Success Stories
Hey, my lovelies, how has everyone been? How has your week been? Are you taking it easy? Are you on the grind? Are you getting tired? Frustrated maybe? Do you need a holiday? like me lol! I can only imagine what it has been like for you in the past week. I, on the other hand, is in need of a retreat just some time off to recharge, rest and refuel and I believe I will be doing that soon.
I just want to encourage you to take some time off to recharge, refuel and rest as well; it will do your entire being some good. I know a lot of us actually feel guilty for resting or taking time off, you’re probably like who is going to do this and that, how is my workplace going to cope? What if my workload piles? You are not alone! I used to feel incredibly guilty for resting, I felt guilty for sitting down and just chilling, I would be thinking about all the multiple things I have to do. Until one day I was convicted, the Holy Spirit said, it doesn’t do anyone any good if you don’t rest because you will end up pouring from your reserve or empty cup rather than your overflow! And that really hit me! I need to be full before I can pour out and serve others. I can’t serve you from my reserve, I have to serve you from my overflow. I cannot give what I don’t have basically.
Right today I have someone really special to me, and when she agreed to share her story with us, I was super excited. My dearest Kemi Fred-Adetiba will be gracing us today with heavy wisdom I tell you! Kemi is the author of Woman You Are Fire you can check it out HERE she also has a YouTube channel called Pockets of Wisdom With Lady Kems where she shares bite-sized wisdom you can put to practice right away, so good you should check it out HERE. I believe you are going to be blessed by her story, leave me your comments or you can actually email me at lisa@writersessence.com if you have any questions. Stay blessed and enjoy the article.
My Purpose Journey
My name is Kemi Fred- Adetiba, people call me Lady Kems for short. I became aware of the issue of purpose when my relationship with God started to be amplified. When I was still single, just before I got married I started to take my relationship with God seriously and during that time, I started to sense something, I didn’t know exactly what it was or how it would be expressed but somehow, I always knew that there was this calling on my life. However, for the most part, I have always known that I would have something to do with church ministry.
Going into an intimate relationship with God, allowed me to see the importance of purpose, and the whole issue of purpose was coming up as I spent time listening to sermons and messages. Purpose was a thing that was always spoken about and I started to figure out that I had a sense of purpose and that was because I had a sense of a calling, so because I had a sense of a calling I felt like I had an awareness of what my purpose was. But then as that journey with God started to increase and get better, I started to see what that purpose looked like. In the beginning, it just looked like something I was supposed to do and an assignment from God. When I got married, however, I started to see that my purpose is way bigger than just carrying out an assignment for God or just a calling that is in my head. So God now took me through a process of redefining me, redefining my context, and redefining my understanding.
Being pioneers and a part of the Finishing Church has really helped me to get what it is that God is really going after. I did a recent video that I put out there on my series called Pockets of Wisdom about finding purpose or discovering purpose. One thing I shared there was the fact that purpose is becoming like Christ, purpose is attaining the fulness and measure of the stature of Christ! And to me, that just gave life a whole new meaning. I realised that you could get frustrated if you kept doing things and carrying out assignments because we were designed to live beyond us and beyond just doing. There is a cry from the inside of us to actually become even more than what we think, and I think that’s why people easily get confused about purpose, and this is what I live by honestly, my primary purpose is to become like Christ, my primary purpose is to equalise with God.
When I realised this, it changed everything for me, so; every work, every assignment, every opportunity every challenge every struggle, I see it as an avenue and opportunity to actually become more like Christ. One of the things I always do and I always test to be sure that I am still in purpose or still in line is not when I am having ministry engagements or when I am writing my books but it’s when I see that everything I do and every experience that I have is forging me into a Christ-like person, then I know that I am on track and walking in purpose.
Challenges and Opposition
The main challenge I faced was confusion. I always found myself asking what I should do next and stuff like that. However, I don’t have these challenges anymore because I get what the main thing is (speaking for myself). It has made me appreciate what we would call silent seasons; which is more of a ploughing season in my case where God was doing work on the inside, ploughing, equipping, building and making me fit for himself.
A good example of this is when I was writing Woman You are Fire. At the time, of course, it felt like nothing was happening, it felt like maybe I wasn’t out there and all of that. which is something we need to be delivered from- the desire to always be seen. Now, just as God is so mighty, omnipotent and omnipresent, He still doesn’t show up all the time because He doesn’t have to prove a point. We need to learn how to take that nature of our father where we don’t always have to be seen and known, yes there is time for that but in those ploughing seasons just trust that God is working in you.
