So, we started this series on the last post, if you missed it, you can read it Here

I apologize for not putting up a post here last week Thursday, there was a lot going on in my home country Nigeria, and I just had to stay offline for about four days, I know I could have scheduled the post to drop, but the whole situation was just so overwhelming that my going offline was sudden, I really do apologize. 

Hope I am forgiven? Thanks for saying yes.

So, back to today’s post.

Like we established in the last post about how important making plans alongside what we believe that the Father is drawing our hearts towards, and how our making plans or putting structures in place does not in any way mean that we aren’t dependent on God for the success of our lives.

Trusting God is essential, praying is also very important.

A wise man once said, praying without planning is like playing and not knowing.

It is like someone wanting to harvest rice after the four months planting period but then doesn’t want to plant. The man can pray all he wants for the four months planting and watering period, but if he doesn’t do anything about planting, he won’t harvest rice at the end of the four-months period.

1 Corinthians 3:6

I {Paul} planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow.

It will be sheer folly to keep crying out to God to bring increase or make grow a seed that Paul hasn’t planted and Apollos hasn’t watered.

A lot of things in life requires our input.

When making plans and setting goals, do well to make plans on what you can control so that you won’t end up becoming frustrated when things don’t go the way you want.

There are things that are totally in the hands of God to do for us, but there are a lot of things which are also in your hands to do.

If you are about to get started, go to a solitary place, if your room can accomplish that for you, that’s fine, if you need to go out of your home to get the serene environment that you desire, that’s fine too.

Take a look into your life, sit down with a journal and biro and then begin to write where you are at the moment in different aspects of your life; your spiritual life, your social life, your financial life, your career life, and as many aspects of life that are peculiar to you.

What courses are you supposed to start taking on your career path?

How many hours will you start devoting to pray and study the word in order for you to deepen your relationship with God?

Create out time to be on your own.

Have time to mediate. After the order of Isaac who was said to be meditating in the cool of the evening {Gen 24;63}

Create out time for personal retreats, it might be in your room or somewhere else, but just have time to be alone, reflect and just make plans.

Start accepting responsibility, stop shifting blames. 

In all your great plans, do well to have your ears tuned into what God is saying, you might have planned to stay on a job for five years to be able to have at least Ten Million Naira in investments before leaving, and you are sticking to the plan. But all of a sudden, you begin to sense in your spirit, or what I’ll call you begin to know in your knower that it is time to move even when you haven’t even stayed on the job for three years.

If you do decide to leave as instructed, you’ll definitely see that it will make sense even if it doesn’t go with how you have your life figured out.

Related: 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Quit Your Job

Trust that from now going forward, you’ll begin to accept responsibility and start doing grand things and awe-inspiring as the Lord helps.

Remember, in all the plans you make, continually pray that God’s will be established and that you do not plan your life outside God’s will for your life, because His ways and plans are so great and much better than anything we might have on our drawing board.

So much Light ***

Hmmmmmm

I used to battle with this too.

I mean why should I plan my finances when I can trust God, confess positive and have the very amount I need delivered right into my account.

Some of us, having enjoyed supernatural supply at a point of need totally forget that while God causes miracles to happen but we are not to live life everyday waiting for one spectacular thing that will happen. 

It is continuous reliance on the supernatural at all times that has led some people to false prophets who guarantee them all they want even when they are not going to do anything themselves.

Yes, we expect to live a life of continuous favor, but that doesn't stop us from taking responsibility for our lives.

Mr John's wife is pregnant and he got informed when she was four weeks gone, he has another thirty-eight weeks to prepare for the birth of his child, he has a job that pays monthly income, but rather than putting a stipend aside that will accumulate over the period of eight months, he doesn't do anything about it, and when his wife suddenly calls that she has been rushed to the clinic and it seems the baby is about to come, that is when he goes into overdrive.

I am quite aware that there are times when life doesn't go as planned, but that shouldn't mean we should put structures in our lives or make plans. 

I wrote a post about when life doesn't go as planned, you can read it here.

What It Means To Take Responsibility For Your Life

- It means you have recognized that there are things God can do and there are things you must do too.

Salvation is free, it has been paid with Jesus' blood, but to access it, we need to confess Jesus as Lord and accept God's offer of salvation.

