Wisdom Nuggets to all High School and College Graduates
Congratulations to all graduates!
May you have great success in your future in
whatever you endeavor to do. May you have favor with God and mankind, and may
the Lord’s blessings overtake you.
I hope that you are happy, and doing well, and have
excelled in your studies, gifts, talents and hobbies. I pray that you would
have a clear-cut vision of the direction God has for you to go in your life.
When I graduated from high school in 1984, I was so
confused that I didn’t know what direction to take, so I went to the local
Community College and completed all the General Ed requirements, plus took
extra classes in Office Administration.
While in Junior High, a teacher gave all of the
students an assignment to write a paper on what we wanted to do after
graduating from high school. I wrote down that I wanted to get a degree in
Sacred Music (specifically piano). Also, I somehow had a knowing deep inside of
my heart that God had called me to Ministry, and wanted to get a degree in that
too.
I should have stuck with the dream in my own heart
that God had given me and not listened to the teacher, since God did not speak
to her telling her what He had called me to do in my life. He had spoken to me.
The teacher made very light of what I had to say in my assignment, telling me
that I would earn no money at it, and I should choose a different career path.
As a result, for a number of years, I put off pursuing the dream God had placed
in my heart just because of the negative, doubt-filled, discouraging words of a
teacher.
Only listen to what God tells you to do, not man.
It’s okay to get people’s input and wisdom, but take it with a grain of salt.
Pursue what God tells you to do, and things will go so much more well with you
in the years to come.
One thing I’ve learned over the years, now that I’m
in my mid 50’s, is that if a person chooses a career path that coincides with
the natural gifts and talents that God has given to you, or things you excel
at, are great at, enjoy doing, maybe hobbies you are good at, then life will go
a whole lot better for you.
When you are working at a job, or being an
entrepreneur running a business, and are doing what you love doing, what you
enjoy doing, it does not seem like hard toil at all, because you love it so
much. And somehow God provides the finances for whatever assignment He has for
your life (which His callings are always paths that are within the natural
giftings and talents He has given to you since birth – the things you have a
passion for).
What are you passionate about? What kinds of things
move your heart? What kinds of things make you angry and you would like to make
positive changes? What are you naturally talented in and good at? What kinds of
things do you enjoy the most? If you pursue a career in those paths, then your
life will be a lot happier in the long run and more fulfilled. You’ll probably
be more financially prosperous too, without all the hard toil, because you will
love what you do and wake up in the morning looking forward to the day.
I tried working in the marketplace at major
business corporations as an Administrative Assistant for many years. When I was
a college student, it was okay working part time in a Business Office.
But when I began to make a career out of it, I
began to hate my job, dreaded going to work, was stressed out all the time,
experienced insomnia and did not get my rest, experienced burnout, began
developing digestive problems and anxiety due to continual stress, was deeply
depressed, I was not good at the duties I was assigned and as a result did not
excel or get promotions, the work duties were not within my natural gifts and
talents and things were always very hard for me. I was trying to operate in something
that God had not given me a grace or anointing for.
Then around age 30 (after being miserable for the
previous 13 years in a career I hated and was not good at anyways), I began
going to Bible College. After I finished my Bachelor of Theology degree in 2003
and had transitioned into ministry, now I love what I do. It’s a perfect fit
for me personally. It is what I was created to do. I would do it for a
lifetime, whether I ever got paid or not. It does not seem like work or toil,
although it involves a lot of diligent effort. But I enjoy it so much that I
wake up ready to start the day in my ministry position, and I have to force
myself to take breaks so that I don’t keep working all day, all evening and
into the night.
I’ve been so much happier and more at peace, since
getting into my perfect placement that God has assigned for me to do in this
earth. Also, after I left those old jobs in the Business world, working with
cut-throat type people, in a high stress, high pressure, fast paced
environment, all of a sudden some of the health issues I used to have began to
completely clear up because I was no longer under that heavy strain anymore,
and doing duties that I hated and was not gifted at in the first place.
God has given to each person a grace (an
empowerment or anointing) to do whatever He has called them to do in life. When
you are in cooperation with that grace, then life goes a whole lot smoother for
you. When you try to work outside of that grace or empowerment or anointing,
and do things that God did not call you to do, then life is very tough and
meaningless, and it feels like you are living in a wilderness, and your soul
feels like a dry parched desert. It’s all you can do to get up every morning and
go to work, and always wish for the weekends to arrive. It’s like coming up
against brick walls all the time.
But when you operate within that grace or
empowerment God has given for whatever task He has for you to fulfill in this
earth, then He transforms your desert into a fruitful green garden where the
blessings of God begin to flow more abundantly and things go so much better for
you. Things are not as hard for you. Now, my favorite day of the week is
Monday, where I get to start all over again afresh. In the past, I dreaded
Mondays and Friday was my favorite day of the week, and of course the weekend.
