5 Simple Steps to Reclaiming the Vision You Lost

Are you ignoring the call of God in your life? Have you abandoned the vision that He gave you?

Two Sundays ago, our pastor spoke about the importance of vision and how, like Nehemiah rebuilding the wall, we must refuse to be distracted from it (Nehemiah 6:1-4). My thoughts instantly came to this blog and I felt ashamed at how easily I had been distracted from it. But then he reminded us that, if we had lost sight of our vision, we could always come back to it. So that is what I’m doing.

It’s been two months since I posted my last blog post. I confess I lost sight of the vision God has given me. I gave the devil a foothold and let him distract me from my calling. It’s kind of ironic that my last post was about countering the enemies lies, huh?

Well, for whatever poor excuses I found to abandon you, I pray you will forgive me. It’s time for me to come back to my vision and I could use all the support I can get so I am reaching out to you, my community, to help me get back on track.

I also hope that this lesson I have learnt will help you to reclaim your own vision if you’ve lost it.  So let me share with you what God has been teaching me over the last little while: that we can reclaim our lost visions in five simple steps.

Step One: Ask God where you went wrong

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you why you lost sight of your vision. Ask Him to illuminate any areas of your life where you may have let Satan and his demons in so that they could distract you from the vision God has given you. Ask Him to show you any sin in your life which may be holding you back from fulfilling your vision.

Step Two: Confess your sin to God

If nothing else, you will have been disobedient to God by ignoring or abandoning your calling. Let God know that you recognise this as sinful and that you are truly sorry for what you have done.

Step Three: Ask for support

Ask God to help you to repent of your sin so that you can carry on with the work He has given you to do. Ask Him to surround you with people who will build you up and give wise counsel. If you already know of people like this in your life, ask them to pray for you and keep you accountable.

Step Four: Take it one step at a time

When God called Abraham out of Harran to go to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12), he didn’t just teleport him there. Abraham had to take on a long journey with many obstacles on the way. It was the same with Moses and the Israelites.

Looking at the biblical accounts, we can see that it’s not just about fulfilling the vision which God gave us but also about the journey we go through along the way. It’s during this part that we grow and are transformed.

It’s important for us not to underestimate the journey and the obstacles which may arise. We must prepare ourselves for these obstacles, building up our strength and perseverance one day at a time. That way we will be ready for whatever lies ahead.

Step Five: Continue to look up

Pastor Andrew followed up his sermon on vision with one about making the right decisions along your journey towards fulfilling the vision. He told of the story in Genesis 13 when Lot and Abraham had to separate because their possessions were too many for the land. He compared the way Lot looked out at the land to see what looked good (vv.10-11) with the way that Abraham called upon the name of the Lord and sought His guidance (v.4). One got into a lot of trouble (Genesis 19) and the other was blessed (Genesis 12:2-3).

If you’re going to successfully complete your journey and fulfil your vision, you can’t do it alone. You need to be constantly seeking God because his ways are higher than your ways.

For me, implementing this process is going to look like me aiming to get at least one blog post written each week until I can build up to the five per week I would like to complete.

Question: What are you going to do this week to refix your eyes on the vision that God has given you?

photo credit: Human “I” in Closeup via photopin (license)

4 Practical Ways to Counter the Enemy’s Lies

You are a warrior of Christ, fighting a spiritual war. When the enemy attacks you need to be prepared to counter.

Meet Nicky: my closest friend, Maid of Honour and discipler. From the beginning of my faith walk, she has been by my side. No one keeps me accountable like this girl!

Two years ago she moved to Melbourne to study dance. In following the desire God placed in her heart, she has found herself in the heart of a harvest where the workers are few (Matthew 9:37).

The dance industry is an unreached people group and she is the missionary. The work is gruelling and often lonely. But she is a true warrior and an inspiration.

I am blessed to have her with me for a short time and have taken the opportunity to interview her for you.

Could you briefly describe the dance industry/your daily environment?

It is super fun being a dancer but it sure comes with its challenges. The dance industry is very competitive and image focused. There are far less gigs, as we call them, than dancers and the majority of dance work available is very provocative.

What is the hardest thing you have to face?

Not feeling like I suck at life…

Being a competitive environment, it is very hard to make real friends. People are nasty, often two-faced and quick to drop a friend for shallow ambitions.

