Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Obey Your Thirst
I'd like to take this moment to get something off my chest.
I've tried my BEST not to use scriptures in this blog in order to keep a "universal" audience. I didn't want to "offend" anyone. But, quite frankly, it is impossible! As a man of faith, my foundation and growing knowledge is based off of the scriptures that I read, and I can't help but bless people with what blesses me. The revelations from these scriptures are too deep for me to conceal! If you have an open mind and have an appetite for food for thought, you might quit your job today lol.
Whew!!! What a relief! Lets begin, shall we? :-)
FYI, In case you haven't been there in a while, or you've never been there at all...I'm taking you to church today ;-)
(1 Kings 17:2-9 NIV)
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”
It's very uncomfortable being at a dry place. When things aren't flowing the way would like, we're likely to become frustrated and complain.
Elijah, in this passage, was on an assignment from God. He was supplied with what was necessary for him to fulfill the assignment. But when his assignment was complete the supply ran out, and now time for him to move on to the next. Verse 6 let's us know that he was supplied with food daily, and he drank water from the brook. But there came a time, in verse 7, were the brook dried up. His water supply was cut off because of the drought that was upon the land. Because of this drought, his needs could no longer be sustained at this location. Therefore, It was time for him to move on to the next assignment.
How many of us find ourselves in a place in our lives where our resources have dried up? Our source of income becomes dry, our relationships become dry, our self-fulfillment becomes dry, and even our way of thinking becomes dry.
The problem I have is when we remain in that dry place. God uses these dry places to shift or transition us into our new assignments, but so often, we will entertain stagnation and complain continuously about the state or condition that we're in.
I remember working at a pharmacy for UC-San Diego. I was earning a decent salary but was in a dry place in terms of fulfillment. I had a job but I was not working. According to Dr. Myles Munroe, "a job is what they pay you to do, but work is what you were born to do." I had not booked an acting gig in months, partly because of the 8 hour shifts I was working Monday through Friday, and the fact that San Diego is not a major market for acting. I was overwhelmed with frustration and would complain about how much I want to be a part of a production...wether it was for theater or film, I didn't care! JUST HAND ME A SCRIPT!!! I was THIRSTY to play another role.
I was afraid to leave my job at the pharmacy because it was my only source of income at the time...and a GOOD one. But I was lacking in fulfillment. My desire was to move to L.A for more opportunities to showcase my talent, but I would be disconnecting myself from a steady paycheck and free housing. "How will I make money? Where would I live?" These were the questions I asked myself when I came to this crossroad.
After some prayer and seeking wise counsel from my Pastor at the time, Dr. Adrian Ewings, I took a leap of faith and moved to LA.
The CRAZY thing is, I had no place to stay and no means income. I planned on lodging outside of the acting studio where I studied. The same night I got there, I attended a class at the studio and met some new people. As the class concluded, I met an Australian actor who asked "where do you stay mate?" I told him that I wasn't quite sure yet. Almost immediately, he said "if you need a place to crash for the night, you can crash on my couch mate. I'm sure my roommate wouldn't mind." I was so GRATEFUL!!! Words couldn't explain! I had a flashback of when I was still contemplating on wether or not I should go. I remember hearing the scripture that says "Walk by Faith, not by sight." I didn't see any opportunities for lodging with someone at the time, but faith already prepared this moment.
Because I made the decision to OBEY MY THIRST for acting, God gave me the provision to shift from the dry place of a "job" that was lacking fulfillment, and walk right into my purpose.
The amazing part about this testimony is, not only did I have a place to crash that first night, but every night after that for the 7 months I was in LA. Fellow actors from the studio offered their couches, friends I met at networking events opened their homes to me, and at one point, my 95 Lexus ES 300 took me in (we'll talk about that some other time).
Some of you reading this right now could testify and say that you're in a dry place. It's because you're thirsty for PURPOSE! You may say "I've yet to discover my purpose" or "I don't know what my purpose is." I'm here to tell you that it is the very thing or things that quench your THIRST! Whatever it is that fulfills you to the point where you would enjoy it, even if no one paid you to do it. You go to sleep thinking about it, you dream about it, you wake up thinking about it, and even day dream about it at times.
If you've exhausted all of your options and tapped out all of your resources from your current place or position, then I encourage you to be like Elijah and leave the dry place. Your time there is up. God is ready to elevate and promote you to the next level...he's waiting on YOU! It's time to move on to the next assignment. Every complete assignment, is another step closer to fulfilling your Purpose.