It does not mean there will not be challenges. But
when you operate in that grace, life is a whole lot better and you have more
joy and peace. I’m no longer exhausted like I used to be years ago. Also, I am
more free to be me, to be my true personality.
Also, the world’s system is set up so that a person
gets trapped in the rat race, where they have to keep working and working so
hard just to stay afloat, but never get ahead. And if they get tired and take a
break just for a short while, you go backwards. And it’s like that until a
person retires.
God’s plans are different than the ways of this
world. When you get into your perfect placement (and only God can show you what
that is for you), then somehow the provision comes in without you having to
toil so hard (being a salaried slave), and God supernaturally intervenes to
empower you to prosper and open doors of favor and promotion for you. There is
an anointing for prospering when you come into your perfect placement.
Also, the more college education you get, the more
doors will be opened for you to help you to succeed and get promoted. If you
are an expert at one or two things (rather than a jack of all trades), then
your services are even more valuable, you can command a higher salary, and more
doors are opened for you.
The Bible says that a person’s gift (or talent)
will make room for them, and will bring them before great men in high positions
of authority and influence, and not just before mere men.
The Lord is able to speak to you clearly as to the
path He has for you, and He will lead and guide you all throughout your entire
lifetime. With God, it’s more of a journey than a destination. God is faithful,
and will provide for your every need and prosper you financially, and in every
other area of your life if you work His principles in the Bible.
If you lean on the Lord and trust Him with all your
heart, He will help you to choose the best husband or wife in the future that
is the best fit for you. The Bible says that God has a permissible will, a good
will, and a perfect will. Choose the best (His perfect will). He lets you do
the choosing. When you choose the best, things will go a whole lot better for
you, with more joy and peace, and far less hassles and regrets.
I’ve learned this by observation of dozens of
happily married couples. I don’t have to learn all my lessons in life by making
mistakes and failures. God gave me wisdom as a young child to learn a lot of
things, and avoid making a lot of mistakes, by just simply observing other
people and the choices they made, and the results of those choices. I made some
poor decisions myself during the years, and had to deal with the consequences,
but I also avoided many bad decisions by being open to learning wisdom by those
older than me and more experienced than me, and the wisdom principles found in
the Word of God. I’ve also observed more UNhappily married couples than happily
married ones, and have a good idea of things to look for in a potential spouse,
and red flags to look out for before you tie the knot. I’ve observed what works
and what does not work.
For most of my life, I always prayed that God would
give me His best choice of a husband for me, and that I would be best for my
husband too. As a result of those prayers, God honored the desires of my heart.
In my particular case, every man I was ever
interested in in the past, the Father would give me dreams and show me that if
we got together what the positive and negative realities would be, so that I
would be able to make a more informed decision if we ever got together. God
speaks to me in dreams most of the time. I realized that none of those men, so
far, are the best fit for me, nor me for them. Both of us would have been very
miserable and incompatible in so many ways.
Some guys were verbally abusive, or would tell me
to “shut up” (not teach, preach or minister). Or oppress me to a degree by
pushing my head down, or they wanted me to be the silent partner in the
background to be seen and not heard while they were up front ministering.
With some guys, the dreams God has given me for my
life would either have never come to pass being married to them, or the dreams
would have had to be downsized to fit their lower level of thinking. I don’t
mean that in a harsh way, as men can marry the wrong women who also have a
lower level of thinking. The guys I were interested in did not believe in my
dreams, and thought my dreams were too unrealistic or too big. They were happy
with just a “get by every month” financial kind of living, while I wanted more
out of life. They were happy with mediocre Christianity, while I wanted to
press into God.
Who you get into marriage union with greatly
affects the success or failure of your life. The right person can help you
achieve your goals and see your dreams come to pass by working with you and
cheering you on. The wrong person can bring you into financial ruin and tear
down all your dreams and hopes, where you feel stripped dry on the inside and
your spirit is crushed.
The right person can bring much joy and blessing to
your life, while the wrong person can bring more misery and trouble than
anything else.
Who you associate with (as far as friends and
peers), and who you marry has a great deal of weight in determining your
destiny.
One guy I was interested in wanted me to work and
be the breadwinner, while he stayed home and did not work at all. And he would
have physically and verbally battered me too and not wanted me to minister.
This guy ended up marrying a different woman around 13 years ago, and just as
God had shown me in a dream, this woman worked full time while he loafed around
all day. I think he is divorced now, as he does not mention a wife on his
Facebook anymore. He went to Bible College, but he does not even mention what
he does now as far as ministry is concerned.