Every day in training you are told you’re not good enough. You are pressured to be skinnier, wear immodest clothing and dance a certain way. But people will always find fault with you no matter how hard you try.

Thoughts of ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I can’t even dance’, ‘I’m not skinny enough’, run round and round in my head. Then they start to affect the rest of life too; ‘People don’t like me’, ‘I don’t have any significance’. These thoughts even make their way into my relationship with God.

What can we do to counter such lies?

• Put our shields up! We are in a battle. The devil does not want me in the dance industry sharing the amazingness of God and he doesn’t want you doing it in your field either. We need to be ready to stand up to his attacks.
  When I’m praying on the way to training I like to put on the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18): “God, I take hold of the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. I ask that you would bring scriptures and truths to mind to battle the lies I may encounter today.”

• Stand shield to shield with Godly People. God can supernaturally do through people what we cannot do through positive thinking alone.
  I find it’s not enough for someone to tell me ‘Stop being silly, you are skinny and a good dancer’. I know I should know that, but the lies that run round in my head are spiritual. I need people who can pray with me and for me.
  So I asked an amazing dancer at church to be my mentor. We catch up, battle over struggles and pray together, even in the middle of the night.

• Overpower the ugly stuff (Romans 12:21). The more truth and light you are surrounded by, the smaller and smaller the lies and darkness become.
  I position myself to hear God’s word by reading the Bible and going to church. I also hang around encouraging, uplifting friends. Through everything I lift God up and praise him ’cause, when I put my eyes on him and his magnificence, everything else seems insignificant.

• Remember why you’re there. Or biblically speaking, ‘Hold onto God’s promises’. No matter what comes against us or what we think of ourselves, God’s thoughts for us don’t change. If he’s called us to it he’ll see us through it .
  God put it on my heart years ago to be a light in the dark in the dance industry. He keeps reminding me of that through people, sermons, his word and his voice.
  He has got me through a career-ending broken back, months of no home and times of self-doubt. So when it gets hard I remember that I’m where God wants me and he is right there with me.

Questions: What lies do you struggle with? Which of these four counter-attacks are you going to put into practice?

5 Faith-Stunting Reasons Christians Don’t Evangelise

We have the cure to death itself but not all of us are sharing it. Why?

I remember waiting for the bus one day with one other girl. I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to talk to her. I didn’t.

As we got on the bus, I felt prompted to sit near her. You still have a chance to talk to her, I heard the Spirit say. But it’s socially unacceptable to talk to anyone on the bus, I replied. Most people won’t even make eye contact.

I moved further down the bus and sat down. At the next stop, a lady joined us on the bus and began chatting away to the girl.

That could have been you, I heard a voice say. She could have been having a meaningful conversation right now. A life-changing conversation.

I ignored the prompting of the Holy Spirit and missed an opportunity. I could have talked to that girl while we were waiting. I could have sat near her and started a conversation. I even could have moved seats to join the conversation later. But I didn’t.

But why? What reason did I have? I’m too shy? It’s some sort of social taboo to interact with other passengers?

Last week, I shared what it means to evangelise and why we should do it. Today I want to share with you 5 reasons we often don’t do it.

Five reasons we don’t evangelise

• Ignorance. Perhaps we don’t understand the true meaning of evangelism. Or perhaps we just don’t know how or where to start with telling the gospel.
  Most commonly, I find, we think it’s a job only for missionaries and pastors. The great commission (Matthew 28:19-20) was given to Jesus’ disciples. If you believe and abide in Him, you are His disciple (John 8:31).

• Fear. We are afraid of rejection. We fear strangers will think we’re weird. We fear our friends will remember our pre-Christian days and call us hypocrites.
  Release yourself from the fear my sisters. Remember it’s not you they’re rejecting but Jesus.

• Limiting beliefs about yourself. I’m too shy. I’m poor in speech. I don’t know all the answers.
  Remember that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Embrace your weaknesses and let Him do the talking.

• Limiting beliefs about others. They don’t want to hear. They aren’t willing to listen. They already have their minds made up about God.
  In my experience, this is not true. Most people don’t know much about God and are interested to hear what we believe. They may not convert on the spot but at least we’ve planted the seed.

