Jenn's Mid-Life Purpose

“A WOMAN who walks in PURPOSE doesn’t have to chase people and opportunities.  Her LIGHT causes people and opportunities to PURSUE her.”  author unknown

 

Some of you might be like me and have an itch to pursue your calling immediately.  You may have followed me these past several weeks and have said to yourself “get to the point — how do I pursue my calling in practical terms?”  You may have asked “why is this process so prolonged”?  “Why do I have to concentrate on breaking routine and cleansing my dwelling place first”?  These questions are all valid.  Our culture has us sprinting.  We race so fast that sometimes we don’t even have time to think about why we are racing and what we are racing for.  

 

It’s week 45 and I’m just barely touching the surface of understanding my calling and envisioning how to execute it.  God is a very simple and organized God (1 Corinthians 14:40).  He doesn’t give you the whole quandary.  He gives you pieces of the puzzle one bit at a time, and once you connect the fragments, you will then receive another remnant.  He will not anoint you with discernment until He is confident you are ready to receive it.  This is precisely why some people get stuck when romancing their calling.  They serve and serve for years, only to end up right back where they started.  I met a woman who served over seas and she did amazing things on her journey, but now she is almost homeless, seeking work to fix some of the mess that she didn’t take care of over time.  Reality is she progressed ahead, before God permitted her to proceed to the next step.  Accordingly, she may have denied a bondage she was in before she emerged on her journey.  For example, a person leaves their job and is in $50,000 in debt and decides to go on a journey to serve in another country, only to find themselves in greater debt after 1 year of serving.  They don’t have a solid plan for provision and they are not receiving it supernaturally.  Scripture declares that we are supposed to take care of our obligations first.  “Pay to all what is owed to them . . . owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:7-8.  “It’s better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay.” Ecclesiastes 5:5.  Scripture further tells us that our homes are our first ministry and we have to take care of our dwelling place first before we can serve Him.  “For if a man cannot manage his household, how can he take care of God’s church?” 1 Timothy 3:5

 

Before God could reveal our purpose, we have to develop a “strong will”.  We have to be aligned to His desire for us and we have to clothe ourselves with His armor, so that when we are attacked we can rebuke it.  We have to ensure that we don’t leave any vulnerabilities on the table so the enemy can’t use it against us.  When we shift in God’s work, we will facilitate deliverance in people.  The enemy will despise that and He will look to devour our exposed weaknesses to manipulate us.  We cannot be naive to this — we have to be prepared for it!

 

You want practical steps?  I talked frequently about breaking routine, walking in obedience and discipline, cleansing your dwelling place, facing your beast and simplifying your life in my foregoing blogs.  Once you have learned how to die from your flesh daily, and how to put Him first place in your heart, then you will advance into developing a “strong will”.  Below are the steps to developing this gift before God can distinctly uncover His plans for you.

 

1.  Eliminate negative self talk

Some of you have dreams (which is another term for “purpose”).  In these dreams you sense you were meant to do something else than what you are doing right now.  Your negative self talk diminishes these dreams, and as a result, you conclude these dreams are unachievable and too risky or too challenging.  Un-chain the negative self talk that breathes lies of fear, worry and anxiety in you.  Alternatively, list 5 ways you can accomplish your dreams.  Commit these ways to memory and whenever you begin to talk yourself out of your dream, repeat it over and over again until your treasure comes alive again.  Yes, declare it is a treasure!  Counter every negative thought that comes against your vision.  Joyce Meyers talks about how to not let your thoughts control you in the “Battlefield of the Mind”.

 

2.  Remember your accomplishments

Ponder a time when you successfully accomplished something and you were delighted in it.  What were you contemplating before you accomplished it?  How did you effort your way into the accomplishment?  What were you focused on?  How did you feel once you thrived?  Now remember the mindset you were in and the passion you felt when you reached it.  Sit in that memory for a moment.  Think of the many obstacles you faced along the way and recall how you shouldered through it.  You did not avoid it!  You pushed THROUGH it!  Think about your determination and the strategies you used.  NOW apply that same frame of mind to your current dream.  One great example I could think of is giving birth.  For nine months, a mother goes through many struggles as she journeys through the pregnancy stages.  She may have had several other external hardships along the way with relationships, health, and/or with her support system.  She may have worried about finances, endured physical pain, or had to take care of others while planning for this new beginning.  But at the end of the pursuit, she birthed a beautiful miracle that brought her great joy.  Use this analogy when pursuing your dream.  Protect it!  Fight for it!  Persevere through it!  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

 

3.  No pain, no gain

You must be willing to give up something in order to gain something.  Americans tend to think they can have it all.  Thus the saying, “we want our cake and eat it too”.  We have a very spoiled mentality.  The truth is we can do anything we put our minds to but we have to be willing to be challenged in it.  We can’t have it all.  We have to surrender to some things, so that we can have ALL things.  And at times it will cause pain or discomfort — so what — didn’t you say you really wanted it?  The end result is infinite truth, peace and joy and an eternal place in our heavenly homes.

 

4.  Ask for help

We all have a certain position of pride in us that keeps us in bondage.  It delays us from stirring ahead in life because we refuse to ask for help.  We are scared to surround ourselves with people who will push us into our dreams.  So we choose to live in comfort to be in control of our lives without having others mess it up.  God did not create us to be alone.  We have to accept others in our lives because that’s how God challenges us, grows us and transforms us.  He sent His disciples out in two and He had a team of disciples to carry out His plans.  And when we feel ourselves losing grip, we have to seek our heavenly counsel, for we cannot rely on our own strength.

 

5.  Be willing to be set apart from the world

Most often when we chase our dreams it looks different than what the rest of the world is used to.  Our dream is supposed to be uncommon and we have to be satisfied with that.  We are going to be distinct and misunderstood at times.  That’s because our dream is uniquely created for us.  And when we start to run our own race, it will seem unfamiliar, and people will get intimidated by it.  It’s okay.  Jesus was misunderstood too.

 

6.  Don’t despise small beginnings

This is probably one of the most important measures to embrace.  It’s permissible to make mistakes and fail.  It’s allowable to start small.  We all start somewhere.  It’s better to start small, then to NOT start at all.  We cannot realistically think that we are going to start at the top.  Take a risk!  Just do it!  Do it scared!  Fail fast!  That’s the only way to move up.  These are the characteristics of many successful people.  Their talents and gifts are not preferable to ours.  We all have talents that serve a different purpose and no talent is better than another.  The only difference between us and them is that their WILL and CONFIDENCE got them to the top.

 

Spiritual Growth and Transformation is absolutely necessary to activate your gifts and talents.  If you want to be successful in your walk and you want to defeat the battle ahead, these steps will prepare your mind.  It is crucial to fertilize the soil inside of you so that when He plants the seed, He can continue to cultivate and nurture your spirit to maturity.  Your spirit is the way in which you receive Him — all that He has to offer you — the truth, the way and the gifts.  And when this happens, you will NOT have to pursue anything; YOU will be pursued!

 

If your ready to be fulfilled and to be promoted to a higher level with Him, I’m ready to COACH YOU!  

 

@SoulJenSolutions

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