Does God really have a purpose for you??

This past week I was looking at my life and to be honest I was

discouraged. I couldn’t

believe how much there is still to be done!

My blog’s main focus is about destiny but

that doesn’t mean I got this destiny thing on lock down.

Like you I am walking this road in

total faith. I am discovering things, learning, falling, getting up,

dealing with disappointment,and so on.

The only thing I got is God and His word to guide

me (and that’s more than enough for me)

 

So there I was discouraged, upset and even fearful! (that

was new….!)

Why fearful? Fearful that I would fail to accomplish everything

God called me to do. I don’t want to die with any

potential left. I want to have used it all up here on earth!

I was fearful I could be wrong. Wrong about the idea of purpose

I have! (what a mess right?!)

Anyway, it was in that state I prayed to God. I called out to Him

to help me.

 

It was at that time He showed me something

pretty amazing, something I want to share with you about your

life and His purpose for you.

You are not where you are by accident.

It’s not a coincidence you are doing what you are doing at the

moment!

Let me not get ahead of myself.

 

In Daniel 2 we read about a vision Nebuchadnezzar had. His

vision predicted some very important

events that would take place in the future.

Throughout the book of Daniel we read of more visions. The

visions recorded play an important role in the

future scheme of things.

Was it a coincidence that Daniel was in Babylon when

Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar were having visions??

Daniel himself had visions at that same time. Was it luck Daniel

was born in that timeline?? Off course it wasn’t!!

 

That was not a coincidence at all. It was planned, it was deliberate.

God created Daniel for that time in history!

Daniel’s gift of interpreting visions was not an accident.

It wasn’t luck that Daniel was in Babylon when the visions started!

It was God!

 

When it comes to God there is no such thing as “coincidence”.

He is very purposeful when it comes to purpose!

He leaves nothing to chance.

 

I think about David who was born around the time of Goliath.

Everything would have worked out fine

for the giant if David had not been born but that was not the

case. God had a plan,

 

“Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel!

Give me a man and let us fight each other.”

On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were

dismayed and terrified.

1 Samuel 17:10, 11

 

“David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this

Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

1 Samuel 17:32

 

What a contrast! The armies of Saul were dismayed and terrified

but David was fearless and ready to fight!

He was born for that moment. It was not a coincidence or luck that

he was there. Like Daniel,

God had planned it. He was very deliberate.

 

The last person I will talk about is Esther! We all know her story

very well. She had no father and mother and

was raised by her cousin Mordecai. (Esther 2:7)

Esther had no parents and who knows the challenges she faced

because of that but one thing is clear,

God had a plan for her life. She was not a mistake (even though

she may have thought so).

She would save the Jews from Haman’s evil plot to extinguish the

Jews completely.

 

“When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back

this answer: Do not think

that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews

will escape. For if you remain

silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise

from another place, but you and your

father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have

come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:12-14

 

I am much better now. I am at peace knowing that I am

exactly where He wants me to be. It may

not make sense but it does to God and that’s all that matters.

 

God is taking you somewhere friend. He has a plan for your life.

His plan for your life is different to mine but we can agree we are

here for a reason.

It’s not a mistake or luck that you are where you are.

God planned it.

It was very deliberate.

He planned your life to have meaning.

Don’t let anyone tell you that there is nothing in store for you!

According to scripture that is just not true!

 

The one thing Daniel, David Esther had in common was their faith

in God!

They trusted Him and loved Him.

Their lives were very different but you could see their faith!

Trust the Lord to guide and lead you in the plan He has for you.

He will not leave you stranded.

With Him your future is certain, with God your purpose will be

accomplished!

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

When you look at what is in your hands…..

I have been looking at my life and all the things that

need to be done. I have seen the plans I have and the

things I want to do and have realized things are not

adding up.

I am not earning the salary that will help me get all the

things I need, that will get me to the places I want to

go.

In other words, I don’t have much in my hands as far

as resources are concerned. Money, knowledge, skill

and so on.

But does that mean I should give up?

Does that mean I should dream small?

Does that mean I should change the way I pray?

Does that mean I have to abandon some things?

 

You might be in the same boat as me. You look

at your life and you don’t have enough. You don’t

have much in your hands. What do you do?

Some people tend to make their dream smaller.

They pray pocket sized prayers to fit what they

see in their hands but is this what God wants us

to do????

 

As I was thinking about all this I realized something,

God doesn’t want us to down size anything!

He didn’t make a mistake when He gave us the desires

that are in our hearts.

So for example,

If I have a desire to travel the world but I don’t have the

money right now it doesn’t mean I should abandon the dream!

The enemy would like us to give up on the dreams that

have been planted in our hearts but don’t.

 

God is not looking at what is in your hands to bless you.

