I recently interviewed someone for the position of a driver. Below is an excerpt of our conversation.

Me: Why did you leave the company where you worked before?

Driver: They don’t usually take care of their staff.

Me: So how do you define “take care”?

Driver: Hmm … For example, in my friend’s company, they usually give him a bag of rice during Christmas period. But that company never gave us anything.

Me: Okay, was it written in your employment letter that you will be given rice at Christmas?

Driver: No

Me: Then why were you expecting what was not in your terms of contract?

The truth is that, I knew the answer to my questions even as I was asking him. He was suffering fromentitlement mentality or go-getters mentality. Many of us reading this may have already began to throw stones at this driver, but I know that if we look closely at our lives, we would realise that we do something similar in varying magnitudes.

I have heard more believers complain that someone (Uncle, Relative, Friend, Pastor, Boss, etc.) did not help them than I have heard from even unbelievers. Many of us are go-getters; we spend more time counting the blessings others did not give to us rather than counting the blessings we gave. Our thoughts are more engrossed with how we will get from others. And it is a pity that believers with such mentality may find it difficult walking in God’s purpose for their lives. Why?

The epicentre of God’s plan for your life is centred on how you will donate to this world. As a believer, you were qualified for heaven the very moment you accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ, but God left you here so you would give something unique to this world. When you are more concerned about what you will get from this world, you are moving in the opposite direction from God. It becomes more difficult to pick the signals He is beaming at you because your mind is saying “get, get, get” and most times He is saying “give, give, give”.

If Jesus had the “get get” mentality, he would have grabbed the ‘opportunity’ to become a king, but he preferred the rugged cross over the royal chair because he was thinking of how he would give salvation. If Apostle Paul had the go-getters mentality, he would have given up when he was thrown into prison as there would be no opportunity to “get” again. But while he was in prison, the givers mentality made him fulfil purpose by preaching the gospel and writing some of the New Testament books we read today. If you see this life to be all about getting, I tell you it will be difficult to discover and walk in the unknown purposes of God for your life.

No wonder Jesus kept saying … You are the light of the world; you are the salt of the earth. In other words, you are a giver to the world. But it is unfortunate that many of us are crying that the world’s light is not shinning on us. When you start seeing yourself as a giver and a solution to the world’s problems, you are positioning yourself to walk in God’s purpose for your life; you are obeying the known will of God and that will usher you into a discovery of the unknown details.

Am I saying you should not receive your entitlements or encourage others to cheat you? No! But I’ll like you to know that the reason why you are in your family, church, workplace, ministry, community and the world at large is because there is something God wants you to donate there. So rather than singing “pass me not o gentle giver”, start singing – “I will pass not until I have given what He wants me to give …” Once you start thinking like this, you are taking another good step to easily decipher all theunknown things God wants to do through you.

– tope aladenusi

Identifying God’s will for our lives is one of the easiest things for Christians to do. But we must be ready to believe and obey God’s principles, however how simple they may appear.

I usually say to myself that … When I get to heaven, I should not be surprised if God tells me that more than 90% of what He would have me do have already been written in the Bible. I may not be very correct with my estimate, but the truth is that a ‘sizeable portion’ of God’s will for our lives have been documented in the Bible.

Therefore, you can view God’s purpose from two perspectives – the known and the unknown. Theknown consists of His principles / will as revealed in the Bible, as well as things He has revealed to you personally. The unknown consists of things that are mostly peculiar to you that God has not yet revealed. If we are not faithful in obeying the “known”, why should we expect to discover the “unknown”? Do we want to discover it just for the sake of knowing? Many times, the unknown is discovered while we are attempting to do the known.

Act 16:7  After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spiritsuffered them not.

Act 16:8  And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

Act 16:9  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

Act 16:10  And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia,assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

Paul and his companions were attempting to obey God by planning to go and preach in Bithynia. They knew that God wanted them to preach, what they were not sure of was where. But while they were attempting to go to Bithynia, the revelation of Macedonia as God’s will for them came.

Obeying God’s will for the New Creation as documented in the Bible ushers us to discover the unknown purpose of God for our lives. If Joseph was disobeying the will of God with respect to sex, he would probably have been rollicking and frolicking with Portiphar’s wife when the opening for the post of Prime Minister of Egypt showed up. If Timothy was a reigning thug during his youth, we may be wondering how he discovered God’s purpose for his youthful age by being the Bishop of several churches? If we do not obey the will of God for our lives that is already written in black and white, what assurance do we have that we will even obey the ones that we claim to “hear” or “perceive”?

It is also important for us to obey the will of God already revealed to us personally. When Paul had an encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus, the Lord told him: “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do” Acts 9:6. He obeyed and this led to him getting saved and receiving his sight. If Paul had not become a believer and started obeying God in Acts 9, it is arguable the Holy Ghost would not have said in Acts 13, “Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have sent them…“.

Have you been praying on the mountain for several months asking God for your purpose in life? Please come down and start obeying Him. You don’t discover it by prayer alone. To obey is better than the sacrifices of futile prayers, church politics, religious activities and worldly proclivities. Continue obeying the will of God you already know, and at the right time, you will be able to identify the ones that are still unknown.

– tope aladenusi