It's time to leave behind that circus, and live "Life On Purpose"
I've tried my BEST not to use scriptures in this blog in order to keep a "universal" audience. I didn't want to "offend" anyone. But, quite frankly, it is impossible! As a man of faith, my foundation and growing knowledge is based off of the scriptures that I read, and I can't help but bless people with what blesses me. The revelations from these scriptures are too deep for me to conceal! If you have an open mind and have an appetite for food for thought, you might quit your job today lol.
Whew!!! What a relief! Lets begin, shall we? :-)
FYI, In case you haven't been there in a while, or you've never been there at all...I'm taking you to church today ;-)
(1 Kings 17:2-9 NIV)
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”
It's very uncomfortable being at a dry place. When things aren't flowing the way would like, we're likely to become frustrated and complain.
Elijah, in this passage, was on an assignment from God. He was supplied with what was necessary for him to fulfill the assignment. But when his assignment was complete the supply ran out, and now time for him to move on to the next. Verse 6 let's us know that he was supplied with food daily, and he drank water from the brook. But there came a time, in verse 7, were the brook dried up. His water supply was cut off because of the drought that was upon the land. Because of this drought, his needs could no longer be sustained at this location. Therefore, It was time for him to move on to the next assignment.
How many of us find ourselves in a place in our lives where our resources have dried up? Our source of income becomes dry, our relationships become dry, our self-fulfillment becomes dry, and even our way of thinking becomes dry.
The problem I have is when we remain in that dry place. God uses these dry places to shift or transition us into our new assignments, but so often, we will entertain stagnation and complain continuously about the state or condition that we're in.
I remember working at a pharmacy for UC-San Diego. I was earning a decent salary but was in a dry place in terms of fulfillment. I had a job but I was not working. According to Dr. Myles Munroe, "a job is what they pay you to do, but work is what you were born to do." I had not booked an acting gig in months, partly because of the 8 hour shifts I was working Monday through Friday, and the fact that San Diego is not a major market for acting. I was overwhelmed with frustration and would complain about how much I want to be a part of a production...wether it was for theater or film, I didn't care! JUST HAND ME A SCRIPT!!! I was THIRSTY to play another role.
I was afraid to leave my job at the pharmacy because it was my only source of income at the time...and a GOOD one. But I was lacking in fulfillment. My desire was to move to L.A for more opportunities to showcase my talent, but I would be disconnecting myself from a steady paycheck and free housing. "How will I make money? Where would I live?" These were the questions I asked myself when I came to this crossroad.
After some prayer and seeking wise counsel from my Pastor at the time, Dr. Adrian Ewings, I took a leap of faith and moved to LA.
The CRAZY thing is, I had no place to stay and no means income. I planned on lodging outside of the acting studio where I studied. The same night I got there, I attended a class at the studio and met some new people. As the class concluded, I met an Australian actor who asked "where do you stay mate?" I told him that I wasn't quite sure yet. Almost immediately, he said "if you need a place to crash for the night, you can crash on my couch mate. I'm sure my roommate wouldn't mind." I was so GRATEFUL!!! Words couldn't explain! I had a flashback of when I was still contemplating on wether or not I should go. I remember hearing the scripture that says "Walk by Faith, not by sight." I didn't see any opportunities for lodging with someone at the time, but faith already prepared this moment.
Because I made the decision to OBEY MY THIRST for acting, God gave me the provision to shift from the dry place of a "job" that was lacking fulfillment, and walk right into my purpose.
The amazing part about this testimony is, not only did I have a place to crash that first night, but every night after that for the 7 months I was in LA. Fellow actors from the studio offered their couches, friends I met at networking events opened their homes to me, and at one point, my 95 Lexus ES 300 took me in (we'll talk about that some other time).
Some of you reading this right now could testify and say that you're in a dry place. It's because you're thirsty for PURPOSE! You may say "I've yet to discover my purpose" or "I don't know what my purpose is." I'm here to tell you that it is the very thing or things that quench your THIRST! Whatever it is that fulfills you to the point where you would enjoy it, even if no one paid you to do it. You go to sleep thinking about it, you dream about it, you wake up thinking about it, and even day dream about it at times.
If you've exhausted all of your options and tapped out all of your resources from your current place or position, then I encourage you to be like Elijah and leave the dry place. Your time there is up. God is ready to elevate and promote you to the next level...he's waiting on YOU! It's time to move on to the next assignment. Every complete assignment, is another step closer to fulfilling your Purpose.
It's time to leave behind that circus, and live "Life On Purpose"
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