INCREASE OUR GREATNESS

As we come to the end of the year, I want to remind you that you are destined for greatness. It doesn’t matter how your year has turned out so far, good or bad; God wants to increase our greatness. God will never put on us more than we can bear. Whatever we are going through has been allowed because God has weighed our capacities and strengths and knows that we can handle it.

“The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.
“- 1 Samuel 2:6 (NKJV)

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” – John 15:2 (NKJV)

In 1 Samuel 2:6, Hannah praised God and said of God, “He brings low and lifts up”.  Also, in John 15:2 it says, those that the Lord loves, He prunes. Pruning will take a lot out of you but the goal is to lift you up. If this is your season of increase, there will be sacrifices to be made. God wants to bring us into His classroom to reveal new dimensions of His being that we have no idea about. When God calls you to do something, you no longer stand on the pedestal of man but on the pedestal of God.

Don’t get used to your situation or give up on God. Believe He wants to increase your greatness.  In addition, don’t be too familiar with people especially when God has called them. Familiarity will never allow us to get to where we are going. Whatever you can’t honor, you can’t receive. This is not the season to get familiar with God, it can lead to presumptuous, prideful attitudes.

” In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.” – Psalm 71:1 (NKJV)

” By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.” – Psalm 71:6 (NKJV)

“You shall increase my greatness,
And comfort me on every side.” – Psalm 71:21 (NKJV)

In Psalm 71:2, David said God would increase his greatness. He was not depending on his talent or intellect or the influence he had.

Increase is anything that will move upward in size, quality and quantity. Increase is anything that will be better than what it used to be. Greatness is something that is impressively large, someone who is exceptionally talented, something important and useful. Greatness is to be powerful and to be influential.

Trust in God was very critical to David’s greatness. Some trusted in chariots, horses, wealth and talent but David decided to put his trust in the Lord. In Psalm 71:6, David understood that greatness was embedded in him right from the point of birth.

In Matthew 2, God was going to bring His Son to the world, so he sent his messengers to make known to shepherds that His Son was born. He identified Jesus as a star. A star is born. When I researched what a star was, I found that the earth is tiny when compared to a star.

Your circumstances should never define you. Everyone on this earth will go through issues because that’s the way God can take you from one level to another level. That’s why it is important that when you are on your mountain, you should make decisions that will help you when you are in your valley. Your valley season will come. It’s not a curse, it must come.

David was the 8th son of Jesse. He was rejected by his family but he never internalized that rejection and understood that the reject will ultimately become the elect.

“For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.” – Mark 9:49 (NKJV)

Mark 9:49 means we are seasoned with fire and so must attract fire. This means that within you, the things you go through must be fire-related. Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego were not consumed by fire because they had fire on the inside of them. Fire cannot consume fire. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den but was not consumed because he understood that The Lion of the Tribe of Judah was on the inside of him and a lion cannot eat a lion that is bigger than it.

Do you feel neglected and feel like you do not have a purpose? Can you categorically say Lord increase my greatness? It is difficult sometimes to walk with God. David went through issues but in the midst of it, David connected with one source. God is your only source to greatness. Anytime you feel like you don’t belong here, know that you belong here. David connected with God and sought God wholeheartedly.

A walk with God requires you to die to self and get to a point that it is no longer about you but all about Him. You cannot determine your past but you can determine your future. The future is not in the hands of anyone but in the hands of The One who says I am the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the only one that you can go to because the future you are looking for is in Him.

As you go to Him, make sure you discern His voice from noise. The voice of the Lord is powerful and would bring peace to your spirit. It won’t bring confusion but clear instructions. A voice is anything that will give you clarity and direction. It is anything that can discipline you, that you can walk with and fulfill destiny. A flood is anything that will come against you, that will speak negatively to you, something that is externally motivated to destroy your internal configuration.

A while ago, I called my daughters to get me water and they went to get water. I asked them why they went and they said because I told them to. I called them again, this time saying gibberish but they didn’t understand what I was telling them to do. That’s a noise. A noise has no power and cannot take you anywhere. Are you listening to His voice or noise? Reflect on this while connecting with God.

