In the beginning of this year, God revealed to me how he was going to expand Living Revelations' reach and use me more in speaking. I got excited and the first thing I did was plan, plan, and plan. The glimpse of my future made me excited.
But my excitement soon turned to anxiousness in just a matter of weeks.
I got declined to speak at events that I had planned to go and the people who I thought would help me in the ministry ended up saying no.
I remember telling the Lord, "How are your plans for me going to happen if none of my plans are working?"
But it was in that moment when God reminded me that it's not my plans that will get me to God's destiny for my life. It's only through His plans and His ways that I can get where God wants me to be.
I remember my pastor telling me,"You can't grow faster than how much God wants you to grow." It was then that I realized I was getting ahead of God and taking things into my own hands. I was striving instead of resting in God.
The vision that God gave me seemed so great and I became anxious wondering how I will get there. But it's in those moments when we must remember that if God gave the vision, he will bring the provision to make it happen.
God will give the vision and the provision to lead us into our destiny.
Proverbs 16:9 says, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." This verse reminds us that we can plan our future, but how we get there is established by the Lord and not by our works.
While it's good and necessary to work hard towards our dreams, we must realize that at the end of the day it only God who can bring us to our destiny.
We don't need to strive to get where we want to be. If God spoke a promise over your life, know that He is faithful to bring it to completion. Philippians 1:6 reminds us, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
A couple months have now gone by and I can already testify in God's faithfulness. I didn't get to speak at the events that I originally wanted to speak at, but God has opened other doors for me to speak at. I had the opportunity to start a Talk Show with the Singles Ministry at my church, I got invited as a guest speaker at the Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast, and was accepted to lead a workshop at a retreat.
God has also been faithful in bringing the right people I need to establish and grow Living Revelations.
This only showed me that God knows best. I learned that I don't need to be discouraged when faced with closed opportunities because it only means that God has better opportunities for me.
Closed doors do not mean closed dreams. Closed doors mean God has better doors for you to walk through to reach your destination. Trust that God knows best and that He who will establish your dreams.
Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." God wants us to entrust our lives to Him and surrender our plans for His plans.
What does surrendering your life to God look like? Will you trust that God is leading you towards your destiny and what's best for you?
Surrendering your ways to the Lord may mean letting go of pursuing what God never intended you to pursue. While our desire may not be to surrender and wait on the Lord, we must believe that God knows better than we do.
When we understand that it is God who will establish the plans He put in our heart, we no longer need to strive but can rest in Him. God doesn't need your convincing. His understanding is beyond what we can comprehend. He sees the future when we can only see the present.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." We are called to rely on God's strength and provision.
We see God leading Joseph into his destiny to be the ruler of Egypt, but it didn't happen the way Joseph expected it to happen.
God had given Joseph a dream that He would be the ruler of Egypt and all would bow down to him (Genesis 37:7-9). You would think that royalty and favor would then follow all the days of his life, but quite the opposite happened.
Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery and he was stuck in prison for years. It was God's favor and blessing that opened the door for Joseph to walk into His destiny. Genesis 39:2-4 says, "The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered...When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant."
It was God's favor that allowed Joseph to be entrusted by the officers of Pharaoh and eventually Pharaoh himself. God was working behind the scenes of Joseph's hardships and opened doors for Joseph to be the ruler of Egypt.
Just as God led Joseph to His destiny, God is also leading you to your destiny.
Don't be discouraged if your journey doesn't look like it's taking you to your destination. God is working even in the midst of your hardships and disappointments.
God takes us through the impossible to show us that He can do the impossible. God is more than capable to turn our dreams into reality. He will walk us into the right opportunities and people to take us where we need to be. So remember, there's no need to strive.
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