He is not waiting for you to get everything in order so

He can bless you! (We are surely doomed if He is waiting

for us to get ourselves sorted out!) He is not waiting for

you to get the right salary so He can start opening doors

for you…!!! Get that kind of thinking out of your head right

now. It will stop you from getting God’s best!!!

 

You must stop looking at what’s in your hand if you

want God to move and bless you!

 

Jesus looked up and saw a crowd of people coming

toward Him. He said to Philip, “where can we buy

enough bread for all these people to eat?”

He asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus

already knew what He planned to do.

Philip answered, “we would all have to work a

month to buy enough bread for each person here

to have only a little piece!”  John 6:5-7

 

I feel like this is my story. Situations happen

in my life and Jesus is asking, “where can we

buy enough bread for all these people to eat?”

And I keep making the mistake of looking at what

is in my hand!

What do you do when He asks you that question?

Philip did the same thing. He knew that Jesus was the

Messiah but what was the first thing he did? He looked at

what was in his hands!!!

The truth is, JESUS already knows what He has planned

to do!

He is testing you so you can look to Him! He has so

much in store for you but all those things are in

a realm that are way beyond your capabilities in

every sense of the word!

I am here to say, stop looking at what you have

in your hands!

Your life may not be adding up, you don’t have the

slightest idea where you are going to get money

to go to university, you don’t have an inkling of

how you are going to start that business, you don’t

have enough money to take care of your family.

I am here to encourage you to look to the Lord!

He knows what He has planned to do in your life.

No matter how impossible your situation seems

He knows what He is going to do.

 

Then Elisha said, Hear the word of the Lord.

Thus says the Lord: Tomorrow about this time

a measure of fine flour will sell for a shekel and two

measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of

Samaria!  2 Kings 7:1

 

The Israelites were under siege by the Samarians

with no hope of escape. Food had run out, so things

were getting really bad. Israel was in a really bad

situation. There was no one to turn to. There was

no help coming but despite all those undeniably difficult

circumstances the man of God declares a word. It was

in-conceivable to think everything would be back to normal

the next day.

 

Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned  answered

the man of God and said, If the Lord should make windows

in heaven, could this thing be? But Elisha said, You shall

see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.  

2 Kings 7: 2

 

The captain looked at what was in his hand. He heard the

word of the Lord but instead of trusting the word

from God he looked at what was in his hand.

The lesson can’t be any clearer. Look to the Lord who

knows what He is going to do. Our job is not to figure

out the “how”. Our job is to trust in the Lord with

all of our hearts even if things don’t make sense.

As sons and daughters of God let us start taking our

focus off what is in our hands and instead looking

to God……….

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Becoming that man…..

 

Being a male is a matter of birth but being a man

is a matter of choice

 

I love this quote because it is so true…..but I am

not here to discuss the quote. I am here to discuss

something more, something that has been stirred

in my heart this past weekend.

Our church had its annual conference which was

so powerful. It started on Wednesday evening and

ended on Sunday. The messages were all so relevant

and powerful but the men’s meeting we had on Saturday

stood out the most. I love our men’s meetings because

there is something powerful that happens when men

get together to worship the Lord!

 

My pastor was speaking about becoming THAT man in today’s

crazy world. He said as men we are on the road to becoming

THAT man. That got me thinking……..

 

I am committed to becoming THAT man!

But what does that really mean?

 

Becoming that man means making God first in my life.

I am not the man! God is the THE Man. He died for me

And He is the One who is directing my life.

 

Becoming that man means making a stand for purity!

We live in a sex-saturated world and as men the battle

is everywhere. There is no sitting on the fence for this

battle. A line has to be drawn, a decision must be made.

Will you get swept away in this sex-saturated world or

will you make a stand for purity?

 

I dictated a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes;

how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl?

Job 31:1

 

Becoming that man means living by the word of God.

The word must be our guide. We can’t rely on our own

strength. As men we feel the need to show our strength but

we need to realize God wants us to trust Him. Our strength

doesn’t count for much in God’s eyes. Look to God and not

yourself.

 

How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking

heed and keeping watch [on himself] according

to your word [conforming his life to it].

Psalm 119:9

 

This is the thing men, the world doesn’t want men

to take their place. It doesn’t want us to walk in

what God has called us to. The world is distorting

the image of man. We have a lot of males but not

a lot of men! Don’t believe the lie…….

 

Men are not better than women, God just made us

different. It’s not about who is better, faster, cleverer….

God made man and woman in HIS image!

That means we are an expression of God, man and

woman!

I think we can all agree that God is strong and powerful.

There is nothing weak about God, so if we are an expression

of God why do we see women as weak and treat them like

they are insignificant????

God is all powerful. He doesn’t have one strong side (man)

then one weak side (woman)…but there are men who think

that by the way they treat women!

It makes me mad when men think they are better than women

just because they are men!!!

But God made women to express a part of Himself so please help me

understand why you think He would make them weak and useless

when He isn’t any of these things????