• Apathy. I just don’t feel like it. It’s not such a big deal. Someone else will do it.
  It might sound terrible but I bet we’re all guilty of this. I know I am. My challenge to all of us is to remember what’s at stake. Have a little more concern for their lives. Ask God for compassion.

There are many reasons and excuses for not evangelising. But the reality is, you were called to do it. And not alone either. You’ve got God on your side!

So next time fear and doubts plague your mind, remember that You are not alone. Be encouraged that you cannot fail. For if God is for you, who can be against you?

Question: Are you ready to stop making excuses?

Redeeming Your Time – Part 2: How to practise faithful time management

Ever wonder where your time goes? Do you feel like you’re never getting the important things done? Steve Douglass says that 80% of your results come from just 20% of your efforts. Focus on the right 20% and you’ll get the results you want.

In yesterday’s post, I spoke about the link between faith and time management. Over this past year, God has been teaching me so much about this topic through various sources.

Two books I have found particularly helpful are:

• How to Get Better Grades and Have More Fun by Steve Douglass; and
• Connecting With God by Christopher B. Adsit

The first taught me the concept of the 80/20 rule I mentioned above. I learnt that I needed to focus my efforts on the right 20% in order to get the results I wanted.

The second book is more of a Bible study workbook and taught me some practical tips for effective (and faithful) time management.

I combined the information I learnt from both these books to come up with the 5 step method I wish to share with you today.

Step One: Determine the objectives

Finding the right 20% comes from determining the objectives. You need to have a clear view of where you are aiming.

To discover this, consider how you want to be remembered after you die. What do you want to accomplish in your lifetime? What are your priorities? Also consider your purpose and God’s priorities (Matthew 22:37-40).

What did you come up with? Write it down. Adsit suggests crafting a single sentence personal mission statement that clearly reflects your priorities. I’ll give you mine as an example:

To obediently follow God in His good, pleasing and perfect will, becoming more like Christ everyday so that His love may pour out from me to others.

Writing down your personal mission statement will give you clarity about where to focus that 20% of your efforts. From now on, you can easily make decisions and evaluate how you spend your time.

But first you need to identify how you currently spend your time.

Step Two: Discover where your time goes

Consider your standard week. Write a list of all the things that take up your time, including sleep and rest. Then note down how long you spend on each thing. (If you have absolutely no idea, you might try tracking your time for a day or two).

Next check that the times you have written add to 168 hours. If your total is less, you are missing something. If it is more, you’ve added things that you don’t actually do (even if you’d like to).

Step Three: Evaluate your current schedule

Compare your current schedule to your personal mission statement. Are you focusing on the 20% that will lead to you achieving your objectives?

Identify areas that need change. Is there something that should be on your schedule but isn’t? Is there anything you are doing that doesn’t align with your mission statement? Note them down.

Step Four: Faithfully manage your time

When taking on this step, remember the five Ps:

• Pray. You can’t plan your own course (Jeremiah 10:23 NLT). Let God do it. He already has plans for you and they’re good! (Jeremiah 29:11). You’d be foolish not to ask for His help.
• Plan. Once you’ve sought God’s guidance, schedule time for priority tasks so that they actually get done. This way you can know that you will be spending your limited time wisely (Ephesians 5:15-16).
• Practise. Just do it! Even if it’s difficult. Be diligent and it will soon become natural. Remember that discipline brings righteousness and peace (Hebrews 12:11).
• Perfect. If we’re going to complete the work we’ve been given before our times up (John 9:4), we’re going to need to work fast. Continually seek ways to tighten up your routines and become more efficient.
• Pause. Don’t forget to include rest in your schedule! This is important. God did it (Genesis 2:2-3), Jesus and the disciples did it (Mark 6:30-31), and you should do it too (Exodus 20:8-11).

Step 5: Repeat steps two to four as often as needed

As is always the case living in this broken world, sin will try to creep its way back into this area of your life. It may come in the form of laziness, apathy or selfishness.

When you notice this happening, confess it to God and ask for Him to help you remember why you are doing this: for Him (Colossians 3:23-24).

Then go back through steps two to four and start again. Remember the failure is not in falling down but in not picking yourself back up again.

So how does your schedule measure up? Are you focusing on the right 20%? Are you seeing the results you want?

I challenge you to try this out and let me know how it goes. Don’t forget to leave any prayer requests or words of encouragement for our fellow sisters in the comment section below.

