A THRIVING ENVIRONMENT
Eagles do not thrive alongside chickens or sparrows, nor was the horse meant to be confined to small spaces. The lily pad will not grow in the Sahara Desert, nor are birds meant to be caged. A fish cannot flourish unless it is in water. Roses do not grow on concrete. None of these species can reach their full potential unless they are in the environment created for them. Every person has a unique temperament and a specific calling from God. Esther was called in the dispensation of times to save the Jews. She was placed in an environment that would ensure God's will came to pass. John the Baptist wore camel skin and a leather belt, ate locusts and honey, and lived in the wilderness.
We can consider various personalities and the environments in which they thrived. Mother Teresa truly flourished on the streets of Calcutta. Einstein and other great minds thrived in solitude. Billy Graham excelled in front of massive crowds, while John wrote the Book of Revelation on the island of Patmos. As I have demonstrated here with examples from animal, plant, and bird life, the destinies of fish and people depend on the environments required for them to fulfil their calling. Clearly, Billy Graham was quite different from Mother Teresa and Einstein. Yet, while Mother Teresa wouldn’t have thrived in the roles of Billy Graham or Einstein, they too would struggle in traditional nine-to-five jobs, such as selling shoes. Thomas Edison, who persevered through over 1,000 attempts to invent the light bulb, could easily have been sidetracked if everyone else had confined him to their own viewpoints on how life should be lived.
Whether we realise it or not, when you examine the status quo, you start to notice common stereotypes and ideas about how someone should live their life. I wouldn’t thrive in an accountant’s office or doing factory work. Musical artists wouldn’t live their best lives if asked to work as optometrists because it’s not in the fabric of their being. One thing we must remember is to never impose our views on others regarding how they should live. Much of this comes from our differing values of what we consider important; someone else may value mundane things related to this world, such as frivolous socialising over coffee or family. There are various possibilities, but Einstein valued solitude because, without it, he couldn’t do his best thinking. I wonder how many people thought he was unusual in his time. Solitude is one of life’s greatest gifts you can give yourself. Only in solitude, where the thoughts of others do not influence you, can you delve into yourself and engage in deep contemplation. An eagle flies alone. It soars above the storms and has a higher perspective, seeing with greater clarity from a bird’s eye view. The creator did not design the eagle to be with the chickens, who do not share the same perspective. Their view is limited. Ester had been prepared with beauty treatments for a year before she could see the king, and he chose her over others. Beauty treatments are like the preparation for truth, as nothing is more fundamental than the truth. We all value different things, but when you have been seeking the truth for a long time, and you encounter it in its fullness, you will toss aside mundane things and activities that no longer hold the same meaning or relevance as you discover something of far greater worth.
We all seek different things. Some seek marriage, others seek success or self-aggrandizement, some seek careers, and a few seek God. Moreover, we have to consider the concept of God because there are a multitude of perspectives we can hold about Him, but there is only one God. There is one universal narrative that encompasses all humanity. Even if you disagree, He is the creator of our design and should be the focal point of our lives, living in the depths of our hearts and guiding us in the way we should go. He has unique callings for every person, whether a pastor, scientist, or musician. God has created everyone to fit His plan and purpose within the dispensation of the age they inhabit.
If we believe that God is ourselves, that God resides out there in heaven, or that we must do something to appease our God so that He will accept us; or if we think He created us for good works, to live by faith, and to move and have our being in Him, all of these perspectives will shape a different theology. God knitted you together in your mother’s womb before He designed you. He had a blueprint to follow because He wrote a book on your life before you came into existence. Before He designed Moses to lead the children of Israel out of their slavery and captivity, God knew He needed a Moses, so He placed all the necessary inclinations within his DNA to fulfill that assignment. He then brought Moses into the world in the exact geographical location and family needed to provide the temperament and connection between Egypt, which symbolizes the world, and Israel, which symbolizes God’s people. Moses was brought up in the ways of Egypt, but his heart was for the children of Israel.
Notice that the pharaoh’s heart was not motivated by the cry of the children of Israel, nor was it in the DNA of his bones to be the deliverer of that nation. Instead, he fitted another role, and his stubborn heart caused many plagues and destruction to come upon the Egyptians; ultimately, many of them drowned. They were trying to keep the children of Israel in bondage and slavery, which was not what God desired for them. However, the mindset they developed during years of captivity meant that only two made it to the promised land. You must fight to stand in the truth and never doubt that this is the environment of the heart's condition, regardless of the materiality of life. This is why we face opposition wanting to keep us from reaching our promised land. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We can only stand in our authority with the right heart attitude, regardless of what comes to oppose us. You take dominion with each step of faith in the way God is leading you.
