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You do not belong to the past, why live in it? The successes of yesterday should not own you in the cell of complacency and the failures of bygone years should not trap you in the labyrinth of idleness. God calls you to move out of the comfort zone and lay hold of all He has ordained and prepared for you. His plans are thoughts of good and not of evil, to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29: 11).
Dearly beloved, it is important to remember that you can only begin to make giant strides when you are mentally prepared for the future and completely invested in the process of realizing your dreams. It is quite natural and easily tempting to get busy with the affairs of the past or become entangled with the challenges of the present. However, to make remarkable progress that will outlive you, you must push yourself out of the restricting walls of present condition and open up to new possibilities through positive choices, right associations and decisiveness.
The greatest legacies of life are built by women whose eyes are fixed on the horizon and hearts are yielded to the beckons of the future. They listen to and honor only the calls of destiny by believing in their individual strength and become inspired by the possibilities of their dreams. Where you have been or coming from is not as important as where you are going. Like the sail bound for the harbor, do not waste your precious life roosting on the laurels of your past years.
Be ready for the forward match; it is time to launch into what you have been called for. Winners live for the future but losers stay stuck in the past. No matter the level of success and breakthrough you have seen, it is not as beautiful as the ones that wait for your taking. Initial defeats are also not tenable excuses for quitting. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you… Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isaiah 60: 1-3, NIV)
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CONQUERED TO CONQUER
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Matthew 16: 24-25
Life is often compared to a war zone or a battlefield full of victims and victors. Laws have been proposed, and rules are being written to guide you in the path of wining against the many foes and overcoming the different huddles to be encountered, but rising on the broken wings of human philosophies will not bring you to the height preordained for you in eternity and ordering your steps by the wisdom of the world has no guarantee for the future. The counsel of man is insufficient for life and destiny.
If I could walk you through a green field, I would remind you that the giant trees towering high in the morning sun, the tender flowers hanging over the hills, and the beautiful plants flourishing with life all started with death. Sounds strange? The farmer’s seed had to be buried in the heat of the ground before it could blossom with life. That is an immutable law of nature.
Our victory, as God’s children, also works on this similar principle. We must first be ready to fall at the feet of the cross and allow the love and grace of Christ to conquer us before we can conquer the world. A bowed head and bent knees before the Almighty will anoint you for unimaginable greatness. To win in the race of destiny, you must first be won by the Destiny Designer Himself. He must take the driver’s seat, set the sail and chart the course of your destiny. The secret here is simply surrendering to succeed. When you have God as your guide, you can be rest assured that He will lead you to safety.
How surrendered are you to the counsel of the living God? Have you given up trying to figure it out all by yourself? Has the cross worked it course in your life? Is your heart a conflict zone of clashing dreams or a blissful haven harboring the love and wisdom of Christ? Before you hit the ground running today, humble yourself before the King of kings and acknowledge the need for His strength and grace to excel.
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BEING LONG SIGHTED
Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places.
Ephesians 1: 18-19
Too often we see too little. The future belongs only to those who can picture it from the distance, tomorrow belongs to those who see it today. Dwelling on the past or living for the moment is the quickest and easiest way to ruin or lose the future. Women of purpose are women of sight. They have the foresight to see what others cannot see in order to prepare for or against what others are ignorant of.
In Genesis 13, there was a disagreement between Abraham’s herdsmen and Lot’s workers. Father Abraham, trying to resolve the conflict as a wise elder, said to his nephew (Lot): “Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go the right; or, if you go the right, then I will go the left” (Genesis 13: 8).
Lot, a man who was shortsighted and could not capture the future from the present, lifted up his eyes and saw the rich plain of Jordan stretching through the path of Zoar towards Egypt, and the well watered fields of Sodom and Gomorrah. Without a second thought, he jumped at the choice and chose the richer part appealing to the eyes for himself and his cattle. He was blindfolded from seeing beyond the moment and allowed the fleeting beauty of the hour to deceive him. Surely, you know how the whole story ends. He lost everything he had labored for all his life including his dear wife.
