God has been leading me through a process of complete surrender of all my meetings and commitments, to set myself apart just to seek Him. This post is an extract of the many things that He has been dealing with my spirit. This one is dedicated to all those who hunger for the Presence of God. I hope and pray that this blesses you.
1. Find Your Definition in God
Who has God called You to BE! I appreciate all the hunger and excitement our youngsters have, displayed by all the activities they are caught up in & the number of turn outs at various concerts and conferences organized by Christian leaders. The kind of exposure our generation has is absolutely fantastic, but I am afraid that the focus is getting shifted from being all that God wants me to be, to being like one of the conference preachers.
I hear many say: I want to have the same power as Brother So and So , or I want to prophesy like that Prophet, evangelize and travel around the world like that Minister. But tell me, aren’t we all unique creations in Christ?
I have also seen many men of God who find themselves living a dream or working on a vision which is really not their destiny but somebody else’s calling, literally stealing someone else’s dream! An idea seems exciting when someone does it and they take it upon themselves to get the same done, without even checking with God if that is really what He has in mind for them.
Remember God has a tailor-made destiny and calling for each one of us. Let us try not to fit into someone else’s shoes just because they look more glamorous! That is only going to drain you off. Then, after all that hard work, in the little time that we have, we spend seeking God which then turns out to be straining and frustrating when we do not reach there. The problem is this: we have not found our definition in God for our lives. We are trying to live someone else’s calling.
No matter how anointed I may be, I can never be T.D.Jakes or Benny Hinn or Billy Graham or whosoever else has inspired you so far in your life! I recently read a book about Billy Graham which mentioned about how he would spend days and months seeking God about what he must do and confessing to God every bit of his weakness and how helpless he was to carry out the call and kept on crying till he was empowered by the Spirit for his ministry. So has Benny Hinn or any other man or woman of God that you find inspiring. But what about our focus? What about our call? Have we heard from God? Or are we trying to run someone else’s race?
Dear Generation, cease not to seek and weep in the Presence of the Almighty God, till the Lord shows you the path you must walk. And if it really is God who has shown you the path, He will also see to it that He takes you through. And be ready – this doesn’t usually happen overnight, so gear up, dear generation, will you? No matter what the cost, find your focus in God!
2. Ministers to God
As I spent time seeking God on my future actions and how God expects our ministry team to be, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me these words, “Ministers to God”. Suddenly I had this deep understanding that we are supposed to minister to God before we minister to people! My calling is primarily to attend to God more than attend to the needs of people. When you only attend to the needs of people and not God, you will soon be burnt out!
What do I mean by ministering to God? Let me give you an example of a man who was a minister to God – Enoch from the Old Testament. The Bible says He walked with God. God is looking for fellowship and that was exactly what Enoch decided to do. Are you a minister to God? Are you sensitive to His voice? To His joy? To what hurts Him? Enoch walk was so deep with God that the Bible accounts that he was no more.
Will you pursue God first? I understand this is a deep level that I am talking about, but I believe God is anointing our generation to get to this level, and then we can really mean it when we sing – ‘I am a friend of God’, with the one focus that we might decrease and He might increase.
Also friends, can I add a word of caution? Do not get pressurized to take up any ministry just because someone asks you to. You need to hear from God for yourself. For instance, just because you have a good voice does not mean you have to now start leading worship in church. You need to seek Him first, bask in His presence and see if that offer is from Him. Spend time with Him, knowing Him, submitting to Him, being transformed under His power. You need His anointing. You need to be filled.
How can empty containers satisfy? I say this with absolute pain. Many people are living empty and frustrated spiritual lives; they are not operating in their calling. They jumped at the first offer that seemed right and hence were never able to get into the purpose that God had planned for them.
3. Deny Yourself
Taking it a little further, the more you know God, the more you will deny yourself. You will no more minister because you want to be better than the other minister but because you want to be the obedient servant of God. You will no more pray for a powerful ministry because you want to outdo the other ministry. You will stop seeking for any self upliftment and you will seek His will to be lifted up in your life more than your desires.
Ministry is not equal to competition. I don’t want to preach in stadiums, I want to be in His will. I don’t want to go to New Zealand or USA or any other country that He does not send me to, I want to be right in the centre of His will, even if it means being confined to my room seeking God!
I don’t want anything for my name; I want His name to be lifted up! This will make me run away from the limelight, keep me from falling, keep me from sin, because it’s no more about me, it’s about HIM. If you ever feel qualified and ready for the ministry God has called you for, then my friend, you are far from reality. But if your innermost being shudders at the thought of what God has for you and you feel like running away, I believe God is ready to use you. I quote Bishop Jakes – “The qualification you need to work for God is to feel not qualified.”
When you reach that place in God when it is really no more about you, then you will see God’s plan unfold for your life. I pray God stirs you to His purpose as you reach out desperately for more of Him and less of you, more of His plans and less of your plans, more of His will than your desires.
His servant,
Shyju
Let us know how this post blessed you in the comment section below. Is there any related areas where you find yourself struggling?