Written by Rochelle White
A THRIVING ENVIRONMENT
Eagles do not thrive alongside chickens or sparrows, nor was the horse meant to be confined to small spaces. The lily pad will not grow in the Sahara Desert, nor are birds meant to be caged. A fish cannot flourish unless it is in water. Roses do not grow on concrete. None of these species can reach their full potential unless they are in the environment created for them. Every person has a unique temperament and a specific calling from God. Esther was called in the dispensation of times to save the Jews. She was placed in an environment that would ensure God's will came to pass. John the Baptist wore camel skin and a leather belt, ate locusts and honey, and lived in the wilderness.
We can consider various personalities and the environments in which they thrived. Mother Teresa truly flourished on the streets of Calcutta. Einstein and other great minds thrived in solitude. Billy Graham excelled in front of massive crowds, while John wrote the Book of Revelation on the island of Patmos. As I have demonstrated here with examples from animal, plant, and bird life, the destinies of fish and people depend on the environments required for them to fulfil their calling. Clearly, Billy Graham was quite different from Mother Teresa and Einstein. Yet, while Mother Teresa wouldn’t have thrived in the roles of Billy Graham or Einstein, they too would struggle in traditional nine-to-five jobs, such as selling shoes. Thomas Edison, who persevered through over 1,000 attempts to invent the light bulb, could easily have been sidetracked if everyone else had confined him to their own viewpoints on how life should be lived.
Whether we realise it or not, when you examine the status quo, you start to notice common stereotypes and ideas about how someone should live their life. I wouldn’t thrive in an accountant’s office or doing factory work. Musical artists wouldn’t live their best lives if asked to work as optometrists because it’s not in the fabric of their being. One thing we must remember is to never impose our views on others regarding how they should live. Much of this comes from our differing values of what we consider important; someone else may value mundane things related to this world, such as frivolous socialising over coffee or family. There are various possibilities, but Einstein valued solitude because, without it, he couldn’t do his best thinking. I wonder how many people thought he was unusual in his time. Solitude is one of life’s greatest gifts you can give yourself. Only in solitude, where the thoughts of others do not influence you, can you delve into yourself and engage in deep contemplation. An eagle flies alone. It soars above the storms and has a higher perspective, seeing with greater clarity from a bird’s eye view. The creator did not design the eagle to be with the chickens, who do not share the same perspective. Their view is limited. Ester had been prepared with beauty treatments for a year before she could see the king, and he chose her over others. Beauty treatments are like the preparation for truth, as nothing is more fundamental than the truth. We all value different things, but when you have been seeking the truth for a long time, and you encounter it in its fullness, you will toss aside mundane things and activities that no longer hold the same meaning or relevance as you discover something of far greater worth.
We all seek different things. Some seek marriage, others seek success or self-aggrandizement, some seek careers, and a few seek God. Moreover, we have to consider the concept of God because there are a multitude of perspectives we can hold about Him, but there is only one God. There is one universal narrative that encompasses all humanity. Even if you disagree, He is the creator of our design and should be the focal point of our lives, living in the depths of our hearts and guiding us in the way we should go. He has unique callings for every person, whether a pastor, scientist, or musician. God has created everyone to fit His plan and purpose within the dispensation of the age they inhabit.
If we believe that God is ourselves, that God resides out there in heaven, or that we must do something to appease our God so that He will accept us; or if we think He created us for good works, to live by faith, and to move and have our being in Him, all of these perspectives will shape a different theology. God knitted you together in your mother’s womb before He designed you. He had a blueprint to follow because He wrote a book on your life before you came into existence. Before He designed Moses to lead the children of Israel out of their slavery and captivity, God knew He needed a Moses, so He placed all the necessary inclinations within his DNA to fulfill that assignment. He then brought Moses into the world in the exact geographical location and family needed to provide the temperament and connection between Egypt, which symbolizes the world, and Israel, which symbolizes God’s people. Moses was brought up in the ways of Egypt, but his heart was for the children of Israel.
Notice that the pharaoh’s heart was not motivated by the cry of the children of Israel, nor was it in the DNA of his bones to be the deliverer of that nation. Instead, he fitted another role, and his stubborn heart caused many plagues and destruction to come upon the Egyptians; ultimately, many of them drowned. They were trying to keep the children of Israel in bondage and slavery, which was not what God desired for them. However, the mindset they developed during years of captivity meant that only two made it to the promised land. You must fight to stand in the truth and never doubt that this is the environment of the heart's condition, regardless of the materiality of life. This is why we face opposition wanting to keep us from reaching our promised land. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We can only stand in our authority with the right heart attitude, regardless of what comes to oppose us. You take dominion with each step of faith in the way God is leading you.
Written by Rochelle White
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