Your God-Designed Assignment
by Drenda Keesee
When I woke up this morning, birds were singing, the sun was shining, and I had every reason to think, This is going to be a great day…
Until I glanced over at the alarm clock and realized that I had overslept! I hit snooze to get a few extra minutes of sleep after a long, busy day yesterday, but a “few” minutes had turned into half an hour.
I haven’t slept through my alarm in years!
In a second my attitude of peace turned into…
…a rushed, stressful scramble to get ready for my day. I went through a mental checklist of everything I needed to get done.
Shower, breakfast—okay, if I skip breakfast that will save me time…
Do hair, and makeup—no way I’m skipping those!
By the time I got out the door, I was frazzled and sweating. I felt like everything, even the humid weather, was conspiring against me!
I honestly wanted to give the devil credit for my terrible morning.
It felt like a spiritual attack, but was it?
It may sound ridiculous, but when you feel overwhelmed—and you’re sweating through your freshly applied makeup; and your hair, which was beautifully done when you left the bathroom mirror, now looks like some little critter’s nest—it’s easy to become irrational.
But if I’m honest with myself, I have to admit a hard truth: I could’ve avoided that headache if I had just gotten up when my alarm went off.
How often do we throw a pity party for ourselves and give the enemy credit for the consequences of OUR lack of preparation and discipline?
It’s amazing how one little decision can make all the difference in our day!
If I would have gotten out of bed when my alarm went off, I could’ve sipped coffee on the deck, read my Bible, and actually eaten breakfast. I could have left my house feeling accomplished, prepared, and excited for a great day!
Instead, because I didn’t do one little thing, I left my house stressed, tired, and cranky.
Stop.
Pause.
Breathe.
Reboot.
You don’t have to let a lack of preparation and action steal the joy from your day!
I want to give you a few simple steps that will help you succeed in your God-designed assignment—to help you do the little things that will help put the concept of “preparation” into daily practice so that, eventually, they become a lifestyle for you as well!
1.) Preparing for Tomorrow, Today
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
I hear this prayer a lot. It’s one of those prayers that is on T-shirts and written on posters with a picture of a sunrise.
Too many people focus on the acceptance of their circumstances when they hear this prayer, instead of the part about having the courage to do something.
2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us “the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”… I want to encourage you not to settle for defeat in ANY area of your life. God is a miracle maker and a game changer! He sent His Holy Spirit to help you be courageous and seize every chance to advance His Kingdom and walk out your purpose.
Part of winning in life means recognizing and seizing the opportunities that God sends your way.
Feel overwhelmed by your goals? It always helps me when I write mine down.
2.) Patience Is Key
I think it’s safe to assume we’ve all gotten angry with God. But how much of that anger is really God’s fault?
I’ll give you a hint…
It’s never God’s fault! He isn’t responsible for our lack of preparation.
God wants to bless you, but you can’t just sit back and expect to be fanned with palm leaves and fed grapes until those blessings come. Ha!
YOU have to do what you can do right now to prepare for the harvest God is sending your way.
Gary and I say this a lot at our church: Success is when preparation meets opportunity.
Preparation isn’t just a concept—it’s a lifestyle!
Do the little things you can today to prepare for the blessings that God is sending your way.
I know sometimes it might seem like things are taking way too long, but Proverbs 16:3 assures us “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
God is using this time to prepare you, so you can know how and when to claim that big harvest!
Don’t give in and don’t give up on what God is calling you to do!
3.) Taking Control of Your Thoughts = Taking Control of Your Life
You can’t prepare for God’s harvest until you get your thoughts right!
When you go through a tough season, you always have a choice to see it through your own eyes or to see it through God’s eyes.
When I learned to take control over my negative thoughts and to infuse God’s Holy Spirit into my circumstances, I realized I had the authority to break the bondage of negative thoughts, and guess what? Once I learned to do that, I had the victory every time!
Believe it or not, the humidity isn’t high just to turn your perfectly straightened hair into a frizzy bird’s nest and complicate your day.
A change in perspective is all you need!
I want to encourage you to see life through God’s perspective. Check any negative thoughts or drama queen tantrums against God’s Word.
4.) Casting Out the Negativity
Seeing circumstances through God’s perspective is the way to have a joyful spirit, even though an attitude of positivity may not be “in fashion” in the culture.
In the media, negativity and drama are normal. We have reality shows that follow wealthy housewives around who do nothing but fight all day long!
I’ve heard so many people call reality TV shows “guilty pleasures.” You have to be careful what you meditate on because who you allow to speak into your life is who you will become!
Gary and I try to make it a point to surround ourselves with other believers who are dreaming big; who persevere toward God’s amazing plan for their lives; people who are living the kind of lives we want to live.
If you feel like you are stuck in a downward spiral of negative thinking, it might be a good time for an evaluation of your friendships.
Ask yourself, Is this person drawing me closer to God or further away? Is this person encouraging me? Is this person living the kind of life I want to live? Do I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their life?
Pay attention to the answers! Proverbs 13:20 tells us to “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
Your destiny is too important to spend with people who aren’t helping you stay on the path God has for you. Cut out the “guilty pleasures,” and fill that headspace with God’s Word. He has so much to tell you!
~Drenda
ps…Are you looking for a good church? Be sure and listen on Saturday evening or catch the 3 services on Sunday for Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional, and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesee’s have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then the irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