That is how it is with every aspect of your life too.

There are things God will do, and there are others you must do too.

Your walk with the Lord won't become consistent if you just leave it to chance

Your relationship with your significant other or friends won't get deepened if you don't give it the time it needs.

Your financial life won't receive a positive change if you won't look at your statement of account at the end of the month to see where your money is going into.

You have a responsibility too.

That you have plans is not same as not trusting God, your action on the other hand only shows that you believe what the Lord has said so much that you are comitted to seeing it materialize.

The Lord tells you that you are building a home for the orphans in your state, while you have faith that that word spoken from the mouth of the Lord will be done, but you also go and consult a real estate agent to know what it will cost and the best place for the orphanage home.

Is your meeting an agent a pointer that you don't trust God?

Of course not.

You have only proved that you believe what the Lord has said and you are committed to seeing it see the light of the day.

Most times, we take trusting God as something that would totally take all the things we are supposed to do and placing it all on God.

Our God is all powerful, he can do things without us, but He has chosen to do it With us, trust that he'll surpass our grandest plans.

Amen.

My thoughts were all over the place, trust you were blessed.

So much Light.

As much as we are on the planet, there will always be a lot on our desks and a lot craving for our attentions.

For Loveth, it might be balancing school work, fellowship activities, a business she is doing by the side and a demanding project supervisor.

For Sola, it might balancing life as a career woman, a mom, a chorister in church as well as a lady who convenes bible study for women every month in her home.

Paul has the responsibility of being a father, a boss at work and also a pastor in church.

There are so many times when there is just a lot to do with seemingly little or no time to get it done, and then we all start craving a particular thing; BALANCE. 

How do we do ALL the things we have to do and do them well is the question on every lips.

I’d share a thought that a woman I respect so much shared in a particular program I attended over a year ago.

She said, ‘To achieve balance, you must know what balls God would have you juggle at different times in life, if you can discern that successfully, then you would look like some one who has her life figured out.’

Yes, we admit that there are different things calling for your attention at every point in time, but one major mistake we often make is thinking that we have to do everything at the moment. It is almost impossible to get everything done at every point in time.

 Let’s look at ways in which you can get things done and then you can sleep ever night knowing in your very core that you are doing what you are meant to do at every point in time!

Prioritize

To prioritize or draw up the things you want to do, you must know how important the balls you want to juggle is, and to do that, let me take you through the Covey's Time Management Matrix.

Not everything is important at every time.

Some things are important and not urgent

Some things are important and urgent

Some things are not important but urgent

Some things are not important and not urgent

Oftentimes, while you think that you have to do everything at the moment; it is most likely that those things are not as important as you really think they are only if you can stop to peruse at it for a moment.

So when next you think there is a lot to be done, subject those things through this test.

Learn To Say No

After prioritizing and knowing what is important, learn when to say no.

When people hear say no, we are always quick to think that we are to say no to others, but often times, it is first saying no to those things our body craves for, and then saying yes to those which really matters to us.

Learn to say no to another extra hour of aimlessly surfing the net.

Learn to say no to that chit-chat that is adding nothing positive to your life.

Learn to say no to another extra hour of sleep especially when you have slept enough over night.

In other words, be disciplined!       

There is too much at stake if you aren't disciplined.       

Ask For Help

No award is given to someone in the grave, and to be able to stay on earth well enough to bless the world with everything God has deposited on your inside, then learn to delegate.

It wouldn’t be great that you rob the world of your gifts and talents because you have spread yourself thin across all boards.

Learn to ask for help when you need it.

There are also great people doing great things who are willing to help you only if you are ready to ask for their help.

People who live a whole life are people who have been able to leverage on the gift of people to be able to get things done.

If there are aspects of your life that you feel you are not doing so well in, then seek help in those aspects.

Look At The Bigger Picture

One of the ways you can make sure you never settle for less is to look at the option you’ll get if you decide not to have a thoroughly full and fulfilled  life.

Look at those around you at the moment, look at people living the kind of life you envision in your future and look at those people who are chief complainers; the opposite of what you want to become in your adult life.

Then choose which reality you would want to become in your life.

Then let the thought of that reality influence your every day life.

 Trust that we are strengthened by the Lord who gave the assignment.

Amen

#Beam