TikTok.”
4. Stewardship prepares you.
With tools like social media, Travis explained how easy it is to manipulate your way into a room. Many people have ulterior motives for advancement and are not focused on the humble tasks that God gave them because they’re searching to elevate their platform.
“If you don’t learn the secret of contentment like Paul said, you’ll always be chasing something,” he said.
Travis explained how important it is to manage your present assignment. Stewardship is not about preparing for what’s next; it’s about the intention of what you’re doing now.
“I used to think that stewardship was preparation, but I discovered that that’s dangerous. Stewardship is not preparation; stewardship prepares you,” he said. “There’s a difference. If you’re only stewarding to prepare for something, you have to be careful because that can be manipulation. ”
To hear the full conversation between pastors Rich Wilkerson Jr and Travis Greene, click the video below.
Travis dives deeper into the topic of prayer in his new book, Are You Praying For The Wrong Thing? Click here to check it out.