Reconciling our Purpose with our Profession and our Calling with our Career

My definition of fulfilling purpose, is using in the most effective, efficient way possible every resource that God has entrusted us with.

It is good to have a good job, a good career. It is good to have a flourishing business. It is good to acquire wealth and prosper but it is best to fulfill purpose.

If you want to live a fulfilled life, you have to be bold enough to follow your purpose and calling, your dreams and passion and it doesn't matter what people think because at the end of the day, you will be held accountable by God.
Sadly, we have reduced life to going to school for a degree to getting a job to getting money to buying a car and building a house, getting married and having kids then retire. But God didn't create us for just that. He didn't breathe His spirit into us to live such normal lives.
We all here have these as our life major goals and hence plan for them. In as much as these things are not bad on their own, we have to have at the back of our mind that our plans are not his plans and our ways are not his ways.
We need to understand that God created us for a purpose and until what we do with our daily lives work towards fulfilling this purpose; we will find ourselves living a life full of frustration and void of joy.

So in reconciling purpose with profession and passion with our career we have to know that purpose is God given and passion is derived from purpose. In this vein our profession and career that we choose is function of our purpose and passion not the other way round. We cannot change our purpose to suit our profession; what has to change is rather our career to suit our purpose.

You might be asking oh how that can be possible since I have already finished school and am working building my career. Well let me tell you this "your life does not evolve around you and it is not all about you. Your life revolves around God and your life is all about God. Why? Because he created you. Why? To give him glory and worship him by doing His will. God's will for your life comes first and God disrupts our plans and profession in order to fulfill this will. He takes us out of our comfort zones.

Moses was comfortable as a shepherd till God appeared to Him. He tried giving excuses but God Will not have any of that. God appeared to Gideon and He gave excuses, to Jeremiah who also gave excuses but God wouldn't have any of those. Maybe you are also giving many excuses of why you can't do what God is calling you to do. But let me tell you that you have everything you need. How do i know? God breathed His spirit into you. In you you have the life of God. It would be very unfortunate to live and not use that life, that power.
How then do we know our purpose? If purpose is given by God then we have to go to God himself by building a very close relationship with Him through reading His word, praying and fellowshipping with Him. It is then that God reveals his plans for us to us. 

Secondly we need to discover ourselves. God has deposited in each and every one of us unique combinations of skills, talents, gifts, abilities and just as the king came back and asked his servants what they did with the talents in the same way God will ask us what we did with all that He endowed us with. And we can never know what we are really capable of doing until we allow God to move in us. Did Moses know that the rod he was using to guide sheep could actually perform signs and wonders? Not until he met God. Did Gideon know he could be such a great warrior? Not until he met God. Did Peter know that God could use that impulsive nature of his to bring over 3000 souls in one single day to Christ? Not until he allowed Christ to refine him. Until we have an encounter with Christ and surrender our everything to him which includes our profession and career we will keep on performing below capacity.
Finally, we need to understand timing. It took Abraham 75 years, Joseph 13 years as a slave and prisoner, Moses 40 years in exile David from a shepherd boy to 17 years and Jesus 30 years.
But what did they do during these years? Did they stay idle? No, they prepared. This is what I call self development. Joseph sharpened his skills as an administrator and became a better dream interpreter. Moses used his rod to tender his father in laws sheep for 40 good years, he ended up using that rod to lead the children of Israel for 40 good years. David killed lions and bears, no wonder Goliath was a small deal for him and he never lost a single battle.  And the Bible gives account of Jesus going to the synagogues and discussing with the religious teachers and the Bible says that the boy grew in wisdom and in stature.

Whatever you do with your lives, whatever profession and career that you choose remember that you are the light and salt of the world. Remember that the whole creation awaits the manifestation of the sons of God so please do not disappoint. 

Life Priorities-Part 1: Finding God

About a week ago, I posted something on facebook that trilled some of my close facebook friends. Here is exactly what I wrote:
Until you find God, you will be lost. Until you discover yourself, you will be confused. Until you know your purpose, you will be frustrated. Until you understand your timing, you will be restless. Until you meet your soulmate, you will be alone.
Now the last phrase is what actually got them excited.
The quotes were made in their precised life order. Put in another way:
Before you meet your soulmate, understand your timing. In order to understand your timing, know your purpose. To know your purpose, you must discover yourself. Before discovering yourself, first find God.
I will be expanding on the statement in a series of posts.
First today, I will be discussing on the topic of finding God.

