Purpose – Page 3 – Destiny Moments

Overcoming Barriers To Stepping Out Into The Unknown- Part 2

In my last blog, I said that there are many barriers to stepping out into the unknown. But I decided to deal with three and those are;

Fear of the Unknown
Fear of other people’s opinions
Fear of failure

I dealt with the first barrier to stepping out into the unknown and that was fear of the unknown. So the next barrier I would like to deal with is the fear of other people’s opinions.

Fear Of Other People’s Opinions

This was one of my biggest fears. Stepping out into the unknown was scary but exciting at the same time. When I took my first step to leaving my familiar surroundings, there was one thing that slowed down my progress. I was constantly concerned about what other people were thinking about me. It was so bad that my mentors at the time confronted me about it and I had to admit it that I was actually concerned about what others thought of me and my journey. It was so bad that it almost cost me my destiny. That changed when God asked me the question’ Who Are You?’. When He told me who I was in His eyes, the desire to please others just disappeared. I now developed a Godfidence that is what I call it, it is a God kind of confidence. The root of people pleasing stems from insecurities and rejection, the constant need to be approved by others. I recognised this in myself that throughout my childhood nothing was ever good enough in my home and where I attended church for a period of time. There was a constant pressure to be perfect and it was in November when God started to reveal these flaws to me. That season was a ‘river Jordan experience’, this was where all of the not so nice things started coming to the surface. I overcame this barrier by spending more time with the Lord and reading His word concerning my life. I spent more time in worship, I worked out which had an effect on my mental and emotional health. I posted affirmations around my apartment and on my bathroom mirror. So everyday I was empowering myself in God’s word to be who He had called me to be. The result of this was I stopped worrying about what others thought of me. It is a beautiful feeling when you no longer focus on the negative opinions of others.

Fear of Failure

The third barrier is the fear of failure. I believe everyone at some point in their life will experienced this. Everyone at some point including me have failed in one way or the other. I read this a while ago and it said, “failure is success turned inside out”. Failure is just an opportunity to learn something that you never knew before. I had so many moments in my journey when I said to God, please don’t let me fail but I now look at failure in a different way. Failure is my opportunity to learn something new. Some of my greatest lessons came from my experiences of failures and mistakes. I relied and still rely on 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. God’s grace is sufficient for me. The Lord took me to Matthew chapter 25:14-30, this is about the servants who received the five, two and one talents. When you read from verse 24-30, you see that the servant with the one talent did not multiply his talents because he was afraid. Verse 30 shows us the end result for this servant. God is not asking you to be perfect, He just wants you to say yes. God likes risk takers, just like Peter in Matthew 14:24-31, he stepped out of the boat and even though he started sinking, God was there to catch him. Do not be afraid of failing, even if you feel like you are going to fail, know that God will turn it for your good, Romans 8:28.

God bless you and thank you for reading

Overcoming The Barriers To Stepping Out Into The Unknown

There are many barriers to stepping out into the unknown. The last time I blogged, I dealt with stepping out into the unknown and I used the example of Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 verse 1, where God told Him to leave His country and kindred (his relatives) and go to a place where He will show him. This was a word of direction as it was vague and not very clear.

Like Abraham, I received a word of direction. In fact God gave me this scripture to confirm His word for me to step out into the unknown. I said yes to the Lord and I thought that because of my obedience , everything was going to be easy for me. But just a few months later after taking my first step, I noticed that I had a few barriers that I had to overcome before stepping into my place of destiny for this season. There were many barriers but the main barrier was fear. I experienced fear in three different areas and these were:

Fear of the unknown
Fear of the opinions of man
Fear of failure

Everyone who goes through transition will face fear in these three different areas. The Israelites struggled with these barriers in the wilderness when they were getting ready to possess their promised land.

