Dare To Be Different

In the mornings I often take the Long Island Rail Road into the city. I stand with a crowd of others waiting for the train. Whenever the train is just about to enter the station everyone turns their bodies and faces in the opposite direction of which the train is entering the station. I saw others do it, so I did it too. I believe the reason why people turn is to avoid the wind from hitting their faces caused by the fast speed of the train.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wasn’t going to turn away like everyone else. I was not going to follow the crowd but instead decided to be different. As the train begin to enter the station, everyone turned away but I actually stood there facing the direction of the oncoming train. And guess what? The wind did blow on my face...but it wasn’t a bad wind...it didn't have the horrible force that I imagined it to have...it didn't knock me down...it was quite refreshing. And I thought to myself, “Lisa, you have been missing this cool breeze all because you decided to follow others without even testing it out for yourself.”

This made me think. Why are so many of us conforming to what others think we should be? Why are we acting like others think we should act? Why are we following the crowd? Why aren’t be being different? Jesus was different! In our decision to be like everyone else, to move and think like everyone else, we are putting limits on God’s ability to do a complete work in our lives. God deals with us all differently. Two people can encounter the same struggle, however God will deliver them differently. Sometimes God instructs us to do things that don’t make sense to us, to do things that we don’t understand but be obedient to His voice away. I promise, you will be blessed. Stop trying to compare your relationships; your success; your blessings; your job; your trails and tribulations; your strengths; your weaknesses; your deliverance to others. Stop trying to fit in and dare to be different!