I just trusted that God was working in me and He did. The bible says that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and truth be told, what that means is that you are actively doing something for strength to be renewed, it is not a passive thing. What i did in those moments were:
- I engaged in scripture,
- I spent time with God being built.
I went through trials and pruning to make me become more like Christ. Those moments never feel good, but I realised that my Christian walk is more than just feeling good all the time, it’s about becoming like Christ regardless of what it takes.
In any growth process you will experience opposition, I think it is part of the package, and most times, we face opposition just so that we show we have been building with God during those ploughing and wilderness seasons. So, when the time eventually comes that we need to carry out an assignment or a calling, we are able to face it on. Whenever I face oppositions, I just try to focus more on the goal which is becoming like Christ. If I focus too much on executing the assignment, I still may feel down here and there, and I may be discouraged. Nevertheless, when I see it as something that is supposed to produce in me Christ-likeness, and I see what the other side of my obedience looks like, plus the souls that would be saved, I am able to push through.
A Support System
Having the right support system is very important, I don’t believe in having a company of people that don’t believe in the same things as you believe in or at least not be able to encourage you. Humans are not designed to be around people who always talk them down or try to make them feel small. I try to surround myself with encouraging people. However, if for any reason amongst them situations occur or I feel there is opposition ultimately, I know it’s the devil trying to stop what God wants to do. I can give an example of when I was in the process of writing my book Woman You are Fire, just a day before the launch date, I was involved in an accident and eventually the person passed, I don’t know what opposition is more than that where someone dies and you are still supposed to fulfil purpose. I remember God was like you are still going to do what you have to do. It was so hard; I remember I was crying, and I told the Holy Spirit how I felt and the Holy Spirit comforting me through it.
And so, whenever we are carrying out this life of purpose it’s not beans! It’s not just about Doing! That is why it is beyond just activity, beyond just oh I want to do something so that I won’t feel somehow, or I am lagging behind. This thing is real, the devil is out there trying to oppose us in every form, for some people it’s not as heavy as losing someone to death but sometimes it’s still things in your life that you might be facing; such as your friends not supporting you or someone is envying you or it could be your parents that don’t believe in what you are doing. You just have to focus on what God told you first. What did God say and what Convictions did you have when God said it, and how He has built you over time is what will now stand the test of times when you are being opposed.
The Birthing Season
There are different layers and phases to us, and how our purpose unfolds. If we keep the primary thing which is becoming like Christ, it will be easier for us to navigate even in the toughest time. So for me, how I knew I was going to be a pastors wife, pastoring a church or writing a book came from just focusing more on becoming and my relationship with God. As I did that, things started flowing out of me that were already there. So, how do you know when it’s time to birth or to manifest? you will find that a lot of times it will just start to flow out of us, you don’t even have to overthink!
As I followed my relationship with God, I began to realise that things were being birthed out of me when they were supposed to be. And one of the ways I know that it is time to step into execution is when I become restless; just like how a woman who is about to give birth knows. You just know that something is about to happen, it’s the same way with purpose-driven assignments, you will become restless and you won’t be able to sleep at night. A lot of times those visions and assignments just overtake you, so until you birth them you are restless. That is how I figured it out, that ok Kemi something needs to come out of you because it has been planted by God in the moment of koinonia (fellowshipping with God) it will come out of you seamlessly.
This is also where the midwife comes in. There are people you need to surround yourself with, you might need a coach, a mentor, or you may need guidance and counsel. You will know what you need for the things you must release that are based on your peculiar situation. For example, if I am having twins, I know that I will not just need one midwife, I will need more than just a midwife. So, depending on what it is you are birthing whatever the idea is you are going to need a support system. The Holy Spirit will help you to see that. I started to see people around me who midwifed my process. For example with launching my book, God brought me a lady who publishes books online and I had a friend who was always checking up on me to make sure I had finished each chapter, and of course my husband’s support.
Therefore, it is very important to surround yourself with encouraging people and people who have the expertise to an extent when it is time to birth in regard to what you want to do. However, with that being said, let us not forget the journey to purpose is mainly becoming like Christ and everything we do is supposed to be bringing us into that place of Christ-likeness. Just to encourage, you don’t give up if things are not coming up or shaping up. Try and re-adjust your thought process to say OK! I am becoming like Christ. So every other assignment, every calling, I will allow God to work in me in those ploughing seasons so that it can produce Christ-likeness that he wants to see in me in different phases of my life.
Thank you for the opportunity to share
With love Lady Kems
Writers Essence 