Walk in confidence in Your purpose from Author, Dara Nichole

Be Confident, be more than persuaded   Have you ever met someone who was so gifted, talented and anointed, but hasn't walked into their potential yet? I have met men and women who knew they were gifted in a certain area, but never pushed themselves to pursue and develop that gift.  I have also met individuals who knew what they were called to do, and ran away from the very thing they knew was their gift from God. I always told myself that if I really knew how to sing, (like Shirley Ceasar type sing!), I would be a world famous artist right now, traveling the world, meeting fans and signing autographs. No one would be able to pull me and my gift off the stage, I just think that singing is a great gift from God, and If I had been given that gift, I would have used it to the best of my ability. Though when it came to me developing the gift I have in writing, for some reason, I wasn't as confident. I spent time trying to understand why I wasn't trying to go forth and do the thing I knew God had called me to do. I brushed it off as it "Not being my season" or that I was "Waiting on God". However the core of my issue was, I was selfish, and truly didn't believe wholeheartedly in the gift that God had given me.  I was shocked! I was a Christian, I knew I was saved by grace, and I definitely knew I was going to heaven, so why was I so insecure about the gift God had given me, and why was I being so selfish as to question the steps it would take for God to manifest in my gift as I worked. I needed more understanding. So I decided to figure out what was going on with me. I thought about all the little decisions I made that led to my thought pattern.  "I don't have the time", "where am I going to get the money", "I don't feel like it", or my ultimate favorite, "I'll do it later". I realized that each one of these sentences started with "I", and as long as I kept myself in the equation, it was never going to be accomplished. I knew I had to make sacrifices with my time, with my money, and with other recreational activities that weren't ever going to accomplish anything, I just wasn't ready to give that up. Then, I started to read and apply the word of God to my life, and my life started to change. I realized that the scripture commands us to give, like God gave his son for us, so that we may  have eternal life. I realized that my mind was not renewed in the idea that this was something God had assigned me to do. God wanted to use me to bless others with the written word, and I needed to honor God by walking into what he had for me, for giving me an understanding of what needed to be done, for blessing my diligence and prayer toward this mission, and most importantly for having the faith and discipline to carry it out. I read the story of Daniel and I realized how much of a great man of God he was. Under King Nebuchadnezzar's rule they were brought into the Kings' palace and were given a certain ration of the King's meat and Drink. Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile his body with that food or with the wine. He decided that he was going to drink water and eat vegetables for his duration, and was completely persuaded that after a certain amount of time, his countenance, his understanding and his wisdom would be better than all who were eating of the Kings table. What I realized this time reading through it was Daniels' faith. He had the Faith to know that even though he was seemingly consuming less than the others, his God would honor his request, and would bless him even the more in his sacrifice.  Also, Daniel had the discipline to not partake in the food, even though everyone around him was receiving this hearty meal. And finally, his mindset was so set in the outcome, he knew that in the end he would be victorious. So after a certain amount of time, the king looked over Daniel and his men, and said they were ten times better in wisdom and understanding than all of his men. After days of pondering this, it finally set in for me. My faith, my discipline, my sacrifice, and my mindset in Christ will take me to the next level. I am totally persuaded and convinced that the things that God has gifted me with are to be used to glorify him. I won't be afraid of being rejected or not taken seriously, because my faith is in Christ.  I won't worry about how much time it takes to get it done, because I know that God will honor my sacrifice, and as long as I stay in his word, I will be directed on the way to go. We serve such as awesome God, don't you think? http://www.authordaranichole.com Want more articles like this? Check out my blog for up to date articles: http://www.walkinconfidence.com