When facing a tough circumstance as Christians we find ourselves praying. Looking toward God for the answer that will lead us in the direction of His perfect will. The Bible tells us to ("Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5). This in itself is already a tough task but those truly seeking after God and His righteousness find themselves striving for it.
My question however is simple.... Do people hear God when it comes to matters of the Heart? On the other hand, even better do they just make it up because they "like" someone so they say they heard from God?
Several people have told me to seek God with issues concerning my heart and I will just know. For me that doesn't cut it... Because too many times I thought, I knew. Was I not hearing from God? Did I foolish follow my emotions? When do we as people know the difference between what our heart wants and what God wants?
Often times we miss out on or mess up relationships because of this common mistake. Therefore, what's the answer...? How does it work when pertaining to matters of the Heart, especially dealing with loved ones...?
I'm not sure in the slightest way, but I do know that the Bible says in John Chapter 10 that the sheep know the voice of the GOOD Shepherd and a stranger they do not follow. So God will clearly sound different from our emotions, and if you know His voice you shouldn't get confused.
However, often times we do, or we pass off what our heart says, as the voice of the Lord. Let’s not be mistaking, God will lead us the right way; we have to simply listen and follow.
My heart struggles each and every day. I am praying that He will speak to it soon.
Thank you for reading again, please asks questions and leave comments. We will grow together in the Lord.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Fulfillment: Is it really obtainable? (Part 3)
Due to technical difficulties (not having a Laptop) I had to take some time away from our series. But God has blessed and a new Laptop is upon us. So we will try jumping back into things. If you are just joining for the first time WELCOME, and feel free to read Part 1 & 2 so you can catch up.
Continuing with our three major questions, as Part 2 covered the first one. We will now tackle the second one and below they are listed for a reminder:
1) What does it matter that I am fulfilled? (or Why)
2) How does one become fulfilled?
3) Is that a realistic goal, to be fulfilled?
So our question today is:
HOW DOES ONE BECOME FULFILLED?
This question as many of the things spoken about in these blogs is subject to look different as people vary. However there are a series of steps that each individual can take that will allow them to travel down the road and journey into the world of discovering how they can be fulfilled.
In part one I talked about the "Big Four" or the Pre-fulfillment check list which included
1)Understanding ones foundation/beliefs
2)Understanding one's strengths/potential
3)Understanding one's weaknesses/limitations
4)Understanding one's purpose/drive (not as big as perceived)
With the Big Four here listed you see that from the ground up this is the framework of essentially who you are:
So let’s get a little more in depth with these four step, because when we can work towards understanding these aspects of our lives we can start purposing a lifestyle that will make us happier and ultimately more fulfilled.
First up is the ability to understand ones personal beliefs and develop a solid foundation. Most people however have been taught the answers of what they believe without really knowing the "why" aspect of them. So truly understanding in depth why do you believe what you do is going to be instrumental in this beginning process. This may take researching concepts, or even changing a way you think/practice something. You cannot take a bias stance (which may be hard) when trying to reason and wrestle through beliefs. Remember a belief and a foundational mental/moral structure will determine how you think about every from Religion and Politics to raising children and dietary issues. Now I'm not saying you need to have every aspect of your life completely figured out but you do need to understand the foundation of your beliefs. This will help you when faced with tough issues whether they be morally demanding or just require some logic. Your foundation is key to growth in life.
Never be afraid of change as it is a necessary part of life.
Next we have understanding ones strengths and weaknesses. This will take some time but be well worth it. Once you can have a grasp on your mental state you can begin to develop the areas in your life that you find are your strongest. Looking at Strengths/Potential will be first and the best way to begin to figure those out is simply paying attention to things you may be good at and enjoy. Try to stay away from things your good at but may not like, that won't help you in being fulfilled because you have to love what you’re doing. I am confident there are things in which you are good at, or even aspect of your life in which you just are naturally gifted. With that in mind develop these gifts/skills as they will be stronger and stronger plus you'll enjoy doing it.
Now as far as your weaknesses and limitations go we need to be very careful about how we manage these. Your weakness can be something you just find a struggle to do, may not be gifted in or even find to constantly turn out a "disaster" Your limitations may be something that you truly dislike to do, no matter if good or not, if you can’t stand doing it you probably should be involved with something else.
I would say the goal shouldn't be to apply all your energy towards your weaknesses so that they become while denying your strengths and the things in which you have the most potential. This leads to you become any average person who's (once) weaknesses are now average and your strengths (which have been neglected) are on that level as well). Rather you may want to increase the effectiveness of your strengths (making them stronger) so that you perfect your strengths and maintain the level of your limitations (not letting them get any weaker).
