Inside-Out Intimacy

Psalm 127 talks about God's grace. It says don't labor in vain to build a house. Then it goes on to say how many of us work so hard from early morning to late night, toiling to make a living for fear of not having enough. 

I know that in the past, I have definitely toiled to not just make a “living for myself,” but to achieve, to accomplish. However, God is teaching me that everything is in His timeline. This is His work, and while I definitely need to work hard and have a humble pursuit of excellence, ultimately, it's His timeline. It's all about what He wants to do. 

I am trying to focus more on that. I'm trying to focus and understand that when you're in the nonprofit world, or any kind of world that has impact, if you're having an external impact on people's lives, but you don't have intimacy with Jesus, then you’re missing the point. 

You need to have inside-out intimacy with Jesus first and then you can go out and—if He wants you to, and if it's in His will—have a certain level of impact where He has placed you. Whether that's helping a thousand people, or ten million people, that's up to Him to decide.

Brett Hagler

Brett Hagler is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Story, Y Combinator alum, Praxis fellow, author, cancer survivor, and a 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 Entrepreneur.