A couple of guys I was interested in were addicted
to internet porn, and that would not work out very well being married. One guy
was a womanizer, and would have been unfaithful. Then there were a couple of
guys who were godly men, but the direction God has called them to go in life
and the direction God has called me to go are two different paths. We would
have been very incompatible, and always pulling at each other. Jesus asked the
question, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” Being unequally yoked
does not only apply to believers marrying non-believers, but also believers
marrying the wrong fellow believers that are incompatible with their calling in
life, the path God has for their life, and incompatible in living habits.
And don’t marry for potential, but for who they are
at the present moment even if they never change at all. If they never change,
would you still be happy to be with them 50 years from now?
I have not met my husband yet, but I know he’s
coming because Jesus has appeared to me in audible dreams on two occasions
dealing with just this matter, where I heard His Voice. He said, “I’ll do it
when I do it!” Those were His exact words. Plus, God gave me this promise of
marriage years ago when I was very young, in my early 20’s, and over the years
probably over a dozen people who do not all know each other (and many who do
not know me personally) have all prophesied basically the same message to me
regarding the husband God has for me.
So I’m not searching here and there looking for
him, but busy doing the will of the Father, and am happy just being married to
Jesus right now. I feel like a whole complete person, and fulfilled. I feel no
loneliness at all. I did when I was younger, but now I do not feel any
loneliness or pining away. When I do finally meet the right man and we get
married, I’ll feel even more happy and whole. Many people who marry later in
life, or get remarried later in life, say it’s sweeter than getting married early
in life. I sure hope they are right!
Jesus will help you in every aspect of your life to
make wise decisions, so that things go well for you all the days of your life.
The Bible has 100 benefits for those who walk in the fear (reverence) of the
Lord. The fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Having wisdom leads to
health, long life, wealth, success in every area of life according to however
you define success. If you want to be the best mother ever, or the best at any
kind of career, if you reverence the Lord, and walk in His ways, and obey Him
at all times, then you will have the wisdom of the Lord and will have a
discerning heart to make the best decisions in life. And your life will go so
much better for you than for those who despise wisdom.
Part of wisdom is to have a teachable spirit. Those
who refuse to learn and be corrected when necessary, will have a more difficult
life with a lot of bumps in the road. They will go through more unnecessary
heartache that they brought on to their own selves. Even with wisdom, life will
have its challenges and ups and downs, but you will have far less heartaches
and regrets, and things will go so much better for you.
Another part of wisdom is to walk in honor and
treat everyone, no matter who they are, with respect and kindness. When a
person fails to walk in honor, it will result in a blockage in your spirit and
soul where your prayers will be hindered, and many blessings will be blocked
off from flowing to you. You will feel like you are wandering around in the
wilderness going around the same mountain over and over again, and your soul
will feel like a dry parched land.
A lack of honor can even bring on sickness, dry up
finances, cause barrenness (infertility in the natural of being unable to
conceive a child) or barrenness in your soul or spirit. A lack of honor can
shorten a person’s life span where they go pre-mature.
All of this can be turned around when a person
decides to walk in honor, show everyone respect (especially their wife or
husband and family), walk in kindness and have a spirit of humility and
servanthood. To honor someone means to prize them, to highly esteem them, to
respect them, to edify them, to encourage them, to cherish them, to put their
interests above your own interests, to be unselfish and giving, to be
considerate, to be courteous, to praise someone. When you walk in honor, it
pleases God and then your life can be transformed into a lush green watered
garden that is fruitful and multiplies in every area of your life.
I’ve also learned through years of personal
experience, that walking in unforgiveness, hatred and bitterness will also have
the same negative consequences as walking in dishonor, except even worse. It
will hinder your prayers from being answered. It will block your full blessings
from coming to you. You will be exiled to the wilderness and live in a dry
parched desert in your spirit and soul. Your soul will feel barren. It can
cause financial lack and dry up funds.
These toxic emotions have proven by medical science
to cause many sicknesses. The Father won’t forgive your sins, and you can only
get into Heaven if your sins are forgiven by the Blood of Jesus. You will be
turned over to the tormenters (demons) who will afflict and torment your soul
until you forgive. I experienced demonic torment many years ago, and it is not
a pretty picture. It’s the worst thing a person can go through.
Unforgiveness will close doors of opportunities for
you, and bring demotion rather than promotion into your life. Unforgiveness
keeps you chained to the person who did you wrong. The perpetrator will follow
you around in your thoughts and in your soul every day. You will have an
ungodly soul tie with the perpetrator as long as you hate them and do not
forgive them. Do you want them out of your life or not? If so, then hand them
over to God, and let Him deal with them. Forgiveness is more for your own freedom
and healing, then for the person who did you wrong.