What is your purpose? Why do you want God to increase your greatness? No matter what you’ve been through or what you see around you, don’t despise who you are.  Resist the mindset that it is too late to attain greatness – David attained greatness at 17 while Moses attained greatness at 80. People (even those closest to you in your wilderness) will use their might to downgrade you in order to destroy your confidence. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord is powerful. He is preparing you for greatness and I pray that God will let you know of His greatness in your heart.

Dare to discover,

Paul Ugobor

 

 

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is around the corner. A season to give God gratitude for everything He’s done for us and for who He is. I hope this post serves as a reminder and food for thought as you enjoy this season.

My definition of Thanksgiving is “The jubilant, exhilarating, outpouring of joy from the depth of our hearts, expressed through the instrument of our mouths, singing, talking about and declaring the uniqueness of someone or a Deity who has done extraordinary things for us, such that we cannot hold back but come to show that appreciation to the person or Deity”. We are familiar with the adage or proverb which says “The child that comes back to thank the parents is the one who will receive more.”

Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord , saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. – 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 NKJV

Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. – Psalm 100:2-4 NKJV

In the scripture above, Psalm 100:2-4: “…We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving…” This tells us who we are, His people! It is also clear from God’s perspective that we, as His people, should approach Him, enter His gates with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving involves you thinking back and saying “I received this or that because of you, Thank you!”.

When a Nation then sets aside a day to offer Thanksgiving, that Nation is making a public proclamation to the One they know has done great and mighty things for them. It is always a good thing for the individual to offer Thanksgiving, but much more encouraging to see Nations setting aside a day to offer Thanksgiving.

Let your heart be filled always with Thanksgiving. Don’t look at what you don’t yet have, look at what you already have and begin to give thanks!

 

Dare to Discover,

Paul Ugobor

YOUR STORY – PART 4

As we conclude on this topic, I want you to ponder on how your purpose in life will play out. Is your purpose supposed to have a terminal end? Meaning, as you cease to live, does your purpose go with you, or is your purpose supposed to outlive you and continue to impact generations yet unborn? Can your purpose have an impact that is long-lasting, such that it benefits human existence?

Let’s see how God crafted His purpose and what He did then so that today, as we pursue our purpose we will know what to do.

God’s intent in the creation of man, was creation, formation and thereafter, making. The creation and formation were actualized, but the making was set in motion for us to pursue.Your story is very relevant to so many in the world. Your story can uplift someone who is in a very bad situation. Your story can change the life pattern of someone after they’ve read about it. God always wants you to have a story that has the ‘God’ factor in it, because that is why He created you – to make a difference and give hope to a hopeless world.

We have seen that a lot of people start something and then want to hang on to it forever, but that is not God. God is so sure and secure, that He can let go. Let’s see what He did.

9. MAKE OR MADE!

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” – Genesis 1: 26 (NKJV)

This was what God spoke about doing. What did He then do?

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.- Genesis 1: 27 (NKJV)

What we see here is that God ‘created’ which is somewhat different from the original purpose of “Let us make”. Does this mean that God failed to fulfill His purpose?

Isaiah 45:18 (NKJV) says: For thus says the Lord , Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord , and there is no other”.

We see here that God ‘made’. Did God veer off the route to fulfilling this purpose? The answer is definitely a “No”.

The “making” is not a one-day assignment, it is a life long pursuit for all generations. This is why it is ironic when people say “I am a self-made man or woman”. As long as you are still breathing, this purpose of “making” will be a life-long pursuit.

10. DELEGATION!
Delegation is the release of authority and responsibility to another person, with the hope that the person that has the delegated authority and power would maintain and uphold the ideals that were intended at the beginning.

Let’s see how God did it. In Genesis 1:26 (NKJV): Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

“Let them”… It is rather remarkable that God would embark on such a huge project of creating the earth and then delegate the authority to maintain and fully run His project to humans.