That kind of thinking has to stop.

(I don’t know where that came from because I didn’t plan

on talking about that)…..

 

Without a man leading a home, a family is lost!

The enemy is destroying our kid’s right under our noses.

We leave our kids in front of the TV and think that’s

parenting but that is wrong! We need to take responsibility

men. We must protect our family…..

We need to protect the women in our lives.

Would Eve have eaten the fruit if Adam had protected her

from the enemy??? She had to face the enemy alone and

deal with him alone! But things would have been different

if Adam stood up for her and protected her…..

Young man, you are called to protect. Don’t play with women’s

emotions. You should be protecting them!

The women you are playing with are precious in the eyes of the

Lord. He loves them and has a unique call on their lives….

Why do you think the enemy is working overtime to destroy

her?

 

As I end I hope I have challenged you to become THAT man!

A lot of people are waiting for us to walk into our calling

as men! The enemy will not win. I refuse……!

 

As a man I make a decision to be THAT man…..!

Will you be THAT man too?

 

Rolain

Dealing With Envy…..

I was preparing to teach at Kids Church this week and the topic we had to read on really spoke to me. It’s one of those things where you are reading for the sake of teaching but God begins to work on you because that is something that needs to be dealt with. As God was showing me things about myself I began to wonder how many people were going through the same thing hence the post. Envy is one of the ten commandments but one would think it’s not too serious, but it actually is. It is devastating to a person.  The first thing I would like to start with is the meaning of envy. What is envy? Very simply put it is wanting something someone else has. But I went deeper and searched other definitions of envy and one stood out to me. It said,

Envy is the painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage!!!

That hit me like a ton of bricks because God showed how I was doing that. I couldn’t believe it. The thing about envy is it can’t be spotted easily compared to stealing or murder or something like that. Envy is a heart issue. You can hide envy easy but God knows. So the lesson I learned is this:

– Envy can be hidden in our hearts                                                                                                                                                                                 – Even though no-one else may know we are envious, God knows.

Envy is hard to detect and because of that we need to be extra careful about what we harboring in our hearts. Envy is sin. You cannot have what somebody wants. I was envious about a situation and I wanted it to turn in my favor but that is a sin. I repented to God. The other thing that shocked me was how quietly it crept into my heart.  Envy will creep into your heart so stealthily. Do you have envy in your heart? If so, it needs to be dealt with. Ask God to show you if you have envy in your heart.

What is the answer to envy? Being content with what you have will help. It may be small or seem unfair but be content. This is something I am learning. I am being content knowing in due time God will bless me as well. It takes trust to be content. Be content with what God has given you at this time because He will bless you even more at the right time. Instead of envying someone else, be glad that person has those things. God will bless you when you bless someone else.

I am saying that by faith as well. It is not easy dealing with envy but it needs to be uprooted out of your heart. Just ask God to uproot it. That’s what I did. I am so glad that God does not leave us. He cares for us so much that when He sees something destroying us He will come in and help us get over it. That is the same for you. God will help you when you call on Him.

Rolain

 

When I Don’t Know The Right Path To Take…..

How many of us are in “situations” but don’t know what to do or don’t know which path to take? That was me a for a couple of days. Its actually almost been a week. I would like to say I was strong and never panicked and everything was OK but it wasn’t.  I was worrying and fretting. A weight came over me and stayed! I was carrying a burden but didn’t know what to do with it. I knew I should trust God but I didn’t. I also knew that I should not worry and be anxious for nothing but I was. I knew it was crazy and something needed to give. There is a promise in Proverbs that I hold on to when I am confused or just unclear about stuff and I would like to share it with you. It has helped me in this turbulent time. I hope it helps you..

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight and understanding.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.                       Proverbs 3:5,6   (Amplified)                

This is a well known passage of scripture but people are only really familiar with verse 5. Verse 6 is what I would like to focus on. There is a promise from God. There are so many things that try to get us to panic and worry and fret but God is saying, if we in those times acknowledge Him and recognize He is in control and if we know He is for us and He has our back, He will direct, make straight, and plain your path. The path you were not sure about will be made clear, things that seemed confusing will become plain and those crooked paths will be made straight! If you want direction in a situation that you confused about and you don’t know which path to take then you need to acknowledge, know and recognize Him!

My situation is much better. It hasn’t all been solved but God is solving it. I am learning to trust Him more and more. As I keep on holding on to the scripture I shared God is bringing more and more wisdom. The path is getting clearer and clearer, straighter and straighter and I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be. If you are in the same boat then realize that God doesn’t want you to be confused. He wants you to be clear about your life and about where you going. He wants you to bring those situations to Him and leave them with Him and He wants you to trust Him. He is in control. I like the way “The Message” says it:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the One who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God!   Proverbs 3:5

Rolain