On diskarte and dependence

“Diskarte.”

Something you must have if you want to thrive in your career, in freelancing, entrepreneurship, or business. Beyond hardwork, you need to work smart.

Diskarte means you know how to work with what you have strategically to make the most out of it to achieve your desired outcome. Creative resourcefulness, basically.

As someone who grew up more on the book smart side of the spectrum, I had to learn about diskarte while in the workforce. As I juggled my time between full-time jobs, side hustles, volunteer commitments, and passion projects on top of personal concerns, diskarte would give me the push to keep on. I didn’t learn about diskarte by acing my college plates. I had to learn it on the job.

This diskarte, fruitful as it has been, has also developed self-sufficiency in me. Forgoing dependence on God because “I got this.” When in hindsight, it wasn’t really my hustle that blessed me, but God’s grace and favor over me.

So now, 5 years into this self-employed life. I’m trying to balance having diskarte while still remaining reliant on God. The lines can be thin and blurry on this one. While His grace is always sufficient, I also need to be diligent in stewarding the business He gave me.

I am reminded of the story of the widow with her jars of oil and Elisha the prophet. Her husband just died and he had a creditor who wanted to take their kids as slaves as a payment to his debts. She sought the help of the prophet and Elisha, upon hearing her concern, asks her, “What do you have?”

She had one jar of oil. Elisha then asks her to borrow other vessels of oil from her neighbors so she can pour out the oil from that one jar she had. She did what she was told and kept pouring until every vessel has been filled.

Elisha then tells her to use that oil to pay their family’s debts. And the rest, to use for their daily needs.

The diskarte here is in the collection of vessels. The dependence is in the obedience of pouring out the little you have, and the flow of the oil is the miraculous provision of God.

Grace and grind. Faith in action.

I’m still a work in progress in balancing this. It’s in my nature to take matters in my own hands.

But perhaps this time, I do it with diskarte led by the Holy Spirit.