From this statement it is crystal clear that nothing can happen on the face of this earth outside of the human beings that God created, because He said “let them”. You are so important to God that you sometimes may not even realize it. God cannot do anything on this earth without you, because this is what He said in His word.

If God can delegate, it is to your advantage to learn from Him and also delegate. Don’t let ambition that leads to positional insecurity rob you. Delegation is one of the characteristics of Leadership.

11. REST!

Why is resting important and necessary? For the simple reason that if you do not rest your body to re-energize and re-strategize, then you might end up in forced ‘rest’ which is R.I.P (Rest In Peace)

Genesis 2:1-2 (NKJV) says: Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Does this mean there was nothing more for God to do than for Him to rest? At this point, God was fully satisfied that everything He had put in place would work out as planned. He is not an insecure leader that cannot let go.

You and I are also supposed to create things and then let them be. We need to let go and rest. It is said that the best dreams come while you are fully sleeping, meaning your mind is also resting and not active when you close your eyes to sleep.

It has been said that God never had vacation at the back of His mind when He created us. Vacation is man-made. If we follow God’s principles the way He says we should, there should really be no need for a vacation and our bodies would be well rested. You do the math – if you take out one day every week, you would have rested for approximately 52 days in a year. There is no vacation that is up to 52 days in a year.

God wants you to take one day out of every week and rest fully. If you and I are able to do this, there would be no such thing as burnout.

Dare to discover,

Paul Ugobor

YOUR STORY – Part 3

Challenges of life, doubts and uncertainty will always be present with us, but a clear goal or direction will keep you forging ahead no matter the fears and doubts that you may have. Fear comes in to see if you believe in yourself or in whatever you intend to pursue. Defining who you are will take time, grit and determination.

So far we’ve seen six key elements that make up your story. In this post. I’ll shed light on 2 more – Vision, Blessed. I hope you see how all these tie into your story and position you to live a life that you so desire.

7. VISION!

The Dictionary defines Vision as:

Foresight; in business – the capacity to envisage future market trends and plan accordingly.

Foresight is the ability to predict, or the action of predicting, what will happen or what is needed in the future.

I will define Vision as the “Purpose for which you were born” . It will answer such questions as: Why am I here? What can I do? What do I have?

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26 – NKJV

The vision of God is to make man but beyond that, He said, “let them”, God already defined His vision or focus to be man, but this man will comprise “them” (male and female).

The Business world would classify this as product definition, because until your vision is clear, you cannot run with it. Take a situation, where the environment is so foggy that you cannot see with your eyes (vision), that’s exactly what happens without a vision.

Vision enables you to stay focused and aligned inspite of challenging moments.  In order to run with the vision, you will need to write it down.

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. – Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NKJV)

 

8. BLESSED!

The word “blessed” has been defined as “empowered to prosper “. This means whatever we engage ourselves in has the propensity to succeed very well. Your vision, like we said, must be owned by you, but after conceiving your vision, you must believe in it to succeed.

The process of having it blessed is the invocation of the supernatural, in this case, God Almighty, to guide and prosper you in your endeavours. Nothing can ever succeed without the supernatural. Whatever we need to be visible, we must realise that it is controlled by the invisible, for the invisible controls the visible.

You cannot delegate the part of speaking over your vision, you are truly and fully responsible.

You were not created by accident. You are a creation of purpose and intent. The intent of God during your creation was to see that the following 5 things happen in your life to tell your story.

The five things are enumerated for us in Genesis 1:28 (NKJV)

These five things are:

• Fruitful
• Multiply
• Fill or Replenish
• Subdue
• Dominion

1. FRUITFUL
Fruitful is defined as the capacity to bear results. Faith without works is dead, and work without faith is a disaster going somewhere to happen.

2. MULTIPLY
God’s intention for us is not to function in the realm of addition, subtraction, division, but in the realm of multiplication. For example, you start a business in your garage but instead of just reaching your local community, it spreads and has global impact!