Basically, walking in unforgiveness brings a curse
upon yourself until you release the person who did evil to you and turn them
over to God, and let the offense go. Hatred is the same thing as murder and a
work of darkness, and no murderer can have eternal life in Heaven (unless they
repent).
Ultimately, unforgiveness and hatred, if it is
never dealt with and repented of, can even lead to you ending up in hell. Is
that person who victimized you and did wicked things to you, and you hate them
for it, are they worth you going to hell over? They already did you enough
harm. You don’t have to lose your soul for an eternity and be tortured in hell
forever by merciless demons, over someone who did you wrong. Hand them over to
God and let Him deal with them.
God said that vengeance is His and He would repay.
He knows how to bring justice to your life. He won’t discipline them until you
turn them over to God and let Him deal with them direct. Even if they seem to
get off scott free, their day of reaping will eventually come, because God said
that He will not be mocked, that whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.
And God’s measurements of reaping are 30-fold, 60-fold or 100-fold. Sometimes
it’s 1000-fold. Sowing and reaping also works for the good and positive too –
that whatever you sow for the positive you will reap a multiplied harvest.
Even if the person who wronged you was a Christian
and went to Heaven and never seemed to reap the wicked seeds they sowed while
on earth, you can be assured that when they arrived in Heaven and stood in
front of Jesus Christ, that He had a long talk with them about what they did
and Jesus defended you. And while the person may have made it into Heaven, they
probably lost out on a lot of rewards they could have had, but forfeited.
God may bring justice to you in other ways other
than the perpetrator reaping what they sowed. Such as is in the case of Joyce
Meyer. Everyone who knows her story knows about all the years of abuse her
step-father put her through, but now look at where she is today. God has
honored her and caused her to rise to the top. He has blessed her tremendously
in every area of her life. He has restored more to her than she lost in the
first place. He has brought justice to her life in these kinds of ways. He has
given her more than double for all the trouble she went through.
By years of personal experience in all these
matters I’ve talked about, if you will listen diligently and apply it to your
life, and seek after wisdom and the reverence of God, then your life will go so
much better for you and you will have less complications, heartaches, and
unnecessary troubles. It might even save you from going through needless
tragedies, by getting hooked up with the wrong person or people that would
cause a lot of pain and devastation to your life.
Who you associate with today is an indicator of
your future success or failure. Choose to hang out with wise people who make
sound decisions, obey the laws of the land, and display the fruit of the Spirit
in Galations 5 (love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, meekness, patience,
self-control, faith or faithfulness). Choose to associate with people who have
goals and dreams for their life, takes 100% responsibility for their life and
the choices they have made, and are going somewhere in life.
It’s best to have no association with people who
are angry and violent, abusive in any kind of way, immoral – especially
committing perverse acts towards little children or raping women, people
involved in criminal activity, dishonest people, corrupt people, thieves and
embezzlers, drug addicts, alcoholics, addicted to gambling, very selfish
self-centered people, disrespectful and dishonorable people, those with very
serious forms of mental illness that do wicked and dangerous things, and people
like this. They will bring so much pain and devastation to your life, and if
you marry them they will destroy the whole family and also bring you to
financial ruin. I've seen this scenario happen with people in my family who are
close to me. It not only has affected their own lives and the lives of their
children, but also our family too.
I like what Jack Canfield says in the first chapter
of his book on the Success Principles. The first step to succeeding at anything
in life is to first take 100% responsibility of where you are at today because
of your past and present choices, decisions and actions. Once you do that and
do not blame other people anymore, then you can move on with your life and be
successful.
For God so loved this world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God did not send His Son into this world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved.
The thief (Satan the devil) comes only for to kill, steal and destroy. But Jesus has come to give us life, and life more abundantly, until it overflows.
I urge you to come to the Cross today and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He will wash away all your sins and make you as clean and white as fresh snow.
Just pray this prayer and mean it with your heart:
Dear Lord Jesus (if you are not able to call him Lord yet, then just say "Jesus")
I receive You as my Savior and Lord. I give my life over to You. I believe that You died and rose again, and that if I call on the Name of the Lord I shall be saved.
I accept you into my heart right now, and confess that You are Lord and have risen from the dead and forever live to make intercession for me.
Thank You for washing my heart pure and clean and making me whole, and for giving me peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Thank You that now I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. The old has gone and the new has come.
And there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh (carnality and sin), but walk after the Spirit. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, I believe you got born again and are now heaven bound and will be with the Lord forever and have eternal life. Your sins are now forgiven. You are accepted in the Beloved.
I would encourage you to find a good Bible based local church to help you grow in your faith, to learn the Word of God, to praise and worship Him, and to have fellowship with the saints.
Serving Christ is the best decision you will ever make.
God bless you!!!
