Would He Marvel at It?

The Word at the Table

I'm Neal Reyes, The Entrepreneurs' Pastor, and I'm glad you're at the table. This week I want to take you somewhere personal. I want to bring you into a moment from my own backyard that I have never forgotten and that changed the way I see everything I set my hand to. Stay with me on this one. By the time we get to the end, I believe you are going to ask yourself a question that you will not be able to shake for the rest of the week.

This Week's Word: Would He Marvel at It?

It was late afternoon, close to sunset. I was out in the backyard building something for my wife Katie. She had this vision for a little water feature, a small pond with stones and trickling water, and she wanted a picket fence behind it as a backdrop for climbing rose bushes. Now if you know anything about me, you know that honoring my wife Katie is something I take seriously. So when she has a desire, I do everything I can to make sure she has it.

So I had stained the fence, dug the post holes, mixed the concrete, and set everything in place. And as the concrete was starting to set, I was adjusting the fence with a level to make sure it was straight. Perfectly level. Because the last thing I wanted was to build something for my wife and have her staring at a crooked fence every day.

Right about that time, my daughter Taylor comes walking out. She was nine years old. And she sees the level in my hand and she asks me what it does. So I show her. I explain how the little air bubble between the two lines tells you whether something is even. And she goes, can I help?

I said sure. I showed her the points she needed to check. Both sides of the fence, front to back so it was not tilting, and across the top. I handed her the level and she went to work.

I want you to picture this. Little nine year old Taylor. Level in hand. And within about seven seconds she hands it back to me and says, okay, it's done.

I looked at her and said, baby, what do you mean it's done?

She said, yeah, it's done. It's good enough, daddy.

Now when I heard those words, I knew in my spirit it was time for a lesson. I knelt down, looked at my daughter in the eyes, and I said something to her that I want to say to you today.

I said, Mija, I want you to think about something. After we go to bed tonight and the sun goes down and the yard gets quiet, if God almighty Himself, the maker of heaven and earth, decided He wanted to go for a stroll in the cool of the evening and He walked through our backyard and He came across your fence, what do you think He would say? Would He stop, let out a low whistle while He marveled at your work and say, now that is excellence. Or would He subtly shake His head, while He let out a sigh and say, Taylor, Taylor. That could have been excellence, but you settled for just enough.

She got quiet. Really quiet.

Then I said, baby, how we do things matters. And how you do some things is a reflection of how you do all things. So I want you to search down inside and you tell me honestly. Is that your very best?

She thought about it for a long moment. And then she reached over and took that level right out of my hand.

And she went back to that fence. And this time it was different. This time she was not doing it in seven seconds. She was measuring every angle, every point of access I had shown her, checking and rechecking. We had started this when the sun was setting. Now it was dark. She asked me for a flashlight and I pulled out my mobile phone, one of those old school BlackBerry ones with the little flashlight, and I held it up so she could see.

Finally, after a few moments, she stepped back from the fence. She studied it from a few feet away. Then went back and made a couple more small adjustments. I'm telling you, these adjustments were so minuscule, I couldn't even tell if she was doing anything. She then stepped back one more time to appraise her work, and then she turned to me and said, dad. That is my very, very, very best.

I believe with everything in me, that evening, God almighty took a stroll through our backyard and when He came to that fence, He did not just walk past it. I believe He stopped, and He marveled at the handiwork of a nine year old little girl who, for the first time in her life, understood the difference between not enough, just enough, good enough, and excellence.

That question has stayed with me ever since that evening. And I want it to stay with you.

Because here is what I had to confront in my own life. The same standard I taught Taylor about a picket fence, I had to apply to everything. My work. My leadership. And yes, my prayer life too.

See, most of us have been treating God the same way Taylor treated that fence the first time around. Just enough. We bring Him the big things. The emergencies. The crises. But the small things, the everyday details, we handle those on our own. We have this unconscious idea that God has limits on what He wants to be involved in and so we limit ourselves on what we bring to Him.

But Philippians 4:6 tells us to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Everything. Not just the emergencies. Everything.

John 16:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth. Not some truth. Not just the big truth. All truth.

I know this because I've lived it. I want to share one more quick story with you. A few months ago, I lost my earbuds. Good earbuds that I relied on for ministry and business calls. I searched everywhere for days. And then one afternoon while I was at my desk editing a video, the Holy Spirit dropped a picture in my heart so clear and specific that I walked straight to my bed, wedged my hand exactly where He showed me, and pulled those earbuds right out. He knew where they were the whole time. He was just waiting for me to ask.

We need to stop treating prayer like a quota. We also need to stop only bringing God the big things. He desires to be in the details of your everyday life. Psalms 32:8 says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eye. That is not a promise just for the major decisions. That is a promise for all of it.

And here is what I want you to understand about excellence. It is not perfection. It is your very, very, very best with what you have right now. I remember sitting in my studio one time at 1:30 in the morning after editing a video I had recorded late at night after my family went to bed. I was exhausted. And I caught a mistake. One that most people watching probably would have never noticed. And the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

That's good enough.

The moment I heard myself say those words, good enough, I knew I was not ready to go to bed. Not because I was being hard on myself. But because I had a standard. And good enough was not it. I stayed up another 40 minutes and fixed it. Because when God looks at what I set my hand to, I want Him to marvel at it. Not settle for it.

That is the question I am leaving with you today. Whatever you are working on right now, whatever you are believing God for, whatever you are building in your life, your business, your family, your faith. Ask yourself honestly.

If God almighty walked through your backyard tonight, would He marvel at it?

Take This With You

This week I want you to pick one area of your life where you know, if you are being honest with yourself, that you have been operating somewhere between just enough and good enough. It might be in your prayer life. It might be in your work. It might be in a relationship. Write it down. Then ask yourself what your very, very, very best would actually look like in that area. Not perfection. Your best. And then go do that. Because Champions do not settle for good enough when excellence is available to them.

From the Table Last Week

On Champion's Walk, my faith show that teaches Real Help For Real Hope, I brought you How to Hear From God in Everyday Life: God Is in the Details. I taught on why most believers only bring God the big things and miss out on His involvement in the everyday details of their lives. We dug into John 16:13, Philippians 4:6, Jeremiah 29:13, and Psalms 32:8, and I shared the personal story of how the Holy Spirit showed me exactly where my missing earbuds were after days of searching. If you have been limiting what you bring to God, this one is going to expand your thinking. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdWZj8UjoDk&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNvHLzeBuhqHvZhuCSMEQEgV

On The Executive Perspective, my leadership and business show that delivers Real Help For Real Success, I brought you Not Enough, Just Enough, Good Enough, or Excellence: Which Level Are You Operating At? I introduced the framework I have used for years across every organization I have led and taught to my own children. Not enough, just enough, good enough, and excellence. I shared the story of teaching this to my daughter Taylor at nine years old and what happened when she finally chose excellence over good enough. If you want a simple, powerful measuring tool you can apply to every area of your life and leadership, this episode is for you. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csuHV98NHW8&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNuJ-dNFVFCWc3lb7BmJ07mM

Until Next Time

Excellence is not what you do when people are watching. It is what you do when no one is watching but God. And He always is. Hold yourself to that standard this week. Not perfection. Your very, very, very best.

This Wednesday on Champion's Walk, I'm bringing you a fresh word that I believe is going to meet you exactly where you are. Don't miss it.

Then Saturday on The Executive Perspective, I'm dropping something for the leaders and entrepreneurs who are ready to operate at their next level. This one is going to challenge you to think bigger, lead better, and push past where you are right now. Be there.

I'll see you at the table next Tuesday.

Neal Reyes, The Entrepreneurs' Pastor