62 - The Twelve Movements of a Man's Life #12: A Man Will Step Out into the Future
A man will step into the future, often armed with nothing more than his own vision, because he trusts that the future is where God lives. He steps into the mystery of the future with hope, fear, and faith.
Hope is the inextinguishable flame of life in all of us.
Fear is the feeling that lets us seek out and ask for help with life’s struggles and questions.
Faith is the connection to God; and trust that our hope is not foolish, and our fear will be heard.
Faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)
Movement #1, “The Order of Love,” is the foundation for the other 11 movements. Episode 50
Movement #1 places the man in need of God, who created him and loves him. He is second, and he draws his strength, courage, and caregiving from God. One cannot give what he/she does not have. A man is created to deliver love to others, starting with his spouse and children (if he has them).
A man who trusts God will step into the future with hope, fear, and faith because he trusts that God wants to “grow” or develop him into all that he is created to become. He has also witnessed the experiences of God’s presence in his life.
Movement 12 can take us in many directions; however, we will focus only on two:
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) show us the growth process of God.
A process called Johari’s Window show us what we need in order to grow.
The Beatitudes present us with a series of growth processes. Each “step” evolves into the next growth experience.
I wrote the book The Perfect Loss: A Different Kind of Happiness about the growth processes given to us in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5:3-10.
Two remarkable things about the paradox of the Beatitudes:
Jesus says that “Blessed” are those who surrender to and submit to a painful growth process.
The gift of the first Beatitude and the gift of the last one is the same gift, implying that a person has grown, much like an acorn grows into an oak tree.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons (and daughters) of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3-10 (NIV)
The Beatitudes follow a process that increases courage, hope, and faith.
The first Beatitude tells us that our neediness, even our utter “defeat,” opens the door to great blessings. By the admission of brokenness, the doorway to the kingdom of heaven opens.
Scripture is full of God’s promises being fulfilled as we cry out in our need for Him.
The Beatitudes that follow “poor in spirit” take us through a growth process:
Mourning brings us to finding security in the care of God.
Meekness gives us the gift of serving, caring, and being trusted because we are trustworthy.
Hunger and Thirst for more of “this way of life” (righteousness) is a promise to receive even more than we have already been blessed with or “made joyful and hopeful.” We don’t stop needing.
Merciful people are able to give out of their understanding, courage, gratitude, and compassion; and because of this ability to give, they receive even more than they give.
The Pure in Heart know that there is no other path to follow but the path that God has shown them, one of mission, calling, assignment, and vision; they see God’s fingerprints and follow the “signs” to where He is taking them.
Peacemakers are able to love fully, and also have clear boundaries; and they are part and parcel of the great panoply of God’s people. Not only are they called sons (and daughters) of God, they have many others of like mind and heart to connect to.
The last Beatitude is the final blessing, and it gives us the same result as the first Beatitude, with six other blessings in between:
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake (“for living this way”) for theirs is
The kingdom of heaven. An acorn has grown into an oak tree!
A man will:
grow into who he is created to become
will live fully, and love deeply
lead well today as he sets his sights on the future
step into the future connected to relationship with God and others
This man trusts the future because he has the courage of heart and the connection to God and others that will allow him to take risks.
Johari’s Window was created in 1955 by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham as a disclosure and feedback model.
https://www.communicationtheory.org/the-johari-window-model/
Johari’s Window is a process of disclosure and feedback that builds trust and courage to step into the future with confidence and competence. It is about going beyond the “status quo” of settling, and risking that there is more in life than what many people will risk to find out.
For our purposes, I will use it differently than is often used in a corporate setting.
Johari’s Window has four window panes, with a cross piece creating four equal sections.
Window Pane 1 is the window pane of things we know about each other as we live our lives within the context of “getting by,” the “status quo,” “keeping peace,” or “maintaining expectations.”
Pane One: What I know about you, and you know about me.
Window Pane 2 is the area of life that we are hesitant, even fearful to show; it is the territory of secrets. Episode #60, “A Man Keeps No Secrets” speaks to the power and problems of living in secrecy. By risking disclosure with the “right” people, we find an acceptance and a trust we didn’t know we could have. Secrets create isolation; sharing can create community.
Pane Two: What I know about me, and you don’t know about me.
Window Pane 3 is the area of our lives in which we are blind to some of our own character defects and defenses that block others from being in genuine relationship with us. This is the area in which asking for and receiving feedback is very helpful for growth and trust. We tend to trust others’ feedback if we know that they actually know us. Disclosure and acceptance aids in this trust. “If you know me, I will have a strong tendency to accept your feedback,” both negative and positive.
Pane Three: What I do not know about me, and you see about me.
Window Pane 4 is the mystery pane; it is the future. If we have gone beyond “keeping control” in Pane One, allowed ourselves to be known through Pane Two, and opened up to feedback for the sake of growth in Pane Three, we are ready to genuinely risk allowing our passion for a purpose to supersede a need for control. Because of acceptance and having “trusted” others in our lives, we are ready to step into what we historically call the unknown. However, to the person who is in full, trusting relationship with himself, others, and God, he also knows that the future is where God is lives just as He lives in the present with him in his daily life. This man knows and has faith in the promise that God goes ahead of him, as well as God is with him. Therefore, rather than the future being the unknown, the future is where mystery and good are because God is present there, too.
Pane Four: What I do not know about me, and you do not know, either.
This man will step into the future often armed with nothing more than his own vision because he trusts that the future is where God lives. He steps into the mystery of the future with hope, fear, and faith.
He is:
known to others
known to himself
known to God
He does not settle for “getting by,” “control,” or the “status quo.”
A man is created to become an oak tree with deep roots. He is made for living fully, loving deeply, and leading well a life that leaves treasures for others’ hearts.
Dr. Chip Dodd
Voice of the Heart Center