#THE CHAMPIONS SERIES 70, 'THE WOMAN', TOPIC: MAKING GENERATIONAL IMPACT.

 

MAKING GENERATIONAL IMPACT

CONTENT:

    1.  INTRODUCTION

2.  KNOW YOURSELF (DISCOVER YOUR DESTINY)

3. WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT

4.  PUT YOUR STRENGTH AND GIFT TO WORK

5. NURTURE YOUR VALUES AND CONVICTIONS

6.  CONCLUSION

 

INTRODUCTION:

Impact can be defined as a direct effect on something.  Life is all about impact. Even our being alive is the impact of the breath of life on our bodies. All through life, we experience impact, one way or the other. We come in contact with people who have either a positive or a negative effect on us. (Throughout this write-up I will be using the words 'impact' and 'effect' interchangeably). The impact of all these contacts, whether positive or negative, sharpen our lives.

For instance, the impact of peer pressure, is felt by us all, not just teenagers. Some young people have gotten into prostitution, abusing drugs, etc., because of their friends. So also have some others become academically better, more serious with their relationship with God, (personal experience), etc., from friends. So you see, there's a lot of things impacting us one way or the other.

But as I've written somewhere, “we are not to let life live us. We are to live life, and live it well”. We're not just dealing with making impact, but making GENERATIONAL IMPACT. As we will see shortly, there's a lot involved in making this kind of impact.

KNOW YOURSELF (DISCOVER YOUR DESTINY):

One of the very first steps we need to take is discovering our identity. Understanding the mold in which we are cast. And the one place where you can start your voyage of self-discovery is in a Person- Jehovah God our Maker. Genesis 1:27 tells us we are made in His Image. Our very identity, who we are, is IN HIM. If you don't get this right, every other thing in your life will go wrong.

There's a saying that if you don't know that you are, people will tell that you're not. I'll go further to say that if other people, like your friends, relatives and whatever, are the ones defining your identity for you, you'll just go with the crowd all your life. That way, you could never leave your footprints in the sands of time.

“When you discover your destiny, you discover your worth.”

In discovering your identity, you discover your worth. One of my favorite chapter in the Psalms, Psalm 139, tells of God's intimate knowledge of us, His creation, and his own hands molded us. It goes ahead to show us how much God treasures every one of us personally. Psalm 139 is one place that will help you a lot in your voyage of self-discovery.

WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT

In discovering ourselves, one thing well readily see is that we all are different personalities. Different temperaments. Very different. Intentionally different. God had absolutely no intention to make us all the same. He's the God of variety. Tim Lahaye, the author of ' Why you act the way you do' tells us about our various strengths and weaknesses that are largely determined by our temperaments. He further went ahead to state that this strength can be very good pointers to which careers or other areas of life we can most likely Excel in. For instance, some of us are by our temperament, naturally thinkers, creatives and introverted. Some other person is an extrovert. He or she is the life-of- the-party, energetic, naturally charming, etc. This kind of person would naturally do well in the entertainment field or as a sales person for instance. Some people have tried to be like their extrovert friends and ventured into stuff that would take an extroverted person to succeed, and then they find out that they're struggling. They may even fail, and then begin to think they are failures. What they failed to realize is that they never should have gotten involved with that idea as it just wasn't suited to their personality. They were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. I would recommend Tim Lahaye's 'Why you act the way you do' book. If you already have it, please read it well again.

READ GOOD BOOKS: “A great man one’s said, when books were opened, we discovered we had wings to fly,” Anonymous

Apart from reading good books, sit down and take an honest look at yourself and find out your strengths. What can I do? What do I do very well with little or no effort? What am I passionate about? You can even ask friends and relatives to serve as your mirror in this regard.  As for your weaknesses, ask the Lord to work on them for you. And be willing to come under God's discipline as he works on you.

Now, apart from finding out your strengths and gifting by looking at you through your own eyes and the eyes of others, one other important thing you can do, in fact the best, is to DO SOMETHING. There are some things you may never know you can do until you try to do them. If you fail, at least you have discovered that's not your field. There's absolutely no harm in trying.

PUT YOUR STRENGTH AND GIFT TO WORK

 

You see that strength and gifting you've got? Put them to work. “Don’t just talk about your strength and gift put them to work, let them find expression in you.” Let them out! Are you a good singer? Sing. Can you write? By all means, write. Whatever it is you can do, there are different avenues through which you can express those abilities. Don't be silent! Refuse to be cowed by people, even nay-saying friends and loved ones. Rise above it all and shine! You don't light a candle and put it under your bed. In the course of letting out all that God has put inside you, you could get in contact with people who have felt your impact and have the ability to give you a wider platform from which to get the chance to impact more people. Proverbs 18:16 says, ' A man's gifts makes room for him and brings him before great men'. Above all, remember that whatever you're doing, or whoever you're impacting, always remember that you're performing before the Audience of One (Jehovah God).

NURTURE YOUR VALUES AND CONVICTIONS

The next thing (actually I ought to have put this next to discovering your identity) is to have values and convictions. Someone once said a belief is what you hold but a conviction is what holds you. Furthermore, there's another saying that he that stands for nothing will fall for anything. So what are your convictions? What are those values you hold dear? Convictions shape your life. It's important to have, not just any value system or conviction, but God- centered convictions. You can develop them from the study of God's word, reading good Christian material and being around people who have such value systems. Once you've developed them, guard them with your life; because you'll come across a lot of things that will threaten or tempt you to throw them away.

CONCLUSION:

We would never have heard of Martin Luther of the Reformation, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Moses, Daniel, Mary Slessor, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego amongst others if they had bowed to the threats and temptations around them to throw their convictions away. We read about their lives and we draw strength from them. Mary Slessor for instance, believed that all children, whether Singletons or twins, were God's gifts, and so she fought hard to ensure that the killing of twins which was rampant in her time, be stopped in Nigeria. We have many people, twins and triplets who are around today. We will keep rejoicing over the birthday of twins and triplets, because of Mary Slessor. Will people read or hear about you today, tomorrow, or when you're gone, and draw inspiration from your story? Will people even hear about you at all? If you wish the answers to these questions to be a yes, then STAND FOR SOMETHING GREATER THAN YOURSELF. Don't be a Jellyfish that is swept along by the currents. Hard as it can be, you can swim against the tide. You can stand boldly for what you believe in and refuse to go with the crowd. All you need is the determination to hold on to the source of your convictions, God himself. Light doesn't serve its purpose by hiding under the bed and letting the darkness around swallow it. Its purpose is to shine. Shine! Young ladies, shine mothers. Endeavor you leave the world better than you met it. Let the world see your light and glorify God.

God bless you.

RECOMMENDED Book : Purpose-driven Life by RICK WARREN.

Written BY

OGHENERO RUTH EDEMO

Please visit and subscribe to my blog at nerowrites.blogspot.com.