3. FILL/REPLENISH
Fill or Replenish suggests that there is a vacuum to be filled. Every successful business has been able to identify a gap or a vacuum and provide the needed service. Insight and revelation is required to identify vacuums. No wonder the Bible says “Let him who has ears to hear”. Your spiritual ear is vital, discover it and use it.

4. SUBDUE
The Dictionary defines “subdue” as “to bring under; to conquer by force or the exertion of superior power, to bring into permanent subjection”. This is a very compelling declaration to put you on alert that your life is sustained by and your progress depends on winning the battles of life.

5. DOMINION
Dominion is defined as: Sovereign or supreme authority; the power of governing and controlling; independent right of possession, use, and control; sovereignty; supremacy.
Your life is supposed to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to bear on earth. Your Dominion mandate is to ensure that wherever you are, the governing authority and rulership of the Kingdom is in place.

The above are not mutually exclusive, rather mutually inclusive. Please don’t leave this earth without fulfilling these five things listed.

Dare to discover,

Paul Ugobor

 

YOUR STORY – Part 2

Everyone has a story and most know how their story began but, more importantly, how many know how it will end?

In the last post I started a series addressing the first 3 phases your story is made up of. I wrote about The beginning, God!, Chaotic Situations, and Revelation/Learning. Please take time out to read this here before going on.

For your story to be well rounded, you also need separation, planning and collaboration.

4. SEPARATION!

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” – Genesis 1:6 NKJV

The clear statement from God is “let it divide the waters from the waters”. This shows us that not all “waters” are the same; they must be separated. The road or path of your destiny is usually a lonely road that only you have seen, can walk down and be encouraged by yourself to take. You must consciously separate yourself in order to have a successful story.

Choose to be separate. Choose friends wisely. Your destiny is so big that the powers of darkness are scheming on how to stop you.

There are three types of friends you will encounter in life:

• Comrades: These people are not necessarily for you, rather, they are against what you are against. The driving force for the friendship is you both have a common enemy. Once the common enemy is dealt with, they move on.

• Constituents: They are not necessarily into you. They are into what you are for. They are there with you as long as their goals are achieved, the moment you are no longer relevant to meeting their goals, they leave.

• Confidants: You will have few of these types of friends. They are people who are into you and love you unconditionally whether you are up or down. They will tell you the truth in love. They will cover you and not expose your nakedness. If you have one or two of these people in your life, you are made.

Be deliberate in being different.

5. PLANNING/ORDER!
Separation also gives you time and space to plan. It is said that people don’t plan to fail, but they fail to plan. In all the endeavors you will ever engage in, I think this is one of the more critical steps to the success of what you are venturing into. Haphazard planning will bring about haphazard results. Detailed planning will bring about great results that can span generations.

Let’s look at how our Father did it and follow suit. When we follow His standard, we get the results that He got.

Genesis 1:9 (NKJV): Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

v 11: Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.

v 14: Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;

v 20: Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

v 24: Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.

v 25: And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Every step God made above was detailed, followed an order, and did not conflict with another. He didn’t plan to have everything done in one day or wait till the last minute or stop due to lack of start-up capital, He knew His plan would command the resources to come.

Planning makes life orderly. Planning makes success predictable. Planning is life and life is planning.

6. COLLABORATION!
As you plan, you can’t do everything by yourself. Life is not a solo run or solo effort. There is no such thing as a ‘Superstar’ – this is a misnomer – and your goal should never be to become a superstar because you would have missed the point.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” – Genesis 1:29 NKJV

We see here that God has moved from “Let there be” to “Let Us”. In the journey of life, there are things you should be able to do alone to prepare you for the next stage, but you must also get to a point where you know that you need to collaborate and have men and women of like passion join you to actualize what you have conceived.

There are three stages in our lives:

• Dependence: When we were born, we depended on our parents or older ones to take good care of us. We followed their instructions and somehow accepted everything they told us hook, line and sinker. We had no say in the process leading to the decisions made by them.

