Beauty takes time

Paging through a magazine, or while watching a show or scrolling through social media, we are presented with these perfectly turned-out people living seemingly perfect lives. But that's not the whole story, is it? That buff, athlete at the top of his game spent hours sweating in the gym and making lonely runs until his whole body burned. That confident-looking CEO worked late nights, studied and built her career one step at a time. The point is, beauty takes time. The butterfly does not start off as a butterfly - it's a growing thing. And this is what we're considering here - the process of your beautifying.

You KNOW God has called you and talented you for a specific task, yet try as you might, you find a stumbling block in the way when you try to do what you KNOW you are called to. Have you ever been in this situation? Then read on, this is just for you, directly from God...

Imagine this - you are Moses. God made the way for your life to be saved as a baby when your mother was forced to place you in a basket on the Nile because she could no longer hide you. Pharaoh’s daughter saw you, loved you and took you as her own. Your real mother was given the task of raising you, so you enjoyed the love of your family and the knowledge of your heritage. You lived in the royal court of Pharaoh and grew up in privilege and power, a life favoured - filled with promise. Whether it was your parents’ or just your own sense of knowing, you understand that your people were to be delivered by your hand. You walk among the people and see their burdens (Exodus 2:11-12), and you see an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of your brethren. You know your destiny. You are the chosen deliverer of your people, and this now rises in you. “...when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” The result? Disaster for Moses, who has to flee into the desert to save his life. The methods he thought of using to bring deliverance to his nation now strip him of everything.

God uses 40 years to beautify the anointing, calling and destiny in Moses by making him a shepherd. Why is there such a distance between the calling of God and the manifestation of that calling? Let’s join God and Moses and follow the story. Exodus 4:21 “The Lord said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.’” Imagine again - here you are, called by God face-to-face to do what you believed long ago. But those 40 years have changed you, and you have no confidence to speak to Pharaoh. Add to this mental turmoil what God says next, “I am going to give you the power to release the children of Israel by the miracles I will do through you.” Yet He told Moses they would not be released because he was going to harden Pharaoh’s heart!

After the death of the deliverer’s dream and 40 years of sun and sheep, and it’s still not going to be straightforward? Come on, Lord!

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 “I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He (God) has made everything beautiful in His time. Also, He has put eternity into their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” In the case of Moses and Israel, God wanted to demonstrate His power in such a way that generations would be able to hear the story and get to know the goodness and plans of God. He wanted greater glory from the situation. God also wanted to deal with Egypt by sending specific plagues as judgments of each god they worshipped. Finally, the very process built character in Moses and taught him to stay the course. 

Timing is everything. There is a time for everything. If God has called you to some endeavour and you are frustrated that it has not manifested, know that times of preparation and simmering are required before the vision can be achieved. There is preparation. There is testing. There is a relationship building between you and God that must take place. You see, the talents and gifts you carry within you, placed there by God, must have the underlying structure of character and strength to support the anointing. It’s only once all this is complete that you’ll see the vision materialise. Moses attempted deliverance by using brute strength, and it almost cost him his life. And now, it will be accomplished through God, in His way.

Become aware of God's timing in your life. In the perfect moment in time, God undertook to do through Moses what Moses had always known he was called to. The difference is that God invades the situation with miracles, judgment and deliverance. When God uses us in the beautiful, perfect moment, He always achieves many, many things through one event. That is God’s economy - He uses everything significantly.

If Moses had to wait and grow, and then wait for the perfect moment in time, God’s time, what about us? There was a pastor who had been called by God to start a church in a particular town. He obeyed God by moving to that town. And then, what happened? He waited. He did nothing. Now, he knew with absolute certainty that he was called to start a church in this town. And he knew that when he moved there, it was not God’s time to set up the church. So, he waited until he received the green light from God to act. That’s what he told his congregation years later when the church had grown and grown through God. 

Moses’ life and that pastor’s maturity give us the pattern we should live by. Yes, God has plans for you, but you just have to align yourself with what God wants you to do and when. Here are factors to consider for your future success, working with God.

Consider these...

Stop. You’ve tried to make it happen in your own strength, and it hasn’t worked. And at times, trying to make it happen brought you hardship and discouragement. Stop what you’ve been doing.

Start. Live where you are, even if that means being a shepherd when you know you are called to be a deliverer. Remember, God is using where you are to take you where you should be.

Yield. Open yourself to God’s instruction even if it’s different to what you thought. Stop imagining how it should be or trying to pray God into making it what you want it to be. Yield to God.

Listen. Hear what your life is saying. How? Look carefully at your life. Be the assessor of your own life and take an audit, seek out the areas that need pruning, changing or letting go. What do these areas look like?

Ask. God to reveal the hidden faultlines in your life and the areas not strong enough to carry the anointing He gave you. Ask yourself about those shady areas you know you have: What must this area look like to be in Spirit and in truth?

Grow. Allow the process God is working in you. This is going to be humbling. It means growth in areas you need to grow in and change of things you don’t want to let go of - even some really good, godly-looking things. God is making you into who you should be, not what you think you should be.

Stay ready. The call of God will come while you are about the ordinary business of your life. Take care not to stop living through inactivity until you receive the call.

Tend and care. Provide for your family, build relationships, support and help others grow in the things that unfold in their lives. Don’t cause your family or friends to dislike your calling by setting aside your responsibilities. Live life and use Jesus as an example - He lived as a carpenter, a son and a brother. And then, at the appointed time, His ministry began. “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.” Luke 4:14.

God placed your beauty in you, and He best knows how to lead you into living in all He planned for you. Being sensitive to God's leading will unfold all the beauty of your life. That's why I wrote 'He Leads Me: Adventures in God.' Explore key ways God leads and how you can become more sensitive to that leading by recognising God’s voice in different situations. There are many ways that God leads, some subtle, some clear. Being able to recognise the leading God does in your life, no matter what method He uses, will open untold blessings to you. Using bible and life examples of God’s leading, this book will show you steps to enhance your sensitivity to God’s leading to fully step into all God has for you. Just click the button below. Also, we have a wide range of uplifting, inspirational materials to bless and grow your life. Subscribe to receive empowering monthly content and inspiring free books.

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