I’m
back! Whew! What an incredible few weeks I have had. I won’t go into details
except to say that I have been busy and it has been amazing how one day has
just rolled into the same day of the next week. One thing that has stood out
for me in all this time however has been the formal release and launching of my
books ‘Uniquely Woman’ and ‘Double Impact’. I tell you what sis, God showed up
and showed out for me on that day, and He has begun to show me just why He did
so. But then let me start at the beginning…
I
had set the date for the book launch and then for some reason, went into a
restless spiral and nervous spin immediately thereafter. Now those of you who
know me know that I tend mostly to be calm person. I am not much given to
nerves beyond the couple of minutes at most that it takes for me to come into
my own on occasion. Once I set the launch date however, I simply lost it. The launch
was on my mind every single second of the day. I would wake up at odd times of
the night and several times in any one night, with my insides in knots and my
heart beating at an incredible pace. Would it be a success? Would people come? What
if only a few people showed up? What if nobody at all showed up? Would it be
interesting or would people be bored stiff? What if it rained so heavily that
people decided to stay in their offices? What if the traffic was so horrendous
that people turned back? What is nobody launched the book? What if nobody
bought a single copy? What if this… and what if that?
Did
I hear you laugh sis? I don’t blame you. Save for the fact that I was the one
who was right in the middle of this experience, I would have laughed myself. Except
that it wasn’t funny. My fears – as unfounded as they turned out to be, were
very real nonetheless. I took my concerns up to God in prayer daily, back again
at night to ask Him to give His beloved daughter (me) sleep. One day, He finally
spoke an assurance to me that he would ‘Showcase me for His glory’. He spoke ‘Glory
unveiled, Purpose redefined’. Then He asked me to receive His peace. Well guess
what sis? I received the gift of God’s peace, but yours truly didn’t unwrap the
package and truly claim it as mine and so I continued to fret within myself. Ever
been there?
As
you know sis, eventually we all come to the end of ourselves and are forced to
turn back to our Source. As the days rolled one into another, I had to go back
to the assurances the Lord had given me and choose to anchor my faith right
there, finally laying hold on the peace which He had long since freely given to
me. I listened to the voice of truth within me that assured me that He already
knew the end from the beginning, and He was more than able to bring to pass what
He had spoken. Then came the gentle reminder that the ‘showcasing’ was for His
glory, and His glory alone. Each time fear tried to come up again in my spirit
over those last few days, I would very deliberately suppress it and declare
that He Who had begun a good work in me is more than able to perfect it unto
the very end. I reasoned that the date had been set anyway, so what would be
would be; and that what would be, would be for God’s glory.
Then
the day arrived!
I
got to the hall and.…. nothing was ready. The chairs were just being covered; the
frame for the stage backdrop was just being knocked together; the air-conditioning
was not cooling. This was less than two hours to event start time. I was at a
total loss and fretted quite a bit for the first hour thereafter. Eventually my
sistas who also arrived shortly after I did, forced me to sit still while they
took over trying to ensure everything was set before guests began to arrive. Even
I knew that my nerves were near shot, so I obeyed. As I sat tense as could be
in that little corner of the room, I sent a quiet but desperate plea for help
to God. The answer was a single word ‘Peace’. Sis, I clung to that peace
because it was all I knew to do at that time.
But
here is the testimony sis, the book launch was spectacular - a resounding
success. The attendance was remarkable – the terrible traffic situation that
day regardless. The reviewers were absolutely brilliant. Book launches have a tendency
to be boring, but this was very far from that. The audience was fully engaged
and didn’t appear to want to leave well after the event was officially over –
even with the air-conditioning still refusing to really kick-in full blast. Oh but
God truly showcased me that day sis. He truly did! And because He had spoken
it, and because it is the constant cry of my heart…through it all, I refused to
lose sight of the fact that all the glory belonged and belongs to Him alone. I remember
that as I stood at the podium to address the audience, the words ‘There is a
purpose behind the platform’ dropped into my spirit and this is the meat of what
I want to share with you today. I pray that this becomes a Rhema word for you
today sis.
A
couple of weeks before the book launch, it had ministered to my spirit that rather
than make a long speech about something or the other at the launch, I should
share one of my prior posts (‘Make it Happen’) with the audience. Much as I had
some initial reservations about it being too long to read at a book launch I decided
to go along with what I believed God wanted me to do. From that day and until
today, I have received several call, texts and emails from people at the event
who said that the post was a word in due season for them, and that they had shed
tears as the Lord convicted them about certain assignments He had for them
which they had abandoned and not carried through. For a couple of others,
listening as I read led them to a reawakening and re-dedication of their lives
back to God, and a recommitting to being obedient to His Word. In all this
therefore, butterflies/nervousness/insecurities and all, I have – by choosing
to simply trust my God, been able to minister faith, hope, purpose,
determination and the love of God to a good number of His children. I see
clearly that this was the real purpose behind the Lord putting me on that
platform at the book launch the way He did. Nothing to do with me sis; rather
more to do with you!
I
have been in a sort of daze ever since last Thursday, marveling at how well the
launch went yes, but more so marveling at how the Lord has used something that
gave me so much anxiety to reawaken relationships with Him, as well as the potentials
for greatness in so many others that the distractions of this world have caused
to be hidden. This must have been what fear was trying to hold down in me. This
is what the enemy was trying to counter – that message to me of ‘Glory
unveiled, Purpose redefined’. I thought those words were for me, and I guess in
a sense they were; but I see that it was so far beyond me. It really was! It was
all about the redefinition of purpose in the lives of some of those who
attended as well as you reading this post now, and for all of whom God has a
specific assignment. And it was certainly all about His glory – that which
already is, and that which is surely to come.
Sis,
I don’t know what it is that you may be having butterflies in your stomach
about. I don’t know what may be giving rise to anxieties that are keeping you
from making a move. In the name of Jesus, I rebuke whatever may be trying to keep
you from destiny and purpose, and from taking the glory of God upon your life
to the next level. If it’s scary enough, there is a superabundance of glory
that is to be released. Receive His peace today sis. Open the gift box and
truly receive it! Our God is more than able. Even the strongest and boldest of
us have our weaknesses and that is actually great sis. If we could truly do it
all ourselves, imagine how far we would eventually get from God! Thank God that
we can boast in our weaknesses and our insecurities. This is the angle that God
works best from.
What
platform has the Lord made available to you sis? Please don’t shy away from it
any longer. Don’t try to hide from the limelight. It’s not about you sis. The
platform is for a greater purpose. One of the speakers at our recently concluded
women’s conference (ARISE) kept speaking to the fact that your life is not just
about you. The platform is not about you
sis. Don’t allow the enemy keep you from stepping up to the plate. I speak into
your life today and declare that as you commit to laying aside your fears and
insecurities and stepping up to the platform, that the Lord will help you
fulfill the true purpose behind His every assignment for your life on that
platform. I stand in agreement with you that your obedience will cause lives to
be touched and impacted greatly for the Kingdom of God. I decree that because
you choose to listen to the voice of God, you will not stray from the path and
through you, God’s precious children will find and fulfill purpose, and the
glory will go to your Father and Lord. The Lord will minister to you specially
sis. He will help you as surely He helped and will continue to help me.
Be
blessed sis …. For you surely are!
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