The last of the big four is how one understands their purpose/driving force in Life. I will personally say that this to me will be extreme important as you need to realize the reason for what you do. Excluding God and the design He has from this process will be dangerous as we then search for our own personal motives, nonetheless for most people to even be willing to examine the purpose of their lives on this deep of a level is amazing. Now this isn't as scary as it may seem although it will cause you to truly examine what you do and why you do it. Purpose is like the mission statement of a company, as it continues to remind you why you are heading in the direction you are heading in. If you find you’re unhappy on your journey then you may want to revisit the purpose of what you do. Understanding what drives you will save you from the everyday (self coaching session) one must perform in order to get through the day. Once you know and understand why you do what you’re doing and have the motivation to do it, you will succeed.
Please remember this is a rough draft of Ideas that I pray can bless you as you read them. I have found tremendous success and happiness by just realigning the way I thought and how I focused my energy in my personal development.
Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions if they should arrive. May God's will be carried out in your lives and His blessing flow upon you.
Continuing with our three major questions, as Part 2 covered the first one. We will now tackle the second one and below they are listed for a reminder:
1) What does it matter that I am fulfilled? (or Why)
2) How does one become fulfilled?
3) Is that a realistic goal, to be fulfilled?
So our question today is:
HOW DOES ONE BECOME FULFILLED?
This question as many of the things spoken about in these blogs is subject to look different as people vary. However there are a series of steps that each individual can take that will allow them to travel down the road and journey into the world of discovering how they can be fulfilled.
In part one I talked about the "Big Four" or the Pre-fulfillment check list which included
1)Understanding ones foundation/beliefs
2)Understanding one's strengths/potential
3)Understanding one's weaknesses/limitations
4)Understanding one's purpose/drive (not as big as perceived)
With the Big Four here listed you see that from the ground up this is the framework of essentially who you are:
So let’s get a little more in depth with these four step, because when we can work towards understanding these aspects of our lives we can start purposing a lifestyle that will make us happier and ultimately more fulfilled.
First up is the ability to understand ones personal beliefs and develop a solid foundation. Most people however have been taught the answers of what they believe without really knowing the "why" aspect of them. So truly understanding in depth why do you believe what you do is going to be instrumental in this beginning process. This may take researching concepts, or even changing a way you think/practice something. You cannot take a bias stance (which may be hard) when trying to reason and wrestle through beliefs. Remember a belief and a foundational mental/moral structure will determine how you think about every from Religion and Politics to raising children and dietary issues. Now I'm not saying you need to have every aspect of your life completely figured out but you do need to understand the foundation of your beliefs. This will help you when faced with tough issues whether they be morally demanding or just require some logic. Your foundation is key to growth in life.
Never be afraid of change as it is a necessary part of life.
Next we have understanding ones strengths and weaknesses. This will take some time but be well worth it. Once you can have a grasp on your mental state you can begin to develop the areas in your life that you find are your strongest. Looking at Strengths/Potential will be first and the best way to begin to figure those out is simply paying attention to things you may be good at and enjoy. Try to stay away from things your good at but may not like, that won't help you in being fulfilled because you have to love what you’re doing. I am confident there are things in which you are good at, or even aspect of your life in which you just are naturally gifted. With that in mind develop these gifts/skills as they will be stronger and stronger plus you'll enjoy doing it.
Now as far as your weaknesses and limitations go we need to be very careful about how we manage these. Your weakness can be something you just find a struggle to do, may not be gifted in or even find to constantly turn out a "disaster" Your limitations may be something that you truly dislike to do, no matter if good or not, if you can’t stand doing it you probably should be involved with something else.
I would say the goal shouldn't be to apply all your energy towards your weaknesses so that they become while denying your strengths and the things in which you have the most potential. This leads to you become any average person who's (once) weaknesses are now average and your strengths (which have been neglected) are on that level as well). Rather you may want to increase the effectiveness of your strengths (making them stronger) so that you perfect your strengths and maintain the level of your limitations (not letting them get any weaker).
The last of the big four is how one understands their purpose/driving force in Life. I will personally say that this to me will be extreme important as you need to realize the reason for what you do. Excluding God and the design He has from this process will be dangerous as we then search for our own personal motives, nonetheless for most people to even be willing to examine the purpose of their lives on this deep of a level is amazing. Now this isn't as scary as it may seem although it will cause you to truly examine what you do and why you do it. Purpose is like the mission statement of a company, as it continues to remind you why you are heading in the direction you are heading in. If you find you’re unhappy on your journey then you may want to revisit the purpose of what you do. Understanding what drives you will save you from the everyday (self coaching session) one must perform in order to get through the day. Once you know and understand why you do what you’re doing and have the motivation to do it, you will succeed.
Please remember this is a rough draft of Ideas that I pray can bless you as you read them. I have found tremendous success and happiness by just realigning the way I thought and how I focused my energy in my personal development.
Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions if they should arrive. May God's will be carried out in your lives and His blessing flow upon you.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)