Have you ever gazed in wonder at the intricacies of a snow flake or a spider’s web? Stood on the cliff of mountain top peering into the vastness of a valley below?
Felt the icy water of a waterfall stream through your fingers as you noticed how the green moss growing on the rocks squished under the tips of your fingers?
Held a sleeping baby at your breast?
Looked through a high powered microscope at mind-boggling functions of the universe within our cells?
All of creation sings the story of a grand and divine design.
We, also, are designed with an intrinsic, foundation blue prints of our purpose on earth. Many never tap into, nor understand that blue print, but it is there all the same.
That God-given design is expressed through out our personality, learned behavior patterns, talents, and gifts. Yet, like a blue print, it is the plan, the foundation upon which we build our lives on.
I believe our personality can change, and our talents and gifts grow or diminish based on the seasons of our life, experiences, and whether we nurture them or not.
Yet, what we are design for, our purpose for being here is a steady force in our lives, shaping our choices and our future. If cultivated through our creative imagination, (see my last blog on the Exploring Our God-Given Imagination Part 2), it can blossom and grow into something amazing! It’s more than just career choices and ministry opportunities, but a sense of fulfillment for that which you were placed here for – the fulfillment of your destiny.
Several years ago, we took our daughter on a family birthday camping trip to a pristine lake in our area. My practice when in beautiful places is to roll out of bed at the crack of dawn to see the sunrise. This location was not disappointing, as our tent opening faced the direction of the rising sun as it peeked over the mountain tops sparkling on the tips of the waves like millions of diamonds. As I sat on a cold, mossy rock, with my feet dangling, as my toes skimmed the calm surface, the quiet voice of the Spirit whispered in my ear. “Do you know that you are adventurer?”
I laughed to myself, as I thought the Lord was joking with me. “What I countered? I’m the furthest thing from that.”
But, He continued, “I made you to love adventure. I made you to be pioneer. To go places others have not gone before.”
I stopped and pondered.
He continued, “No matter what the location I bring you too, whether a lake, a beach, or mountain top in the rain, you leave the comfort of your warm bed, and you come to be with me at sunrise. Not everyone does that. Look back over all those rocks you just climbed over to sit here on the water’s edge.”
I glanced back over my shoulder. “See, you are an adventurer.”
This new information was tucked into the back of my mind, as I went about my day, but the Lord continued to show me, from then on, that truly a pioneer is a paramount aspect of who He has created me to be, and I need this sense of adventure to be everything He has designed for me to be. I also experienced, through my creative imagination, that this love for adventure was nurtured by the Spirit through the images I would see as I engaged creatively with Him.
Years later, I’ve seen that pioneering spirit in me play out in some very key ways as I fulfill the things God has called me to do and be. It has become apart of my God-given design that I’ve embraced.
I’ve also known others who by design are pioneers. A pioneering spirit or design by default is one who goes before others to make a way. They can be easily labeled as rebellious, non-submissive, and even a having a Jezebel spirit. Often, they are kicked out of churches for not going along with the church leadership on things they clearly have felt the call of the Lord to do differently. In reality, they were designed to pioneer new territory. They often are entrepreneurs, business owners, inventors, creators, etc… They are designed to follow the beat of a different drum, and we need them.
Another thing I’ve realized personally about my design is that I’m a bridge builder. Not literally building bridges, but bridges between people groups. I first realized this when I was in college, though I didn’t really understand anything about how I was wired back then. I always have flowed seamlessly between different friend groups, who were completely interested in opposite things and had opposing personality traits. Once I tried to invite one friend from each group to an event to spend the evening together, and it ended in awkwardness at best. Another time, I went to see the same Christmas lights display three times in one evening, because three different friend groups wanted me to go. I literally would arrive back on campus with one group, and grabbing my hand to pull me towards their car. Comical.
Later, in life, I came to understand that this is apart of my design, to be a bridge builder between diverse groups of people groups, some being culturally diverse people groups. This part of my blue print has enabled me to cross cultural lines for friendship, prayer assignments, and given me a voice to aid in creating unity. I’ve had best friends in the Appalachian community, the African American community, including the Gulla/Gechee of South Carolina, and the Native American community. As of late, it has been building bridges with people in the survivor communities and LGBTQ communities, especially with those hurt through the church. The ability to naturally bridge build between groups of different people has been an essential part of my God-given design.
This too is such an important role for those of who are designed this way to fulfill their purpose. There are so many things in our culture that blaringly shouts to divide and conqueror, so more than ever, so if you are wired to cross-lines and build unity, nurture that design and step into doing that!
The Spirit also will highlight different aspects of our design at different times for certain purposes. Lately, He has highlighted my design for justice. This one has been more challenging for me, because though I am adventurous in many ways, I highly dislike conflict and don’t want to rock the boat. This is primarily due to deep-seated fear from my childhood, that I’ve been rooting out for years. Yet, the more free I’ve become to be truly who I’ve been created to be, the more justice has been a theme.
Much of the prayer assignments that I’ve traversed through the past several years have been highly justice driven, with themes of exposing evil and justice being done for the victims of trafficking and abuse. It you’d like to learn more about that, please check out my newest book, “An Intercessor’s Journey: Preparing Our Land for A New Era”
Presently, the Spirit has me on a journey of personal application of everything I wrote about in that book, except now, I am the one who is having justice given in my behalf. More on that in future posts. Yet, it is mind-blowing how much justice is an integral aspect of my life – literally an essential element of why I am here on this earth.
One of my favorite examples of design, is observed in one of my closest friends. She is designed with a “mothering” blue print. Yes. She is a mom and is excellent at home-making, which I’ve not been the best at. My family have always preferred going to dinner at her home, because of the comfort food and soothing feeling she exudes. Yet, it goes way beyond that. No matter where she is or who she is with, she vibes “mom”. Even strangers pick up on this design. She has on many occasions gone to hug someone, and the person she doesn’t even know melts into her embraces and bursts into tears, because they needed a mother’s love. I can promise you that I’ve never had that happen.
In closing, I encourage you to begin a path of discovery, if you have not already done so, of unwrapping the divine blue print God has placed in you. If you’d like to join others on this journey of discover and more, check out my monthly zoom class called, The Encounter Tribe.
We ALL have a purpose, a God-given design, for our destiny here, and it essential that we begin to uncover that blue print so that we can full everything written about us for this time and season. I really believe that. You are here on purpose, for a purpose, and it is a beautiful plan. Not easy. But beautiful.
Our imagination is the place within us where we can nurture and cultivate that design.
“For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, for good, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jer. 29:11
“For you knit me together in my mother’s womb…” Psalm 139:13-15