• Independence: This is when we have the freedom to make decisions of our own. We own the decision now. Some would argue that this stage is really the legal age set by various Countries. I beg to defer! I would say this is the stage when the individual is able to face life and its challenges squarely. This is the stage we all love and would want to remain.

• Inter-dependence: This is the highest level God intends for us to get to, where you know that the concept of the universal law as propounded by Jesus that says “love your neighbor as yourself” is paramount. This is where great results are achieved.

Who will you collaborate with? What indicators are you looking at? It is imperative that you collaborate.

Dare to discover,

Paul Ugobor

YOUR STORY

How will your story be told on earth? Will you just go through life and not make an impact? Nobody was created to be a footnote in history. Everyone must have a story at the end of the day. What will be said of you? How would your story flow and touch the lives of billions of people in the earth?

The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot. –
Proverbs 10:7 NKJV

Your story is made up of different phases which I’ll be sharing…

1. THE BEGINNING, GOD!

The beginning is very crucial because it determines a lot of things going forward. It can make or mar the progress of what you are focused on.
Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) says: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’.
Everything you will ever be engaged in, in this life, must have a beginning.

My emphasis is the word that followed “In the beginning“, we see that ‘God‘ is the next word. This shows us that every beginning must be followed by this sequence of ‘God’, but the question will be, which God? Will it be the true God or will it be another god? One thing is certain, your beginning must be followed by a spiritual being.

Once your beginning is right, you are on your way to leaving an inedible mark for posterity, fulfilling what He said in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV): ‘But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God’.

We live in a “microwave” generation, where everyone wants things to happen very quickly, but one thing to note is that your beginning is crucial to your story. ‘Though your beginning was small, Yet your latter end would increase abundantly’ – Job 8:7 (NKJV).

Let the One (God) who is not jealous of you start with you. Don’t destroy your heritage by bringing in the wrong set of people at the beginning. In the beginning, what should follow for you, only you can answer it. My advice will be to choose God, the true God, the only Wise God who declared Himself as the Alpha (beginning) and Omega (ending).

2. CHAOTIC SITUATIONS!
In Genesis 1:2 (NKJV): ‘The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep…’ The fact that God was in the beginning of it all did not mean challenges would not be present. Most times God will allow the challenges to come, because with pressure, the best is brought out of you and I. Here, God was showing us an example to follow, that He Himself faced a chaotic situation, but He did not panic.

When we are faced with difficult situations: bankruptcy, threat of job loss, a loved one that is critically ill, an unruly child or possible break up in a relationship, our default approach normally is panic, but panic takes strength away from us. Panic leads to fear and fear shuts down our capacity to think through.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) says: ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind’.
You need a sound mind to resolve a chaotic situation.

How did the All-powerful God resolve such a daunting situation that confronted Him? Verse 2 says – ‘And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters’. (Genesis 1:2 NKJV)

God resolved the voidness by connecting with the Holy Spirit. Whatever the challenge you face, connecting with the Holy Spirit and waiting for Him to lead and guide you is the solution to resolve a chaotic situation.

Let’s move on in the quest for knowledge and understanding of who we are – this will give rise to “Your story”.

3. REVELATION/LEARNING!
Gen 1:3 (NKJV)’Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light’.
From what we learned above on chaotic situations, one thing is quite clear: that every chaotic situation has embedded within it the answer or the solution to the situation. It also gives us an indication of proper alignment and proper sequencing of things in the pursuit of fulfilling our dreams in life.

In Genesis 1:2, we saw that the earth was void and darkness was on the face of the deep. This we agreed can be daunting, but not to God and not to anyone who follows His pattern and way of doing things. The connection to the Holy Spirit to lead and guide and to know exactly what to do in the given situation provides the answer to this seemingly difficult situation.

God knew the answer to the void and darkness in the earth was light (revelation), and He did not hesitate to declare it by saying, “Let there be light”, and there was light.

This lets us know that continuous learning will bring about continuous revelation. The revelations of yesterday are not enough for the challenges of today. The literate person of the 21st Century is the person who keeps learning, unlearning and re-learning the once held ideologies that are now wrong or no longer relevant.
Revelation is progressive and not dormant.

