Have you ever felt like you didn’t quite belong?
When you LOOK a certain way, or THINK a certain way, or ACT a certain way, you are sure to fit in. BUT if you are wired to look, think or act way outside of the statistical norm of your group, you are an “outlier.” Your data point is way out of alignment with your flock. This is sure to make you seem odd or peculiar…and that leads to a status of being “rejected” from the norm.
Moses was driven off by his own people and lived in the isolation of the desert.
Daniel was so popular with his peers in Babylon they invited him to dinner—with a den of lions.
David's brothers were summoned to Samuel or went to war, but David was left alone.
Yet, in each case God sent the outsider in to deliver His people and solve a problem.
Malcolm Gladwell points out in his book, Outliers, how people coming into a field from a position outside, often bring not only a fresh perspective but fresh tools and applications.
The great Revivalist Finney was in fact a lawyer who questioned every practice of preachers and innovated the “altar call” because any good lawyer builds a case for a verdict not a mediation!
Likewise Whitfield didn't receive his training as a preacher from a seminary. He was trained in a bar where he grew up standing on tables and impersonating neighbors for tips!
The outlier is often the rejected outsider who gets results in an unconventional way.
David, the outsider, didn't use a sword. He didn't even have a sword! He used a Shepherd's weapon, the slingshot. To behead the Giant he used the Giant's sword.
“So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand…He took Goliath’s sword out of its holder and killed him by cutting off his head.” (1 Samuel 17:50-51)
Fitting end for Goliath, “for those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword” but those that use a slingshot will cause their enemies to fall by their own mischief.
I have seen the Lord guiding me to speak out or share the unpopular word many times–it seems I am often an “outlier” among the current media voices in our culture. But I know that the Lord always makes a way and I’ve seen favor manifest where it was least expected. My team and I value your continued prayers, support, and encouragement over the years as we work to bring truth to our nation and beyond. If you would like to partner with us, here is the link: lancewallnau.com/outlier. Thank you for standing with us!
Some people act like outliers because they want to stand out for being different. That's not a real outlier. Likewise rebellion is not really what an outlier is all about. The genuine outlier respects groups and honors others; they just think differently.
So if you're following Him where others are not, you are an “outlier.” At first they may think you wayward. Wayward means to behave in ways that are not socially acceptable or not going or moving in the intended direction.
The fact is, the flock on earth isn't always following accurately “the lamb wherever He goes.” (Revelation 14:4) That's what makes Innovators, Inventors, Reformers, Emancipators and Prophets so interesting, inspiring and dear.
Keep following. Endure the rejection BUT don't stop and certainly don't murmur. Keep looking for an entrance into a field where you can put your unique gifts and thoughts to work. Produce results that nobody else is getting.