Formula one is a sport I have come to love and admire. This sport best illustrates intentionality. Every driver must weigh between 60-75 kgs maximum to effectively drive and possibly win the race. Any extra weight will slow the car by a second or two which translates to loosing the race already. The type of tyres used for the race will also affect the speed and duration on the track. For any driver and team to win they must be very precise from the driver, strategy and down to the type of tyres they will start the race with. Just like formula one, this year and the years to come we must be intentional in our living. I sense in my spirit that this is a season of acceleration, hence my formula one illustration and as such there are 7 prerequisites to run this race effectively and maximize on speed.
- Let Go of your past. Isaiah 43:18-19
The bible says, “Do not remember the former things, or ponder of the things of the past. Listen carefully. I am about to do a new thing, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Sometimes our past mistakes weigh heavily on our minds and causes us not to move on. Letting go of past mistakes enables us to soar. You are not your mistake. You are bigger than the labels that others and you, have put on yourself. Just because you caused a marriage to break and was labelled a home wrecker, you can move past that. It is not who you are, it’s simply what you did in a season of your life when you were broken. The Potter wants to make you whole again. Will you let Him? This is why the bible says “let God be true and every man a liar”. Every man here includes you, let go of your past and let God be true.
2. Learn to forgive.
This is a long and often very emotional topic. People have been hurt badly and are still hurting. How does one forgive when the hurt is so deep? Unforgiveness is a weight we carry that slows us down. Sometimes we do not forgive a person because we think that we could never hurt a person that way. While that is sometimes true, it does not mean you cannot hurt another person in a worse way than you were hurt. The grace you extend to people will be used on you. The Word says forgive us just as we forgive others… it’s a conditional phrase. Unforgiveness is eating chilli and hoping that the person that hurt you is feeling the sting. More often than not, the person may have even forgotten what he or she did and has moved on and the only one holding on to that pain and weight is you. Let go and start living and loving others as they should have been.
3. Mark your points of weakness
You can never receive healing from a hurt that you have not identified. The first step is to identify our weakness and the second is to bring it to God. The Holy Spirit gives us the supernatural ability to overcome any addiction and weakness that we have. I have been able to put away a weakness I had struggled with for more than 20 years. The Holy Spirit has enabled me to let it go. Most of the time these weaknesses are closely related to who we spend most of our time with. Our associations could take us back to our addictions and undo the great work that had started within us. That’s because It is easier to fall back to what seems natural to you, than to be supernatural. If your struggle is stealing, avoid situations and people who draw you back to your proclivities.
4. Prioritize your time
The famous phrase of “do not work hard, work smart” is used in many business meetings around the world. They understand the danger of being busy and not being productive. Our motives dictate our priority therefore seek God’s way of doing things. We may spend more time doing things that don’t matter in the grand scheme of God’s plan for our lives, than we do on things that matter to God, like raising a godly offspring. Be intentional in spending time with your family. Prioritizing your time will largely depend on whom you prioritize in your life. For me it should be God, my wife and children and lastly others. What is yours?
5. Set goals and have clear direction of purpose.
This largely depends on who gives you your purpose in life. The goals that you set and direction you get will come from spending time with the Holy Spirit and being obedient to His call and directions. It is vital to hear what the Spirit is saying in this time with regards to your life and the direction it should take especially during this time of acceleration. Going back to the formula one example, the reflexes of every driver must be as fast as a lightning. Moving at over 200 kph, any sudden movement or mismovement could prove fatal to the driver. It is important, due to the acceleration of this season, to keep a keen ear to the instructions of the Holy Spirit.
6.Overcome fear of failure and rejection
A child can experience rejection from a parent, other children, teachers and other members of society. This becomes a weight the child carries into adulthood and can even hinder their progression into what God has called them to be. There is a sermon by TD Jakes called Living with the threat of failure. There will always be a voice telling you that you are not able to do it, you will fail, you do not have the qualifications to do it, you do not fit the bill… and so forth but this is not the voice of truth.
I do not fear chicken, but that does not make me brave when I can stand in a chicken house. I, however, fear dogs, bravery is when I stand in a kennel full of dogs and not run away screaming. Bravery is standing even when you are afraid. Bravery is not the lack of fear but standing in the face of fear. Go ahead and just do it.
7. Pursue an Intimate relationship with God.
The author and perfector of our faith called us and has given us a purpose in life. The Holy Spirit, He who knows all things and is a teacher, through fellowship with Him, will enable us to grow. Growth in the spirit is more vital than trivialities like keeping the sabbath or not lying. Let me explain. Earlier I mentioned that I put down an addiction that had me for over 20 years. This is only possible by growing in the Spirit. Paul says when I was a child, I did childish things but now that I am a man, I put away childish things. Meaningless religious acts that are not the core of who we are in Christ do nothing to break addictions and weaknesses that slow us down into being who we were called to be. Sometimes I wonder If God shows you who you are in the spirit and who you are meant to be and that the only thing standing in your way is smoking, alcohol, lying, sexual perversions, greed etc what would you do?
God bless you