Happy Monday Ladies and Gents!
I’ve been thinking a lot about growth, identity, purpose… seems to be the theme for a while…Been on the book of Ephesians for a bit….enjoy!
You know what’s so great?
Psalm 39.
O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
2Â You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3Â You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
4Â You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
5Â You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6Â Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!
7Â I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
8Â If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9Â If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10Â even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
11Â I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
12Â Â Â Â Â but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.
13Â You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14Â Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvellous—how well I know it.
15Â You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16Â You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!
19Â O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
    Get out of my life, you murderers!
20Â They blaspheme you;
    your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
    Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22Â Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
    for your enemies are my enemies.
23Â Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24Â Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
It’s so beautiful to know that we have a Father who will never be surprised by the way we do certain things because He made us. Self-discovery is interesting because we find out what He has placed in us. God can only do fantastic (minus our flaws) so go ahead and get finding…
How do we know though?
In a conversation with a friend, he said: ‘ It’s hard to find out your purpose because it involves things that come so naturally’.
I had to ponder on that and agree. We are all build with reason and purpose right, with our uniqueness so inbuilt that it is hard to differentiate between ‘this stands out’ and this doesn’t.
For example… in my house, I’m called to organise things in the fridge (there is a point to this don’t worry). If my mum and brother try to pack everything in there, it will be chaotic and not everything will fit. However, my dad and I seem to ‘have a knack’ for arranging things.
Could something as trivial as packing away shopping be directly linked to my purpose? We don’t know yet, only God does, but it is not the act of packing that makes it worthwhile it is the processing and the way in which my dad and I think that enables us to pack the fridge. So do my dad and I have the same purpose? No, we have the same skill but used them differently. Even though we both end up with an organised fridge, my dad may put the milk, egg, bread etc in different places to me.
What point am I trying to make? It’s easy to spot who is completely different to you, but what about those similar?
I feel like a lot of aspiring leaders with bright ideas end up unfulfilled because they have gone: ‘That person has done something similar already…. and it’s better than mine..’ This is not because the other person’s idea had more financial help or had more publicity, it’s mainly because the other person did it in a different way, using the same skills.
Amplified disparity between you and ‘the-standard’ you set as the other person.
I hope I’m making some sense here….
A lost idea isn’t lost in one instance. It is a build up.
A friend of mine sums this up well, such negativity does not come from just within, give it a read;Â Taking every thought captive
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires Psalm 37:4
God places desires on our hearts and gives us ideas in order to fulfil those desires (Psalm 37:4). Then you ponder and think about it and you can get excited, plan it out, looks like it is going to happen…Then after some moments: doubt, fear, questions….
How convenient….
Jehovah-Jireh knows when, where, why, how… (all the W’s and H’s ) about the reasons behind an idea.
So what should we do? Use our weapons
- The Word – The Truth declared and spoken into, over around (and all other directions) will bring a life and energy to you that will enable you to work for that plan with more enthusiasm. You will be grounded with the truth, your defence mechanism against anything that is not from God.
- Prayer – Communicate with God about it.Write out the conversation. Use His Word in prayer, commit your plans to the Lord and they will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3).
-  Praise Him! Focus on who He is, your Father, who made you as He wanted and doing what He predestined and planned  for you to do. That is amazing. I love the way the NLT puts this;‘For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago’.
Ephesians 2:10
At the end of the day, when we carry out what is on our hearts, we impact, we shine as the lights we are called to be.
Ephesians 3:7
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
At the end of the day, when we carry out what is on our hearts, we impact, we shine as the lights we are called to be and we encourage the pursuant to keep running towards Our Father.
So why Nature Vs. Nurture?
Your nature is nurtured by the path of life to propel you into the path of promises for your purpose.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20Â
Blossom Into,
Nurtured Believers
Gina x