Kathleen Derbyshire: Visionary Living Advisor

What happens when you know what God wants to do with the gifts He has given you and He has told you except it just isn’t happening? What do you do when time has come and gone and again you are not inside your plan from God? How do we continuously deal with disappointment and quandary? How can we do the will of God while fighting to accomplish the will of God in our lives?

There are three approaches that we can use to continue fighting for what we know in our spirit is what we are supposed to do. The first is to know exactly what that task is. The second is to get on our knees and the third is to do His written Word while we wait.

I know how frustrating it can be to know exactly what our Father has in store for us but not be about that particular business yet. I think the biggest issue for most of us is we just don’t know what God has in store for us. We have a job in the body of Christ that we were created specifically for but do we know what that is? Why not? Why do Christian’s wander through the dessert? We will never know what God has created us to do if we continue to wander. Stop wandering and hunker in to find out what He wants you to do. Read the story of Joseph from the time he was born until he became head over all Egypt. In this story you will see a man who knew that God knew what He was doing and He did his part. He was gifted to lead and He did just that even in jail. Joseph’s Story

When Joseph was in slavery he still knew that one day God would make His dreams a reality. The Scriptures tell us that he had favour and God was with him. How does that happen? I am sure that Joseph was on his knees before the Father constantly and in constant communion with Him as well otherwise how would Joseph know that eventually God would bring the dreams to fruition. He could have given up. He had the choice to give up because God could have used someone else to accomplish His goals but Joseph made Himself available to God by constantly communing with Him so God used him where he was and strengthened Joseph with His promises. Joseph responded by continuing to believe that what God said would be done is already done!

Believing what God said He would do takes work in our mind. I have been struck many times with the mind of the world. I question God’s plan for my life many time. I get nasty thoughts in my head when I see others doing what God said I would do. I am fallen but I am also redeemed. How do I know that? God’s Word tells me that! It tells me that He will do the work He started in me (Be Confident). The only way I can know this is to have been in the Word of God. We need to take time to replace those worldly thoughts of mistrust with the Biblical Truth of God’s faithfulness toward us. We can only accomplish God’s will in our life if we are about the business of doing His every day will in our lives. We need to be trusted with His everyday will so He will use us in His overall will for our lives in the Body of Christ.

The action we need to take will be to find out exactly what God wants us to do in the body of Christ then get on our knees to pray about how this righteous work will come about happening and go about the daily business that we need to accomplish to get ourselves ready for the true purpose of God in our lives. Not one of these approaches to fighting for what God wants us to do can be forsaken. If we choose to forsake any of them the world will be able to get a hold of our mind and we will be of no use to God. He is looking for a righteous person who believes what He says. No one will be set free by what we are doing if we are not free ourselves and everything that we are doing for Jesus is to set people free, is it not?

For a long time Jesus has revealed my future to me yet it is beyond my reach not only physically and mentally but financially too. He has been getting my heart and mind ready but that future is still way beyond my reach. The more I try to visualize it the more beyond my reach it gets. As I dream of it or try to touch it the image gets more blurred and untouchable. Every now and then when I am taking my personal time with Jesus He reminds me of this still so untouchable future. It is in that constant reaching that I learn I still have so much to learn about God’s Word. Each time I look at it I am struck by how much information is contained in one word let alone one sentence. The Bible is one long sentence with each Word dependent on the next and the last. How vast is the Word of God? Isaiah 55 verses 8-11 have hit me right in the forehead at last. I sit in my own little world trying to think up ways to do what God told me He was doing when all along He was already doing it! I know He is doing it because He is beginning to show me the seed that He has laid in other women’s hearts as well. They are the same seeds in the same yard as mine. He sees His work from Heaven all at once while I cannot even see past the tree in my own back yard but I know on the other side of that tree is His creation and I want to see it so I reach for it but it is still to far. Other seeds need to be planted.

When He planted this seed in me He knew exactly how far He could push me without encouragement before I would give up. He knew exactly what I needed to learn and teaches me just enough to keep me searching. He knew how many years I would go without yielding fruit before a lack of fruit would cause me to cut off my own branches when He miraculously would produce fruit on a dead tree. I previously heard stories of others doing what Jesus has planted in me making me sad, angry and frustrated but now I am encouragement by it for if He is doing it there surely He will do it here! He has caused this dream to stay alive in this barren land called me so that I know what He is doing. I need to stop trying to do what God told me He would do! The works that He has revealed to me are His Works what I need to reveal is my willingness to work with Him!

Action Plan: God’s revealed work to you is His work – go this week and practice staying out of His work and doing the work He has assigned for you to do.

Has this ever happened – you’re in the middle of a great conversation when all of the sudden someone says something that you completely disagree with. You begin to think about how to rebut them and all respect for them and what else they have to say disappears from your mind.