Reading (being enlightened) is what will take out wastefulness and make you more resourceful in the achievement of your goals and the making of you.

Reading leads to knowledge, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding gives us wisdom to handle issues.

I encourage you to read books but, most importantly, to read the Word of Life.

Life is given to you to make a statement by who you are, what you are, what you do, how you do it, your character traits, your influence and your compassion. All these aspects make you unique and stand out. Revelation is progressive and not dormant and learning should be a continuous process in our life, whether formal learning or informal learning or a combination of both.

Dare to discover,

Paul Ugobor

God Is Always Faithful

It’s a new month! 4 months have gone by in 2019. You might have started this year with so much positivity and perhaps you’re beginning to slack because things aren’t going as you imagined, BUT God is always faithful.

This post is just to encourage you not to lose momentum and to persevere. Praise and worship Him even when it doesn’t make sense. Thank God that you are alive. The fact that you are alive, regardless of everything you’ve been through, means God is faithful! Where there is life, there is hope.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord – 1 Cor. 1:9 NKJV

This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself – 2 Timothy 2:11-13 NKJV

These verses tell us that God is faithful when we are faithless. He cannot deny himself; that’s His nature. For God to be faithful, He needs to have fellowship with you. To me, fellowship could be seen as a ‘fellow-in-a-ship’. A ship doesn’t belong on the ground but on the sea.

When the ship is on the sea,  storms can arise. If God is calling us to fellowship with His Son, it is because He knows for sure that there will be storms of life but He wants you to understand that He is faithful!

Why do you lose heart when circumstances rise up against you? How do you handle issues of life?

What happens when you’ve shared your plans with others and told people “God said to me…”, yet it seems like God has disappointed you? You are now ashamed to say that God said, instead you begin to say “Maybe it was my heart or me just talking to myself”. But understand that God is always faithful to His Word.

When you find yourself in situations that shake your core, meditate on these scriptures:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day – 2 Cor. 4: 16 NKJV

God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble – Psalm 46: 1 NKJV

I’ve seen 6 narratives that show the faithfulness of God and would love to share them with you. I hope this encourages you and gives you a different perspective of your situation.

Why is God faithful?

1.  In Genesis 3:15, God said He would put enmity between Satan and the woman and between Satan’s seed and the woman’s Seed. This scripture implies that from the very beginning, you are here for battle. God made a declaration that, in order to succeed, you must go through battle. For you to have dominion, you must not rest on your laurels.

2.  In Genesis 6 and 7 God told Noah that He would wipe out the earth completely. The question then arises –  if God was going to wipe out the earth completely, then how would He fulfill His word. Regardless of God’s plan to wipe out the human race, He remained faithful by sparing Noah and his sons. He started a new generation through them

3. In Genesis 16-19 God had an encounter with Abraham. God entered into a covenant with Abraham. Through Abraham, He engaged and brought forth a nation Israel. He told Abraham that the people would be in bondage for 400 years but after that, He would bring them out with great substance.

4. In Exodus 3, God met with Moses and told him to come out of darkness and step into his calling. Even though Moses complained and said he was a stammerer, God’s will was still manifested.

5. In 2 Samuel 7, David had it in mind to build a house of God but God cautioned him and said “You won’t be the one to build a house for Me”. Instead, God built a house for David that will last till eternity.

6. Luke 1:7 and on, Elizabeth who was barren conceived while the angel met with Mary who was a virgin.

From Gensesis to Luke, God is always faithful to all! When He starts something, He completes it. He won’t stop anything halfway. This is the reason why you should thank God that you know Him. This is also the reason why, we call the place of our gathering fellowship. A fellowship empowers you for greatness.

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”- Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV

Before these promises, the condition was that Abram and Sarai had no child because Sarai was barren. God’s promise didn’t come before the condition. It came after the condition. Sarai was barren but His faithfulness isn’t dependent on any circumstance you’re in. Also, the faithfulness of God wants to challenge the things that challenge you.