Fear Of The Unknown

Fear of the unknown is the fear of stepping out of your comfort zone. It is the fear of stepping out into unfamiliar territory. However there is a danger to this when transition presents itself in your life, it is the opportunity to step into a new dimension, a new level. Transition does not wait for no man. When an individual miss their call to transition, the next step after this is falling into a rut and a season of stagnancy and unproductivity. The Lord has had me working on a project so here is a little snippet into what He revealed to me. In Mark chapter 11, we read about the fig tree; Jesus saw a fig tree in verse 13, as He was hungry, He proceeded to take a fruit from the tree, but there was no fruit yet the tree had leaves. The scripture clearly states that the time of figs was not yet but Jesus cursed the tree. I said to the Lord that was harsh until I looked deeper I understand why. God showed me that though it was not time (chronus- chronological time) for the tree to bring forth, Jesus had showed up (Kairos moment- opportunity, a moment where God changes everything). This was a kairos moment for the tree to bring forth but it still did not. According to agriculture, when fig trees had leaves, this was a sign that there were going to be fruits. When there were leaves, there should have been little knobs on the tree that people could pick and eat.

So the fact that there were leaves and no knobs meant that the tree had potential but was not bringing forth. It is the same for us as believers. The opportunity to step out into the unknown is never convenient but it is necessary. God will not show up with this instruction when you expect Him to. He will require you to step out in inconvenient seasons of your life. But your entire future depends on it. When God told me to step out I was unemployed with no money. God has planted a seed of greatness on the inside of you and He will show up expecting fruit. Do not be like this tree who because it did not bare fruit it was cursed, and cursed in this context is stagnancy, barrenness and unproductivity and if you are in this place of stagnancy, all you have to do is repent for your disobedience and say yes. That is all it takes for you to get back on track. Isn’t God great!!! So I challenge you today, step out into the unknown. Fear and faith cannot operate at the same time so make an exchange with God and use His faith to step out into the unknown and God will move in a mighty way not just in your life but in your family and generations . It is my prayer that God will increase your faith and give you courage to step out into the unknown in Jesus Name I pray amen. I will deal with the other barriers in part two of this blog.

God bless you and thank you for reading.

Stepping Out Into the Unknown (Part 1)

Stepping Into The Unknown

It was in the month of May 2013, that the Lord gave me the scripture Genesis chapter 12v1. Months later, I started hearing different people preaching on the same scripture and I knew that God was trying to get my attention. I remembered the first time the Lord led me to this scripture, I immediately sensed that the Lord was calling me out of where I was in order to go to another dimension in Him. God started telling me to resign from different departments I was involved with in my church at the time. I did not understand why. The final ministry He had told me to resign from was the youth department. One year later He told me to hand in my resignation and leave the ministry where I was a minister. The Lord had showed me the city, but He did not tell where I was going to live or how I was going to survive. He told me to go.

In Genesis 12v1, God told Abram to leave his country, his relatives and his father’s house and go to a land that God will show him. It is important to understand that destiny has a place. We are all called to purpose. And if you truly grasp that, then you will experience at some point in your lifetime when God will call you out into the unknown. When this occurs God will either give you a word of instruction or a word of direction. You see, a word of direction is often vague and not very clear whereas a word of instruction is very clear and detailed. Abram was given a word of direction.

Whenever you receive a word of direction, your faith in God is what will be the driving force. It takes courage to step out without clear information. I have found that when God calls you out, He will show you the end of the journey and the blessings that are waiting for you on the other side. He will always show you the promise that is waiting at the end of your obedience. You see this in verses 2-3 of chapter 12. Your miracle is hidden in your obedience to the instruction that God gives you. In verse 4, Abram takes the brave journey and leaves with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot.

One of the first principles the Lord had taught me in stepping out is that in order to go to the next level, there are some relationships that you have to let go of. It is easier said than done but it is absolutely necessary. The Lord had told Abram to leave his country and his kindred but he still took Lot with him. Partial obedience is still disobedience. Genesis 13v5-6 highlights this point that where you are going, some of your relationships cannot contain or even fathom what God is about to do for you. They cannot handle it. It does not mean they are bad people, t just means that right now in your journey, you have come to a place where you have to go alone. Do not allow guilt to weigh you down. Abraham probably felt the responsibility to bring Lot along with him because Lot’s father had died. But God’s instructions were very clear. When we refuse to let go off of relationships that God has instructed us to, the next thing that will come is strife. In Genesis 13:7, strife came between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. Sometimes strife is a blessing because it puts you back on track and onto God’s original plan so that you can accomplish His will for your life.