This weekend I was studying Revelation (a feat all on its own) and I needed information (surprise) so I do a web search to see what folks have to say about the topic when I find a website that is very interesting so I read and read until I get to the part where they say something that I completely disagree with. I cannot continue to read. I become this stiff-necked person that God talks about. You know the ones who believe what they want to believe and will not subscribe to anything else even if it is the truth. Well this is not the case for me what was said was not the truth but it was still the same concept. Why did I stop reading – because once I detect a lie I cannot believe anything else that is said! Everything is subject to my scrutiny and I hate reading that way so I stop reading. The worst is that even if they had good information to share I am no longer listening because of the untruth perpetuated.

I have to learn that all information is important even if some of it is false. It is our responsibility to discern if it is false or not (1 John 4:1). Is it of God or is it of man? Does the Bible testify of witnesses that will prove that the words are for a specific time and a particular person? The Word proves itself to be true or false so what we must do is test it out. No one is perfect and everyone wants to add a spin to the Word so you will continue to read. Is God telling you to do something but the world and even the Church are telling you it is not allowed! Then you must listen to God and not allow, especially the ecclesia who should know better, to tell you that it is wrong (Acts 5:29). God revealed in me that no matter what people say they still have more to say so listen. His will for me is for me and your will for you is for you (Isaiah 14:27). Ask Jesus to reveal to you what He has planned (James 1:5) and He will reveal Himself to you.

Action Plan: Think back and discover what people have been telling you that you cannot do – that is probably what God has been asking you to do. The Devil will send his minions against you to defeat the plan of God BUT God will defeat Him! All you need to do is let Him.

If I ask God to show me His will for me in the future I better be prepared to do the work to get there. I have told everyone that will listen to me that God always tells us who we are when He calls us. Ask Gideon and David and Paul even Joshua if this is so! Many Bible characters were told from the moment God chose them what they would be doing. Knowing their calling did not stop the prep work involved in walking in that calling. Each time He called someone to a task He put them through a period of training including His Son Jesus. Each one went through their training differently.

We do not choose God He chooses us for His plan. His plan always includes getting us prepared for what He has chosen for us to do! The prep work is for both of us to endure together. God will not prepare our mind for a task we have, He opens doors and shows us the door. He moves people into our lives that help us but our mind is our own to prepare. There are no jobs that Jesus wants us to do that can be done efficiently with a weak mind. We must become strong willed toward the things of God. A weak mind caves when faced with temptation, retreats when faced with scary situations and doubts when faced with questions. On the other hand a strong mind will walk right over temptation, stands against daunting circumstances and has faith during the most trying of times. This is the prep work is a must, the prep work of the mind. Getting knowledge, understanding and walking in the resulting wisdom.

Joshua was preparing to go into the Promised Land for 40 years yet when he was about to go God had to command him to be of good courage (Joshua 1:9). God knows what scaredy cats we are. He knows that it takes time for our mind to get ready for the amazing tasks He has for us to do BUT God chose us to do it anyway at the very least we can recognize this and begin the prep work. God will guide you in each step you take (Proverbs 16:9). If we obey His commands He will be with us always (Matthew 28:18-20). Knowing this – how can we go wrong when we choose to follow Him. He has revealed His plan to me and He will reveal it to you too.

Action Plan: Think back to when God chose you – what did He tell you of His plan for you? Have you been preparing yourself for it or have you been avoiding it? Take some time this week and prepare your mind to do what God has planned for you – this is the one thing in your life you will NEVER regret.

Out there is this big bad world that eats us Christians alive! When folks discover we are Christians they go silent and standoffish then the persecution begins. They start telling lies about us, gossiping about us or trying to take our jobs away. This isn’t China or Iran or Afghanistan this is Canada. There is beauty out there! There is favour out there! There is joy out there! We don’t know persecution as a Christian yet we act like we know it; we live like we know it! Tisk, tisk!

Even if we were rich, beautiful, talented and/or brilliant we would not escape every day life. There are bad things that happen to good people but we are Christians who are supposed to count it ALL joy (James 1:2). I can tell you that you are not alone in this way of living; this is not the way I lived either. I did not count having all my money gone as joy or being unemployed joy or having all of my ministries dissolved like sugar in water joy. God revealed in me two years ago that this behavior had to change. It was a slow process of training. I am eternally grateful that my Heavenly Father did not give up on me! I was thinking on this very thing during my study time yesterday and broke right down and cried out of that gratitude. He sees me!

He has done so much to change my mind on this matter that it takes me no time now (it still isn’t instant) to see the greatness of God and to see Him in the things going on and to give Him credit. Before He worked on me I didn’t even see Him in His Word. I was blinded by my own emotions. Like Job I had only heard of Him (Job 42:5) but now I see Him, I look for Him and I acknowledge it when I see Him. Each time I see Him in an event I almost break out in tears (I am emotional that way). He has revealed Himself in me with such force that I cannot do anything but SEE Him.

Action Plan: Look, this week, around you and open your eyes to the possibility that Jesus is standing right in front of you but you just cannot see Him. Pick something this week that you will do at least once a day to see how Jesus works through you such as smile, say hello, let someone cut in front of you on the road or in line, clean up after someone, tell someone they are beautiful, or tell someone ‘good job!’ These are simple but powerful tools that cost us nothing but may make someone feel like a million bucks. See Jesus revealed in you!