A Choice for More

I have been a Christian for as long I can remember, but over the last couple of years, my life has taken on many big changes. It all really started with a choice - my choice - a choice that not only changed my life, but the way I live. This choice is one that is chosen by few. But I wanted more in my life; I didn’t just want okay or mediocre! 

The choice I am talking about is choosing to run after my purpose and destiny.  In 2010, God called me and a friend to start something called Awakening. We invited our friends to come and pray with us, going after God's heart together. What I didn’t know then, was that my life would soon never be the same. Down the road, God started releasing purpose and destiny into my life, and showed me that He calls me not to just live a normal life, but an extraordinary life. Realizing that I had a purpose led me to start asking deep questions. I began to ask God questions like: God, who do you call me? What am I called to do? What should I do?
When we realize that God has a purpose and a plan for our lives, everything changes!

God called me to youth; He called me to equip and love people like He does. So after discovering that God had a plan, purpose, and destiny for my life, it was time to take action! I began wondering how to walk out the plans that God had for my life. It started with me. In order for me to help others, I first had to figure out my self. I began to study the Bible, and look at my life. I asked questions like, “Who in my life do I look up too?, Who are the people that influence me the most?, Do those people help and support where I’m going?, Do they up lift me up and encourage me?

I had to change who I let influence me!

“Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it"
--Proverbs 4:23, NIV 

I began to realize the importance of what I let into my heart and life, what I watched, what I say, what I listen to. It is SO vital, because what you let in you life is what comes out.

As I started changing these things, my whole life changed. I started noticing how alive I felt, how free I was. One of the things that changed me the most was when I really started to be intentional with my thoughts. By thinking about positive things and being thankful, it brought life into me. So I began to be intentional with my life and went after a relationship with God. God longs to have a relationship with us. When Jesus died on the Cross, He died for our sins, but that wasn’t the only reason. Jesus also died so God could have relationship with us, thru Jesus. Realizing that and going after relationship with God, I started trying to figure out how I can be who God calls me to be, and how to Fulfill the plan, purpose, and destiny God has for me.

I believe God has called me to love, equip and help people, young and old into their destinies. I have begun to run in who God calls me, by sharing what God would show me to my friends and the people that came to Awakening. As I prayed for them, I watched God move in them and through them with his love and power! Watching God encounter people and seeing their lives change was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. 

God Moves! NIV 1 Corinthians 4:20 says: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power."  In 2013, I got to witness Jesus move first hand during an Awakening Encountering God Service (EGS). After the service I gave an altar invitation for prayer, asking those wanting prayer to come up and stand on the red line in our altar area. A girl came up that I knew, but not very well. I asked her how I could pray with her, and she told me about how she had scoliosis.  I began to pray that God would just come and heal her, and that her spine would line up, and to my amazement, Jesus touched her and she was healed by the love and power of Jesus! Growing up in ministry I knew God, but it wasn’t until I made the choice to pursue Him myself, that my life really changed.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT AND SO VALUABLE! God has an incredible plan for your life! Don’t let anyone tell you different. So if you’re tired of normal and want more in your life, I Triple Dog Dare you to go after your identity and the plan, purpose and destiny God had for your life. You may be wondering “How?” Well, you start by asking God what He thinks about you, ask what He calls you, and ask what His plan, purpose and destiny is for your life. HE SPEAKS TO US!

Start there and see what happens.
Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Guest Blog Writer:  Tyler Lumbard