Abram and Lot separated and Abram stayed in Canaan and Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. The next thing that happened blew my mind, in verse 14 of chapter 13, the Lord tells Abram to “lift up his eyes and look…..” In verse 15, God makes another promise to Abram. Lot had to leave before God could give him a word of instruction. Whilst he was with Lot, God still spoke with Abram, He still protected Abram when they entered Egypt, but Lot had to go before the plan was unveiled. So my question is, how many of you as a result of disobedience are delaying the word of instruction that the Lord has for you? How many of you are refusing to let go off of dead relationships or relationships that love you so much that they are stifling the very purpose that God has for your life? I am here to declare to you that it is time to arise, step out and step into the destiny that God has for you.

The first requirement of stepping out into the unknown is , letting go of relationships that is preventing you from moving forward. You have to forsake the old and embrace the new. What you are willing to let go of determines what God will bless you with. I discovered this for myself; the relationships that I have formed since I have moved are priceless. I say this in humility, if I had stayed in the same place holding onto the same people and relationships, I would have missed out on the wealth of relationships and connections that I have now and I know God is only just beginning.

When I transitioned to my new city, the first instruction the Lord gave me was to shut down every communication I had with people and mentors from my previous city. This was hard for me because these relationships meant a lot to me. But God said let go and I did. And can I be honest? It was the best decision of my life, what I know now cannot be compared to what I knew then and I believe that is what had happened to Abram, when he said good bye to the unnecessary weight, that was when he was able to lift up his eyes and look; he was able to handle the instruction of the Lord concerning his life and his household. It is my prayer that God will give you the courage to step out into the unknown and experience His abundance in Jesus Name Amen. This will be done in a series, because God is pouring a lot into me concerning this topic so stay tuned.

May God bless you and thank you for reading.

Exchange Your Garments for God’s Glory

Throughout the scriptures, we often read about those who had gone through the hardest of times, and after breaking through, they are commanded to change their clothes or their names. We have Joseph who after going from the pit to prison, when the call came for him to go before Pharaoh, we read in Genesis chapter 41, that he shaved himself and he had put on new clothes. We have Abram, after stepping out by faith to God’s instruction; he experiences a name change in Genesis 17v5 from Abram to Abraham and Jacob in Genesis 35v10 whose name was changed from Jacob to Israel. We read in the book of Ruth chapter 3v3, where Naomi instructs Ruth to wash herself, change her clothes and anoint herself.

In Zechariah chapter 3v4, we read about Joshua standing before the angel with filthy garments and the angel says in verse 4 that he will clothe Joshua with a change of raiment, which means clothing. This blog has been inspired by an anointed woman of God called Pastor Enid Stewart, she preached about ‘Changing Your Garment for the Exchange of His Glory’. This message resonated in my spirit so much that the Lord led me to research the meaning of Glory. Seeing that this is my favourite word, I was excited but trying to figure out what the word Glory had to do with clothing. Upon researching the word glory, I found that there are many interpretations of Glory from the Greek and the Hebrew translations. I will not bore you with all of the words but I will use one from the Hebrew and one from the Greek; in the Old Testament, one of the words used to describe Glory is kabod which means to be heavy or abundant. In the Greek, glory is interpreted as doxa which means the opinion/perception of God. I discovered that in the Old Testament, the concept of glory falls into three main areas. Firstly, in terms of volume, glory can be interpreted as the sheer notion of weight. This can be extended into the concept of presence whether it is through swelling, cloaking or sheer inherent magnificence. And thirdly, the notion of praiseworthiness, shining or brilliance described as glory.