Redeeming Your Time – Part 1: The link between faith and time management

Having incredible time management skills may not seem like a super spiritual thing but I can assure you it’s a quality God rewards.

With a whole new year of adventure ahead of me, I’ve spent a lot of hours over the last month considering how I spend my time. It seems to be my worst enemy and yet I can’t get enough of it!

A constant lack of time has been a great cause of anxiety to me. I find that my sense of joy and happiness is far too dependent on my productivity levels. I’ve decided, however, that this year I am going to overcome this.

Although it seems somewhat secular, time management has proven a continual stumbling block for me in my faith walk. It wasn’t until recently that I realised why: God expects us to manage our time well.

Why should we manage our time?

• Your time is not yours, but rather God’s. People’s lives are not their own (Jeremiah 10:23). Your time belongs to God and you need to use it accordingly.
  Our God is not a God of disorder but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). Therefore, we should create order and structure in our schedules. The best news is that this brings peace!

• Your time is limited so use it wisely. Psalms 90:10 speaks of the fleetingness of our lives. We don’t have a lot of time to spare, which is why we must spend it wisely (Ephesians 5:15-16).

• You will be judged on how well you use the time you’re given. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells a parable of a man who had three servants. He gave five talents to the first, two to the second and one to the third before going away. The first two invested their talents and doubled their money, while the third buried his talent and did nothing with it.
  When their master returned, he rewarded the first two and punished the last. They were judged according to how well they had used what they were given. Not only did the first two double their efforts, but they were richly rewarded.
  So shall it be for you if you invest your time wisely. Don’t let it go to waste like the third servant did his talent.

• Effectively managing your time helps you fulfil your purpose. Before Jesus’ death, he said these words: “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4)
  We too can glorify God by finishing the work He gave us to do. But not if we never make time for it. Not if we continue to let it get put off.
  Did you know that we will do even greater works than Jesus (John 14:12)? You were made to be great. Don’t put your greatness off until tomorrow.

What does it mean to use our time wisely?

When I left my job in July with no idea where God was leading me, I took the time to connect with Him on a deeper level. I worked my way through Connecting with God by Christopher B.Adsit.

One of the chapters is called The Time Connection. In this chapter, Adsit explains the answer to this question and it’s quite simple: you need to align your priorities with God’s.

God has been telling His people what’s important to Him for years. In the Old Testament, He gave the Israelites the Law of Moses, outlining the qualities and behaviours He valued. In the New Testament, Jesus gave us the two greatest commandments that would cover everything in the previous law (Matthew 22:37-40).

If you live according to God’s commandments, according to His values, you will be living out your time wisely.

So, you see, there is such a thing as faithful time-management. It’s not just some fad that everyone’s doing to try to fit more into their already busy schedules. It’s also a way to honour God and bring glory to Him.

Do you struggle to see the link between your faith and time management? Are you ready to be more effective for God? Wherever you’re at in your journey, I’d love to be praying for you.

Please leave a comment below with your prayer requests or words of encouragement. And don’t forget to tune in to tomorrow’s post for practical tips on faithful time management. I’m looking forward to what God’s going to teach us!

Glorify His Name: Your identity and purpose

The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose. ~Richard Grant

Yesterday I had the incredible privilege to take some time out and just sit and talk with one of the other young women in our church. It was an awesome time of fellowship by which I was incredibly blessed.

After a long time of talking to her about my health journey, she asked, “Have you ever thought about soul-searching?”

I asked her what she meant by this and she replied, “You know, figuring out who you are and what you’re meant to do.”

I spilled out the first things that came to my mind. I instantly noted that these words were not my own. They were of a wisdom I could only attribute to God.

It dawned on me that this was something which God had been teaching me over the past year. It wasn’t until I was asked about it that I was able to verbalise this.

And this is what He told us as we sat together yesterday:

Your identity is in Christ

When I first became a Christian four and a half years ago and my wounds were still fresh, I saw a Christian counselor. He told me that my real struggle was that I didn’t know who I was; it was a type of identity crisis. He then said that if I wanted to find my identity, I needed to look no further than the identity of Christ.

Have you ever read the story of creation in the Bible? Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

That includes you.