In Genesis 13:16 God promised to make Abram’s descendants like the dust of the earth. Remember that at this point in time, Abraham still didn’t have a child. But God will always speak into your future. Sometimes we can’t comprehend it. But just hold on to His promises and speak positivity when negativity creeps in. What you keep saying is what you will become.

God wants you to be able to trust Him even if you can’t find Him. He doesn’t expect you to do life on your own. In hard times, just keep reading the Word, be obedient and consistent. You will testify.

Have a testimony filled month because He’s about to do even greater things.

Dare to discover,

Paul Ugobor

PURPOSE

 

 

 

It is said that the graveyard is where you find the greatest deposit of undeveloped potential that could have made this world a better place. The next invention that could have helped humanity, the song that could have healed the heart of men and women, the medical breakthrough that could have had a phenomenal impact on the lives of people and the nation at large, are all lying in the graveyard. Why is this so? It is because purpose was not known, or, if known, the zeal and grit to move it forward and think trans-generationally was not there.

We have talked a bit about identity which is the foundation of our being. Without understanding identity, there would be no purpose. Identity is like the foundation of a house. You need a strong foundation before you can begin building structures on it. Foundations are not seen, but they exist to give strength to the structures. Identity is the foundation, Purpose is one of the structures that we need to build on the foundation of identity.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord ’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21(NIV)

It’s been said time and time again that when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. Put another way, when purpose is not known we subject ourselves to abnormal use (abuse). There is no focus on anything because we do not have the driver called purpose.

I once heard a story of a missionary that went to Abeokuta (in the Southwestern part of Nigeria). God’s purpose for him was to raise up strong men for the Kingdom of God, instead he started building hospitals, building schools and doing a lot of evangelism. After 25 years, God asked him “When will you start that purpose for which I sent you here?” He was confused, because all along he thought he was carrying out his purpose. ‘Busy-ness’ is not equivalent to fulfilling your purpose.

 

Your purpose is what you do even if you are not paid for doing it. In spite of challenges to it, you are still ready to do it. No matter how tired you are, once a demand is made on your purpose, strength from within comes. You operate at the optimum level when carrying out your purpose.

Your purpose comes from knowing who you are and being able to boldly say “I am” .
1 Samuel 17:57-58 NKJV: Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” So David answered, “ I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

“I am” is the missing link to your purpose. “I am” cannot be declared except you know your identity and where you are rooted. Your identity is your root, your purpose is the branch that produces fruit that comes from the roots (identity). Your root may or may not be seen visibly, but your fruits (purpose) will be seen. Your fruit comes from the branch that is fed by the root.

The One who created you made this bold declaration when Moses asked Him a question in Exodus 3:13-14 NKJV: Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’

Jesus also made this bold statement as documented in John 8:58 NKJV: Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

The most important and relevant statement that you should make before pursuing anything in life is simply, “I am” .

While Identity answers the question “Who am I?”, Purpose answers the question “Why am I here?”

In order to find your purpose, you have to be intentional about it. Purpose must be discovered. It isn’t received on a platter of gold, but when discovered, purpose will bring gold to you such that you won’t need to compromise. Everything manufactured under the sun has a purpose. Nothing in this world that we live in is useless, because everything has a unique purpose

 

Practical steps to finding ‘Why am I here?”

1. What would you do without getting paid?

2. What could you talk about all day and never get tired?

3. What keeps you awake all or most of the time?

4. What would you like to be mentored on?

5. What ideas do you generate that seem to always align and look the same?

6. What are you currently doing that does not seem satisfying?

7. Most times, your purpose is revealed to you at an early age. You could have a thought or a dream. What thought or dream have you had that resonates with your spirit?

Take some time to do a soul search and write things down.

Please find out what your purpose is before you die and work towards fulfilling it. You are not just a number. You are a genius to be celebrated. Your purpose should cause you to make some major decisions in your life. It’s not too late.

May you discover your “I am” as you pursue it with intentionality.