People who set their eyes on the future are not easily distracted by the realities and activities of the moment. They are not entangled in the web of mundane things or depressed by the reason of their own failures. They are ever ready to utilize every opportunities, always willing to take the chance, and absolutely glad to go the extra mile that an average man dread to thread.
Being long sighted means you are not lingering on the testimonies of the past, dwelling on the events of the present and not discouraged by the situation of the moment.
Have you ever thought of what would be of the world if Thomas Edison had given up trying to invent the light bulb? He was not a likely candidate to succeed because as a kid, he was very dull. His teacher once told him “he was too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being unproductive. He tried and failed 1000 times trying to invent the light bulb. You may wonder why Thomas Edison was not discouraged. He had his eyes fixed on the bigger picture.
No matter how glorious the past had been, it is time to look ahead and focus on the days to come. Pray for foresight and enlightened eyes that sees and grasps the future. This will help you to work and walk in alignment with my purpose. Refuse to be comfortable with the present and look at the bigger picture as you journey in the path of destiny.
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POWER OF PRIORITY
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12: 32
Living life as it comes or doing things at random interest is like pacing down a free winding highway with no particular destination in mind. You just keep going until you come to a dead end or get lost in the middle of nowhere. Priority is part of the creed of prosperity. Unlocking your next chapter of purpose and passion comes with precision. You must be intentional about the way you live. There is power in planning with priorities.
Setting priorities means to know what is necessary and what is not per time; being able to differentiate between what is relevant to your dream and purpose and what is not. There are things that are not necessarily sinful but can hinder you from succeeding. For example, seeing movies every weekend, partying all nights, chatting on social platforms all day, etc might not be intrinsically bad but they are potentially capable of preventing you concentrating on the needful and consequently clipping your wings from soaring to the height of your dreams.
Not everyone one on the street deserves your attention and not everything that cross your path as the right to keep you stocked. Always know you have a purpose to pursue and a reason to live for. We live in the age of too many activities; everyone seems to be busy with something but in reality, so many people are busy chasing the wind and straining their muscles punching the air. They are pursuing empty dreams by just flowing with the tides of time.
Attaining excellence and fulfilling your most desired passion come with a price. You must be ready to do away with the less relevant things and focus on the ones that really matter. Channel your energy, time and resources on the right course. Cut out unnecessary distractions from your schedules and be intentional in your routine so that you can draw nearer to your goal each day.
You should plan your day and arrange your calendar in alignment with your ultimate goal. It might look so vague and little but that is what winners do.
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ENGAGING YOUR HEART
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4: 23
Ideas rule the world; the human heart is the spring and fountain of all enduring legacies you see today. Do you know that your heart was not created for bitterness, anxiety, fear, depression, doubt and anger? Your heart is like a river of gold from where you can continuously draw precious stream to water the lives of people in your generation and in generations to come. It is the seat of creativity, intelligence, and innovations. No wonder God speaks to the heart of His beloved and inspires it with understanding (Job 32: 8).
If only you can engage your heart with productive and progressive thoughts, enrich it with good books, nourish it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, feed it with the right content and enlighten it with the life-giving word of God, you will be able to find answers to the tears of many and bring into reality the solutions the world has been waiting for.
So many creative minds in the world today are darkened due to the frustrations of life and the perpetual fear of failure. The reason why the world is plunged in mediocrity today is because we have more people unwilling to explore the vast possibilities of the mind. We live in a mechanical age where people are satisfied living and working with other people’s brain. Many people are too lazy to think and that is really troubling when you consider that we have the creative mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2: 16).
Friend, it is time to stop the encroaching influence of bitterness, grudge, doubts, anxiety, etc. Purpose is not fulfilled by doing alone; thinking is part of the process of obtaining the promise. Your heart is blessed already by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, now you must engage it to bring into reality all that you are created for. Your heart plays a vital role in unlocking the next chapter of your purpose.
Let the meditations of your heart glide towards how you can get closer to your goal and you will be amazed how ideas will keep flooding your mind. God will also accompany the ideas with matching ability to bring them into reality.
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