You were created in the image of God; to be like Christ. If you want to know who you are and were created to be, you just need to know who Jesus is.

Read up about Him in your Bible. Begin with one of the gospels (John is a good place to start). Or perhaps you could enlist the help of a study guide like The Essential Jesus. When you stop seeking yourself and seek Him instead, you will find yourself in the process.

Your purpose is to glorify God

If we were made to be like Christ, it follows that His purpose is ours too. To discover our purpose on this earth, we must discover why He came to earth.

It was to glorify God. We know this because, just before His death, Jesus says, “But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:27b-28a)

Jesus came seeking the glory of the One who sent Him (John 7:18). He came to deliver us and forgive our sins for the sake of God’s name just as the Psalmist asked (Psalm 79: 9).

There is no question of our purpose: it is to glorify God.

God’s will is simple

Glorify Him in all that you do (1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Peter 4:11). We can do this by obediently following Him through knowing and loving Him.

• Know Him. You’ve probably heard it before: “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ” (Proverbs 3:6 ESV).It’s a scripture of great promise and I cling to it often but earlier today I saw another translation (Young’s Literal Translation). It reads, “In all thy ways know thou Him, And He doth make straight thy paths.”Know Him. I just love that! God is asking us to take time to get to know Him. He is telling us that a deep relationship with Him will breed obedience.

• Love Him. In Matthew 22:37 Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5). This and loving our neighbours as ourselves, He says, are what all the law hangs upon (Matthew 22: 39-40).In other words, if we do these things, we will be fulfilling the law in full.

So it’s simple really. God provides us with all the answers in His Word. The next time you find yourself having an identity crisis and want to do some soul-searching, look no further than the Bible.

Seek Jesus and you will find yourself. Know God and love Him; you will not fail to fulfill your purpose to glorify Him.

There is a quote by Robert Brault that says, “Never mind searching for who you are. Search for who you aspire to be.” My question to you is: Who do you aspire to be? Are you seeking Him or something else?

If you need help seeking Jesus, let us know by commenting below. Let us support you and pray for you along your journey.

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:17b-19

The day we met

I will never forget the day I met Him. He was the kindest, most loving being I had known. A sensation of peace and joy overwhelmed me. The past year had been filled with such dark moments. I had nearly given up all hope of finding joy again. I certainly didn’t expect that I could feel such a joy as I did in His presence.

When I invited Him to be in my life, He promised that He would stay with me forever. He promised to be my protector. With Him I would always be safe. I no longer had anything to fear. After all the torment of the preceding year, a captive of my own malevolent thoughts, my heart was set free.

I had something to live for again. But it was more than that. I had significance. My life was worth something. No longer would I walk aimlessly through life. I now had a purpose.

I also had a guide. He swore He would see me through to my final destination and even then He would not leave me.

“But what if I find I no longer have the strength to keep walking?” I asked Him. He replied, “I will carry You and You will have my unfailing strength on Your side. You cannot fail.”

I had never known anyone like Him. He was one of a kind. Everything I needed.

“Where have You been all my life?” I asked.

He replied, “I have been with You since the beginning. You just never noticed me. I was with you in the good times and the bad, always watching over you, waiting for you to look up and see Me. I have never left you, nor will I ever leave you. I have loved you forever and forever I will love you.”

What a fool I’ve been! I thought. And yet He is still here, after all this time. No matter how rude and ignorant I may have been, He never gave up on me.

It was more than I could comprehend. Such a love was unknown to me. How could He be so patient? How could He continue to love me, despite the horrible things I had done to Him?

It seemed impossible, but He loved me so much that He was willing to die a gruesome death for me. He was willing to submit Himself to temptation, hatred, betrayal and torture, to pay a formidable price to set me free.

“And I would have done it just for You,” He told me. “That is how deep my love is for you.”

For the first time in my life, I realised what it truly meant to be awestruck. The word awesome had been carelessly used for so long that little meaning was left. But, in that moment, I understood it in its truest sense.

Though I didn’t understand how He could love me, I knew in the deepest part of my soul that He did. I had read tales of great romance, but I knew at that moment that this was the greatest love story ever to be told.

A story for everyone

If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, You will know this story well. You know it even though you have never read this version before. You know it because have experienced it. You know it because it is your story.

You may not have had such an obvious conversion or have suffered through dark times like I did. But the rest is true. Jesus has loved you forever and forever He will love you.