So the principle basis of glory in the Hebrew is the weight or immensity of something. On the other hand, the Greek word for glory (doxa) speaks to the perception of something as being good. So when God’s glory is on you, He sees you as good no matter what may be happening in your life in this present time or what you may have done in the past. So what has glory got to do with changing your clothing? The Lord used the symbol of clothing to speak to me concerning my identity. Clothing in this context represents the opinion and the labels that people have put on me based on my past and present circumstances. You see, the Greek meaning for Glory is doxa which is the opinion of God, He told me to begin to exchange my garment of man’s opinion and replace it with the opinion of God. As I began to do this, there was a confidence that came over me, which I will now call ‘Godfidence’ that whatever He says about me and whatever He tells me to do, I can do it.

To carry the glory of God, this means that you carry the opinion of God, which in turn creates an atmosphere for God’s presence, because every time you open up your mouth, He has no other choice but to show up because you are His opinion, every time that you open up your mouth, you speak His opinion. Where do you find God’s opinion? You find God’s opinion in the Bible and spending time in His presence. When you change your garments that is when God can present you before His people to carry out the assignment that is on your life. As long as you continue to walk in the old garments of people’s labeling and opinions of you, you will never truly discover who you are in God and what you were created to do. So I encourage you today to change your garments and make an exchange for the glory (doxa) of God. God bless you and thank you for reading…..

Mephibosheth Arise

In 2 Samuel 9, we see a story unfold about a young man by the name of Mephibosheth. In chapter 9v1, David asks the question ‘Is there any that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake”?

Before I continue, there is someone asking about you and they are on the search for you to bless you.

So David finds Ziba, a servant of the house of Saul and asks about Mephibosheth. In verse 4, Ziba identifies Mephibosheth based on his current situation , he does not even call him by his name. How many people have defined you based on your past or present circumstances? Even Mephibosheth started to define himself based on his present circumstances in verse 8, he allowed his situation to form his identity and he described himself as a “dead dog”. Oftentimes people will try to label you because of an event in your life which will then cause you to see yourself with the perspective of your past or present difficulty; this is a dangerous place to be. But not so, you are never defined by what you have been through or what you are going through. Your identity comes from and is in God.

Ziba in verse 4 then goes on to describe where Mephibosheth is located, at this point he still has not identified him by his name. I already have an issue with Ziba but I will leave that for another blog. In verse 4, we are told that Mephibosheth is located in Lodebar. Lodebar in the hebrew language means pasture less, it is a dry place. Because of his condition which was caused by Saul’s dishonour (future blog), this lameness led him to a dry place. Are you where you are because of someone else’s mistake? , it is often said that no one can determine the outcome of your destiny without your permission but here Mephibosheth had no control over his disability because he was made lame at the age of five years old (2Samuel 4v4) because the nurse had heard the news of his father and grandfather’s death so the nurse was trying to be a helper of destiny because she knew that Mephibosheth would be next to be killed but upon trying to escape she drops him and he is lame as result. Who has dropped you in life which has made you lame? Who has rejected you which has led to such intense pain that you cannot move forward? What is stopping you from moving forward? Is it that abusive past or parent or abusive spouse, is it shame? Is it your finances? Is it ill health? What has made you lame?

The feet is often a metaphor for destiny, it is about movement. Feet are positioned to go forward. Lameness is an attack against one’s destiny. Being lame prevents one from moving. Mephibosheth was in a place of dependency. He was the grandson of a king, he had an inheritance but there he was living in a dry place. This is an oxymoron. His life was a contradiction. Do you see and hear what God has said about you but it does not look like it in reality? Be encouraged, that is about to change. Even though he was in this dry place, it did not take away from him the fact that he was the grandson of a previous king. So I ask again what has made you lame? I am here to declare to you that whatever your lame situation is, God is sending a David to restore you back to your place of inheritance. Do not allow your past or present circumstances to define your destiny. What you have been through and what you may be going through right now does not diminish the fact that you are a child of a king. So I say whoever you are Mephibosheth, it is time to arise and allow yourself to be repositioned at the king’s table.

God bless you and thank you for reading