The 'It' Factor

[HKHaugan]

Epi.28 Some People Just Have “It”

No matter what the field of endeavor, there are those that have ‘it.’ Sports, music, the arts, speaking, business and so on, draw your attention when one figure stands out. There are many who know the mechanics and some who are naturally skilled that make a particular endeavor work. But its those who seem to have a special knack that uses the mechanics of their skill to employ it in a unique way. They have ‘it.’

You take a basketball, football or soccer player. Those who have that ‘it’ may not be the fastest or even the most skilled. It’s their unique ability to be in the right place at the right time. They have a real ‘feel’ for what they do. They have a passion for it. They love what they do. It means they really learn all the aspects of the subject, spend extra time practicing and set their daily life around it. They look to the experts in their field, veterans and teachers, who can give them the perspective that there’s always something new out there. Something new to get a hold of. Also they don’t care particularly whether others recognize them or applaud them. They are just plain absorbed. By this time I’m sure you have the picture. They have that ‘it.’

The ‘it’ causes others to wish they did too. But, what they don’t realize is that everyone has an ‘it’ in them. That fact is lost on many who simply find a way to get along in the world, fit in to the attitudes and opinions of others, copy others even though they know they will never attain what those others have. You can see it clothing styles, occupation choices, club membership, neighborhood selection and who they feel most comfortable around. Many simply find an easy way to just get along and then end up dying with no ultimate sense of accomplishment. Even those who get the trophies, retire with a plaque and maybe even with a gold inscribed watch, end up with a question mark etched in their hearts, “Is this all there is?” They never discovered their ‘it.’ They didn’t know where to start, how to go about finding their ‘it.’

How many people do you know about who may have been relatively successful in some profession or skill, ended up depressed, unfulfilled and feeling very much alone? They never discovered their ‘it.’

Enter into this downward spiral the ultimate ‘it’ person, Jesus, the Christ. More than just an ‘it’ in this world, He had an eternal ‘it’ in Him. He had a spiritual ‘it.’ The ‘it’ in people ends when they do but the ‘it’ in Jesus lifts Him across centuries, nations, families and the universe itself. He has that permanent ‘it.’ Whatever He touches in individuals who are open to Him changes their lives. When lives are changed, turned upside down, transformed, the “IT” hit them deep. No one but Jesus has that kind of an effect on people. He is not only mind challenging, but He touches emotions and shifts motivation from self to God and others. All you have to do is spend time with Him in His Word, get to know Him by the effect He has on you as each day passes by. That ‘it’ in Jesus is the Holy Spirit, the gift He promised when He told His disciples He had to go away so that the Holy Spirit, the Holy Comforter, would come and bring all that Jesus had been and taught to those who received their spiritual birth in Him. The Holy Spirit was the ‘It’ in Jesus. He enables Jesus to be our personal ‘It,’ the Scripture to be our ‘it’ manual and, being born spiritually, our direct connection with the Father as His children.

The ‘It’ is the drive, the balance and the motion of our One God giving us the mind of the Father, the heart of the Son and the motivation of the Holy Spirit. This is the restoration of our mind, heart and spirit to work in balance as one. Now we are talking about the real ‘It’ moving us. It’s life in the Spirit.

Jesus offers every one who gets to know Him that they can discover the ‘it’ in them. Spiritual gifts are part of this personal awakening. The relationship is first and then the series of events, spiritual events, that take place in our life, begin to emerge. It stirs the desire to learn more and to discover what He wants you to do with your life. Part of that discovery is that what you learn about yourself doesn’t end when you are through with some project or skill development. The ‘it’ that was started in you goes on forever.

What following Jesus does is not only getting you practical ways to practice your spiritual ‘it.’ It’s building the kind of confidence that sets you apart everywhere you go. You may find that the natural skills in you, God will use among the people you meet and the ones with whom you associate on a regular basis. Spiritual gifts are the confidence and identity builders making us productive and personally creative. If a ministry starts because of your ‘it’ being developed then who knows where the Lord will take you. Every person has an ‘it’ in them just waiting to emerge. It is our relationship with Jesus, the work of His Spirit and the will of the Father that drive us to discover our ’it’ beginning with learning our spiritual gifts and then walking in faith as you approach every next moment.

Whether you are in sports, business, education, retired or running your own business, your spiritual orientation will determines your personal fulfillment. The ‘it’ in you will not stop when you run out of steam in your worldly pursuit. You’ll find you can’t sit still. It will be your ‘it’ in Jesus that carries you right through this life and into the next. The world around us doesn’t know it but it’s waiting for the children of God to be revealed. The way the ‘it’ in you is designed no one else will ever have. The question for each of us is---Are we willing to step out and let the Holy Spirit show us the “way, the truth and the life” that is the source of ‘it’ in each of us?