What do you feel when you think of the love Jesus has for you and the unfailing promises He has made to you? Do you need to remind yourself of these things? Please let us pray for you if you are struggling to feel God’s love in your life. And remember that you are loved more than you will ever know.

Your Faith is Not Your Own: The what and why of evangelism

 “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?” – Penn Jilette (Famously Atheist)

The first time I heard this quote it challenged me to my core. It still does. It perfectly sums up the what and why of evangelism.

Sadly, many Christian don’t evangelise because they don’t understand why they need to. Many more don’t even understand what it really means to evangelise.

This is what I wish to address today in this post.

What is evangelism?

The word evangelism comes from the Greek εὐαγγέλιον (transliterated as euangelion), meaning “I bring a good message”. Oxford Dictionaries defines it as “The spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.”

It is essential to understand that evangelism is public and personal. The message we have been given is not just for us and our close family and friends, but also for complete strangers.

It is intended for everybody to hear. And ‘hear’ is the operative word.

Evangelism is about telling people the good news. We can’t just do kind things for someone and hope they get the message. Our actions are important (James 2:14-26) but our words will bring the clarity they need. There are a lot of philanthropic non-Christians out there. You need to help your subject connect your kind deeds with the love of God in your life.

Why evangelise?

• Because Jesus commanded it. The great commission in Matthew 28:19-20 tells us to go and make disciples. Mark 16:15 says we need to preach the gospel to all creation.
• Because they are lost and need to hear it. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Without Jesus, your fellow human is going to experience eternal separation from God in a terrible place (Revelation 20:15).
• Because they need someone to tell them. Romans 10:14 tells us that the lost cannot believe in God if they have not heard about Him and that they cannot hear if no one preaches to them. In other words, they need to be introduced to God before they can decide to put their faith in Him.
• Because you love Jesus. In John 21:15-17, Jesus tells Simon Peter that, if he loves Him, he needs to feed and care for his sheep which we know to mean His people. 1 John 4: 20 says that we cannot love the God we haven’t seen if we cannot love the brother or sister that we have seen. Showing our love for someone by telling them the gospel demonstrates our love for Jesus.
• Because God loves them. John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that He gave His only son to die for us. Romans 5:8 reminds us that He did this while we were still sinners. God loves you despite your sin and he loves the lost too. Christ died for all of us.
• Because you should love them too. 1 John 3:14 tells us that our love for others is the realisation of our salvation. Lacking this love means we lack the life given by Christ. Jesus also tells us that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:39). If you are not loving the lost, you are not obeying God.

So do you need to renew your mindset about evangelism? Is there someone to whom you need to show some love by telling them the greatest love story of all?

Please comment below if you have prayer requests, encouragement or declarations to make over your life concerning this topic.

Following God’s Lead: Why I started this blog

Follow God’s lead. He will never direct you wrong. ~ Anonymous

Towards the beginning of last year, I begged God to call me out of my corporate job for something greater. Soon after, I was visiting Rotorua Elim and heard a sermon by Pastor Josh Robbins.

He told the story of Elisha and how he had performed more miracles mentioned in the Bible than anyone (with the exception of Jesus, of course). Then, he reminded us of Elisha’s humble beginnings: ploughing with oxen (1 Kings 19:19).

On the slide behind him he had a picture of an ox’s backside. He said something along the lines of this: “Sometimes we have a season of life where we find ourselves looking at ox butts. It’s not a pretty job and we don’t love it but we must faithfully do it until God calls us out.”

God’s message was loud and clear that day: It’s not time yet. Be faithful in your current work and I will call you when it’s time.

God’s call for me

A few months later, the time came. It took a great deal of trust in God to leave the security of my job for the yet-to-be-revealed plan He had for me. I didn’t respond to His call quite the way I should have but that’s a story for another day.

On 2 July 2014, I left the office for the last time, eager to find out where I was going next. Much to my dismay, it was into a battle with sickness.

My health crisis inspires a blog

After many a Bible study on spiritual gifts and God’s call in the weeks following my last day, it became clear my destination was ministry. However, first I had to reclaim my health. I was ineffective in my current state.

After diagnosing myself with Candidiasis and realising that it was commonly suffered but uncommonly recognised by doctors, I was inspired to start a blog about my health journey. I wanted to spread awareness of the sickness and help others journey through it.