You were created by God.
Only the manufacturer of a product knows exactly what went into the finished product that is presented to the world.
God who created you knows exactly all the talents, gifts, skills and abilities that He has deposited in you. You can guess, people around you can do an approximate determination. But without God, you will always function below capacity.
Until Moses found God, He only thought the rod he was holding was for guiding his flock. He didn't know it could turn into a snake. He didn't know it could part the red sea. He didn't know it could make water flow from a rock.
God knows you better than you know yourself. He formed you in your mother's womb and has your whole life planned out.
He told Jeremiah, “ have set you apart to be a prophet unto the nations".
He created you for a purpose and He alone can reveal it to you.
He knows the number of years you will live on earth and He alone can teach you to number your days and show you how to fulfill your purpose.
He knows the person that will help you achieve your purpose and He alone can lead you to that person at the right time.
Until you find God, the Devil will make you believe you are who you are not and make you believe you are not who you are.
Don't start the journey of life without God by your side. Don't panic when your peers are going ahead of you.
Turn back, slow down and look for Him first. With Him, you will achieve in a year what it took people a decade to do. Don't be deceived that you can make it in life without God.
Ecclesiastic 9: 11 reads "The fastest doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time."
Who will take you to the right place at the right time? God. Psalms 75: 6 says "no one from the east or west can exalt themselves."
People may speed off before you but life is not a 100 metre race, it is a marathon. So let them go.
"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 30-31
The Bible makes us understand in Ecclesiastics 7: 8 that the end of a thing is better than its beginning. We have all seen people who started life so well and yet ended in a mess.
It is for a reason that Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to descend upon them first.
You need oil for the journey ahead. Do not be like the five foolish virgins who were in a haste and didn't get oil for refill.
God told Zechariah to tell Zerubbabel that it is not by might nor by power but by His Spirit.
It is His presence in our lives that makes a difference. Moses said if your presence is not going with me, do not bring us up from here.
So if you've not yet found God, you better look for him now.
How do you find God?
Jeremiah 29: 3 says "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
God cannot be deceived. If you are not longing for God from the bottom of your heart, you can't use your money, eye service, fasting and prayers to manipulate him.
The Lord searches the heart and examines the mind (Jeremiah 17: 10).
If you have been praying and praying and God is not minding you; and you feel like taking off without God, check your heart.
Seek God with all your heart. Seek him because He created you and you long to do what pleases Him and honour Him with the life that you live.
Work on your relationship with God first. Make that your number one priority. Every other thing will fall right in place. 
We all know the famous verse "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and every other thing shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6: 33).
Your relationship with God is the foundation of your life. On it, you build your whole life. Psalms 11: 3 reads "if the foundation be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?"
Take delight in the Lord and He will give you your heart desires. (Psalms 37: 4)
Make God the priority of your life and you will not regret it at alllll!
I will be right back soon with part 2. Until then, cheers to building a solid relationship with God.

My time has not yet come: Waiting for your set appointed time

When it comes to fulfilling your God given purpose on earth, there is something called 'My time has not yet come'.
When Jesus had the opportunity to perform His first miracle, He made it clear to the mother that His time has not yet come.
Imagine being born with the mission to save the whole humam race but having to wait for 30 years before being able to carry out the plan.
Joseph spent 13 years in prison though he knew his brothers will one day bow to him. Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness though he knew one day he will lead the Israelites out of Egypt. David had to wait till age 30 to be king though he was anojnted at the age of 17.
Often we get too excited and burn with passion and zeal at our God given mission that we can't accept having to wait for a few more years before starting. We feel it is too long to wait, that time is passing us by and sometimes we rush and go ahead of God.

But going ahead of God is a recipe for disaster. Jesus knew He was going to be crowned King but He still turned down the offer from the five thousand people He fed to be their King.
There are some offers that you have to turn down no matter how attractive they are. Some opportunities are traps in disguise.
Remember how the devil tempted Jesus in the desert? The devil will always want to give us too good to be true offers; counterfeits of what God has in store for us. We might get enticed by them thinking that is God at work.
If God has not taken you through the necessary test of life and you have not paid the required price but the prize is being handed over to you, decline it.
Jesus knowing he could only be crowned King after he had died and resurrected said no to the devil and to the five thousand people.

Your success in the kingdom will be determined by your ability to hear God speak and your obedience to His Word.
Jesus told the disciples to go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone, everywhere. He also asked them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes and fills them with power from heaven.
The problem with Christendom is that some only hear go while others only hear wait. Those who only heard go, go without the power of the Holy Spirit and crush. Those who only heard wait, receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and bury them.
If you want to fulfill your God given purpose on earth, you need to know when to go and when to wait.
So now what did these people do while waiting for God to finally give them the go ahead? They didn't just sit idle. They did something.
At age 12 Jesus was already preaching in the temple. Luke gives account that he grew in wisdom, stature and in favour with God and man. Joseph was diligently managing the affairs of Potiphar's house, later on that of the prison and interpreting the dreams of his inmates. Moses was busily shepherding his father in law's flock. David was doing same with the father's sheep, then joined the army and later on spent 8 years of his life fleeing from Saul but was already leading a large group of people.
What are you also doing as you are waiting for God's signal?
These men spent their waiting years acquiring skills that would enable them to dsicharge effectively their God given duties.

Though God's calling on your life may be clear, you might have to sometimes do somethings that may not in any way seem related to the call. But believe me you all these experiences are shaping you and preparing you for that day.
Peter had to become an expert in fishing before Jesus called him to be a fisher of men. After his call, on two occassions,  Jesus had to give him some fishing instructions. After the second one Jesus now told him 'if you love me feed my sheep.' He ended up becoming the first apostle to preach the gospel in public and over three thousand people gave their lives to Christ. But first he had to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit to descend.
Do not rush, to fulfill your purpose on earth you need both the skill and the spirit. Mostly acquiring the skill preceed the calling then afterwards the spirit as was the case with Moses, David, Jesus and Peter.
When finally the appointed time came for these men it was undeniable. Pharaoh had a dream that only Joseph could interpret. Moses had an encounter with the burning bush. Saul died and David had to be crowned King. Jesus was baptized amd during the baptism, the Holy Spiriy descended upon him and He was led into the desert for 40 days. Upon returning, Luke gives account in Acts 'how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power and He went about healing the sick and doing good.'

So be patient, humble yourself under the Lord and he will equip you fully and you will be unstoppable.
The whole creation is waiting for the manifestations of the sons of God, your manifestation. So relax and allow God to mould you into a sign and a wonder.

Finally to end, Habbakuk 2: 1-3
I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart. And watch to see what He will say to me amd what I will answer when I am corrected.
The Lord answered me and said 'write the vision make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.'
I don't want to comment on this verse if not I will not finish. But I believe it speaks for itself in light of everything I have said above.

God bless you for reading. Byeeee!