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By Olawoye Bolaji

Perhaps you have for a long time held the notion that your Future or Assignment (in life) is something God will have to decide on later in your life, and you consider it something very difficult to discover.

The Holy Spirit teaches otherwise! Through David – “…and in your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them”[1]. Through Jeremiah – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born…I ordained you a prophet to the nations”[2]. Through Paul – “…God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace.”[3] Joseph also had dreams of a future right from when he was little.[4] The bottom line is, every one was created to fulfil a purpose and that purpose does not show-up in life (or occur by happenstance) but was implanted before birth! “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom he foreknew, He also predestined…whom He predestined, these He also called…”[5] The mustard seed carries within it instructions on how to become a mighty mustard tree, so do you!

The process of fulfilling your purpose and calling begins as you gradually discover it. One thing is primary however, and that is the gradual revelation and unfolding by the Holy Spirit as your spirit becomes responsive & attentive to Him. His relationship to you as Mentor (who understands the fullness of your Purpose & Assignment as well as the timing of every event) is important!

You also need to understand the place of your Dreams, Aspirations & Visions.

Dreams, Aspirations & Visions

Dreams & Visions in this context refers to those little ideas and pictures of the future that grow in your mind and spirit over the years. They can also manifest in your night dreams.

Usually, in childhood, we all had childhood desires to be pilots, or doctors or even the president of your country! As we grew older however, God placed other (or even similar) dreams in our maturing minds & hearts to give us a glimpse of the possibilities that lie on His mind.

Some of us have dreams of building a large orphanage or day-care centre; some a vast fashion empire; some an IT corporation. Some have dreams of coordinating an anointed evangelical outreach; some a church; a philanthropic ministry; a teaching ministry or an online 24-hour prayer ministry! God is grooming some woman, greatly anointed with the ministry of healing or worship. Praise God forever more! Notwithstanding, others have dreams of becoming a Professor Emeritus in their field of discipline and a force to reckon with whilst others have a dream of a vast business empire. A friend blew my mind when he shared with me his dream of building an academia comprising primary, secondary & tertiary schools. Some surprisingly will still live a very calm life of a gentle mother or father quietly raising their children as God’s arrows for the next generation.

Sometimes we ask in doubt, “How is it ever possible that you know God’s will & purpose in life?” Paul explains “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard … the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit”[6] via the little dreams that seem so big, unattainable or even ambitious in our own little minds! These dreams (when placed on the filter bed of His Word and under the illuminating laser beam of His Spirit) are usually pointers (or a glimpse) of what is on the Father’s mind for you & for your future.

Through Jeremiah, God explains: “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope (or an expected end). Then you will call upon me…and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”[7]

These are dreams and aspirations that give full expression to your emotional, psychological, temperamental make-up as well as your spiritual endowment. Though they may not be fully developed at the present, they are worth paying attention to!

What God is trying to do is to give you a reason to run, a problem to solve, an object of planning, a goal, an aim worth achieving, a reason for living and ultimately a life Assignment. He deposits His greatest revelations into your spirit and your mind. Your mind has to participate to get you moving and ultimately bring it to physical fulfillment. God told Abraham, “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are – northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.”[8]

At certain times in life, God asks you, “What do you see, son?” Look well with all spiritual foresight and all the creativity of a renewed mind and respond! If you see well, He will tell you what to do next; otherwise, He probably continues His work upon your life and then asks the same question sometimes later.

The Dreams of a Leader

“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.” (Deuteronomy 28:13, with author’s emphasis)

Sometimes we think it is humility not to want to be the head. It is not! It is disobedience! This is why our minds need to be renewed by God’s word and by the help of the Holy Spirit. Your spiritual specie is head only and not tail. Your humility is not to be induced by unfortunate life circumstances such as “na condition bend crayfish.” Your humility is because of a spiritual nature that remains true in both affluence and abasement.

Get a life and live as God wants you to live. Notwithstanding, leadership comes at a price – obedience.

Clues to the Assignment within

Mike Murdock, in his book, The 3 Most Important Things In Your Life, suggested the following clues to discovering your Assignment:

¨What You Love Most Is A Clue To Your Assignment;
¨What Grieves You Most Is A Clue To What You Are Assigned To Heal;
¨What Angers You Most Is A Clue To What You Are Assigned To Correct; and
¨Your Assignment Is Always The Problem God Has Designed You To Solve For Others.

All these things are just pointers to the details of your God-given physical, psychological, temperamental, emotional and spiritual constitution; a clue to the real design within. It is intended to make you discover in which areas of life God created you to function optimally and maximally. I love to suggest some other clues: What would you do if finances, parental influence, societal conditions and other situations (that might sometimes be limitations) were absent? What would you do for Christ if you had all resources at your disposal? What gifts within you can benefit humankind if you have all the resources needed?

Pursuit and Obsession

You cannot have significant success with something until it actually becomes an obsession. Until your God-given dream becomes an obsession, something that daily preoccupies your mind, something you build towards daily; you will not make significant headway with it!

The Pursuit of the Dream

Mike Murdock also wrote, “The Proof Of Desire Is Pursuit” and “You Really Have No Right To Anything You Have Not Pursued”.

The entire Kingdom of God is all about Pursuit – of His Nature, of His Power, of His Presence, of His Wisdom, of His Principles, of His Truth. The Kingdom requires violence[9]…taking the grace made available to you and breaking loose from the enslaving clutches of sin, of which Jesus had made you free!

Listen to Wisdom: uncommon men & women are few! You wonder why? – It is because God made it so! “IT IS THE GLORY OF GOD TO CONCEAL A MATTER, BUT THE GLORY (OR HONOUR) OF KINGS IS TO SEARCH OUT A MATTER”[10]

Break loose from mediocrity, live the privileged life God is giving you.

The Pursuit of the Mentor

The same man of God wrote, “An Uncommon Future Requires Uncommon Preparation” and “An Uncommon Dream Will Require An Uncommon Mentor”.

A mentor is one who has been equipped and enabled by the Holy Spirit (your primary Mentor) to equip you for a future assignment or responsibility. Mentorship is simply Wisdom without the stress of learning by Experience! You increase in Wisdom via mentors or mistakes (or both). A mentor stands fit to equip you via his/her words, character/lifestyle & teachings. You are the Protégé; the one who needs what is in the heart of the Mentor.

Don’t get me wrong! This is not about following-after or glorifying man. A Mentor is not necessarily someone you should be like! It is just that he/she carries a contactable anointing that you know you require in your life. I personally have a number of mentors, some on my major spiritual calling & Assignment; others on God’s Principles of Fruitfulness & Financial Prosperity and still others on the believer’s Faith and Authority. Notwithstanding, the daily School of the Holy Spirit is the greatest mentorship programme I have and continually partake of.

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[1] Psalms 139:16; [2] Jeremiah 1:5; [3] Galatians 1:15; [4] Genesis 37:5-10; [5] Romans 8:29-30 (with author’s emphasis); [6] 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (with author’s emphasis); [7] Jeremiah 29:11-13 (with author’s emphasis); [8] Genesis 13:14-15 (with author’s emphasis); [9] Matthew 11:12; [10] Proverbs 25:2 (with author’s emphasis)