I had no idea how to write a blog or even commit to one so, after two posts, it was over.

A flame rekindled

After deciding to get a feel for ministry by interning for my home church this year, my husband and I discussed options for me to earn some money on the side.

I tried some avenues but found that they weren’t aligned with where God was leading me. I was sure of two things:

• My part time work had to support my internship in ministry
• It couldn’t take time away from the things I found more important than making money

Then I discovered stories from bloggers who had turned their passion into a career. I realised that, with a blog, I could have flexible hours and it could support my work in ministry.

Enter doubts

I’m not entrepreneurial enough to make money off a blog. I don’t have enough time to study, work and look after my health and relationships. Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say?

So many doubts plagued my mind. But then all the resources and motivation I needed fell into my hands and I knew God was behind this. Those weren’t just doubts, they were lies from Satan.

With a new and brilliant hope, I started this project, knowing that I could not fail as long as I put all my trust in God. He had given me a message to share and I couldn’t deny His call.

Holding onto hope

Remember, sisters, that God can do infinitely more than we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20). If God has placed a dream in your heart, follow it. For if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

So what is your dream? Are you going to take hold of the hope you have in God and pursue it?

Let us know by commenting below so that we can support you and be praying for you.

3 Reasons to Stop Looking in Your Mirror: Seeing yourself through the eyes of others

Next time you feel the need to look in a mirror, consider using someone else’s.

No I don’t mean this literally. It’s a metaphor.

You see, we can be overly critical of ourselves and only see the flaws. And then we’re always surprised when someone pays us a compliment.

This has happened to me a lot recently. God has been teaching me, through others, how He sees me.

My realisation

When I left my job last July, I spent some time studying the spiritual gifts and trying to learn what mine were. I did some quizzes and self-assessments and found them a little inclusive so I asked some close Christian friends for their thoughts.

What they said surprised me.

The top ranking spiritual gift of the results I compiled from my friends’ answers was encouragement.

If you are familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality tests, then you will know what I mean when I say that I am an ESTJ type. If you are not, then you should know that this is a personality type that isn’t afraid to speak its mind.

I have always found that I can be very blunt and critical; the exact opposite of encouraging. Yet, for some reason, my friends believed that I was gifted in encouragement.

I realised that this happened often.

One moment I would be thinking about how my conversations seem to always turn into lectures with me doing all the talking (I must have been born with a bit of teacher in me). Soon after I would find a friend telling me how they loved to confide in me and how I was a good listener.

Even just today, I received a surprise. To complete Jeff Goins’s Intentional Blogging challenge for today, I had to ask five friends to describe me and/or my writing style in at least three adjectives or phrases.

I emailed a good friend and former work colleague and she replied with this:

I was blown away. Determined, maybe. But I had never thought of myself as courageous!

These people viewed me differently to how I viewed myself. They could see the good in me, the fruit with which God was blessing me.

I knew from the Bible that God also saw me differently, as righteous even. Isaiah 61:10 says:

“For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

I also knew from my own experience that God could make me see others how He saw them. It suddenly occurred to me that these kind words said by my friends were a snippet of God’s thoughts about me.

It was an incredible lesson to learn and has changed me for the better.

So what can you take away from this?

3 reasons to stop looking in your mirror

• There is probably no one in the world who thinks less of you than you. There is value in searching your own heart for the sins that lie hidden there. However, Satan often finds a foothold here, causing you to focus only on your imperfections. He begins to fill your head with lies, making you believe that God must think less of you because you are flawed. Don’t allow him the pleasure.
• Others see what you can’t see. Sometimes I wonder what I look like to the people walking past me. There are certain parts of yourself (your face especially) that you can’t see with your own two eyes alone. This is true of your character as well. You will never be able to experience how it feels to be around you. You can listen to how others describe it though.
• God reveals His thoughts about you through others. Have you ever experienced compassion for someone that you know you could not have mustered on your own? That’s because God can open your eyes to see through His. This means that He can open others’ eyes to see you like He sees you too.

So next time someone pays you a compliment, pay attention. Take note of the truths that God is revealing to you.

Don’t forget to tell us how it’s going. What has God been teaching you about how He sees you? Leave a comment below.