Dare to discover,

Paul Iyobosa Ugobor

IDENTITY

I was born into a large family having 15 siblings. My dad had three wives. In the past, the income source was arable farming, and the only way to sustain large farmlands was to have a large family that would cater for the manpower needed to reap a bountiful harvest. I got a good start in life by learning to read very well at an early age. My father  was the Principal of a school, so education was very important to him and he inculcated the values of reading into us.

However, my first major challenge in life came when I gained admission to study Accountancy. I felt that with the relationship I had with my father, paying my school
fees would be such an easy task but it wasn’t. He was unable to pay tuition and I had to adjust everything in my life in order to survive in school with limited resources. It was at this stage of my life that I began to understand who I was. I was not ashamed of who I was. I knew my present circumstances did not define me. I had friends who came from  very rich homes, but I did not lose my identity because of their wealth. I maintained our friendship based on mutual respect. I eventually finished my accountancy program and became a Chartered Accountant.

In all this, I knew the only way I could make it to the top was to maintain the mindset of knowing “who I am”. I then had the choice of fulfilling my life goals, or helping others too to fulfill their pursuit in life. I decided to help out in my little way by paying for my younger siblings to go to school. That would not have been possible if I focused on lack of income or my father’s wealth. I had to do a soul search to reach the top.

The challenges of one’s life start at the very pivotal point of knowing our identity. Identity is everything. The business world has called it branding, but it is still identity. If we do not know our identity, then we are lost or pursue ventures or activities not meant for us.

The social malaise that has been noticed all over the world is a direct result of people not having a clear understanding of their identity. Some seek that identity through drugs, others use tattoos, others go into various forms of criminal activities. Your identity gives strength to your purpose, but once identity is not known, then purpose also will not be known.

Let’s look at the perfect Law of Liberty, the Bible, which is the Book of Life that has defined our creation accurately. It says in Genesis 1:26 (NKJV):

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The Oxford Dictionary defines “image” as: An imitation, representation or similitude of any person, thing or act, sculptured, drawn, painted or otherwise made perceptible to the sight; a visible presentation; a copy; a likeness; an effigy; a picture; a semblance.

Image here depicts that we have our identity in the One who said “Let Us make man in Our image”. What then is His image? Knowing this will give us what we can look at and enable us work towards reaching that image that we see.

Now, nobody can say he has seen the image of God or His statue or body configuration so as to give us a basis for comparison to determine whether we truly look like Him or not. God has said He desires us to be like Him, look like Him, behave like Him, think like Him and there are so many other things He would love that we do like Him. But we do not have a physical structure to look at. So this “image” therefore must be beyond the physical.

The word “Let” in Genesis 1:26, “Let Us make man….” is a very interesting word that we need to examine. The word “Let” from the Dictionary means – allow to, permit to, give permission to, give leave to, authorize to, sanction to, grant the right to, license to, empower to, enable to, entitle to;  In life, we know that there are people who are able but are not willing to; there are others who are willing but not able to; but God is both willing and able to “Let”, to empower us to be just like Him.

What did God put into us that represents His image? We already concluded that it was not His physical Being because no one has seen His physical Being. As a matter of fact He does not have a physical configuration. It means this image He is talking about is His essence.

What then is essence?

The Oxford Dictionary defines “Essence” as the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character

This is invisible. It means this invisible attribute is the determinant of the visible attributes. Your identity comes from within and not from without. Until you know this intrinsic value that is resident in you, we will keep searching for who you are.

The irony of the matter is that men and women have placed much more emphasis on the outward to show their identity. People today will say “I wear these designer shoes, this designer watch, this designer shirt, ride this designer car”… but fail to realize that they have a designer body that has been created to house this essence that truly defines you.

You are not who you see on the outside, you are who you see on the inside. Your identity is on your inside. Determine today to seek to know more about what you are made of on your inside than to pursue those things that really don’t define who you are.

Your identity makes you know that you are not a mistake of creation but a unique person to fulfill a particular task on this planet.

Know thyself.

Dare to discover,
Paul Iyobosa Ugobor