On Assignment

Something’s been disturbing me for ages and before we continue the catching up series I'd like to address it. That’s what I want to share with us and I hope my writing will make any impact. I really hope it will. I desire for my generation to understand that the Lord has put us here on purpose and for a purpose. You’re on assignment, and the earlier you catch this revelation the better for your world and your generations yet unborn.

I express myself better using personal examples maybe because a lot of times I am used as God’s guinea pig and I really enjoy it [definitely not while the process is on], so I’m gonna tell you stories from my life [I just hope I don’t bore you sha!].

As at the time I’m writing I’ve been in Abuja for just 7 years and the job I’m on now is my 6th. You might be thinking now “whoa! What an unstable babe, jumping from one job to the other yea?” Well, I thought so of myself when I was in my 3rd job. This was because I could just easily find people around me who had worked one job for like 5 to 15 years, so why can’t I be in that one that’s mine and stay?! Then the Lord revealed to me that we are all different and do have different assignments therefore our experiences do differ. Our purposes and assignments refer to those things He wants us to do at a particular time in a particular place.

Lemme explain.

In between some of these jobs were a 4 weeks, a 6 weeks and a 3 months of staying at home, jobless. Those were weeks of crying, hoping, searching Tuesday and Thursday Guardian Newspapers and also of reading books too. The crying part was what characterized the first 4 weeks and also begging for jobs. The second time I was home was for 6 weeks and this time around, I spent it reading so many books written by Papa Oyedepo. I must have read about 10 or more of his books within those 6 weeks! I also enrolled for French lessons because I made up my mind that I wasn’t gonna sit home, crying and making the devil happy. No way! And that decision was good for me because during those days God prepared me for what He prepared for me. The 3rd time I stayed home was for 3 months and within this time I read books, went through a Bible School and had several times of personal retreat and alone time with my children. During the 2nd and 3rd time God built my capacity, I learnt so many very important things that were lasting and I want to share with us because I have practiced and tested them and have found them proven and true. I believe you’ll say same when you practice them.

Through my experience over the years, I’ve learnt that wherever I found myself working at any particular point in time was my place of assignment. That understanding made me settle in my heart that no matter the experience I had on the job I would ask for grace to go through and I was sure I would receive adequate and sufficient grace because it was my place of assignment and the One Who placed me there would have made available everything I needed to handle things there. He promised that He would not put more on us than we can bear [1 Cor. 10:13], so if that experience comes on me while I’m working hard, putting my best in the job, then I’ll know for sure that He allowed it for a reason. There are different reasons why He allowed some of the experiences I’ve had on the job till date; either He wanted me to learn something for the present and the future, or He was using me to build character in someone or vice versa or it could be that He was using the experience to expose something or someone.

My 4th job was in a 5-star Hotel for 2 years as the Personal Assistant to the General Manager. When I got on the job I started sending encouraging and inspiring emails to my colleagues. I remember sending a mail during my second month on the job, I told them I was on assignment in that hotel and that the moment my assignment was over, I would leave. It could be one week or one month or one year, bottom line was that I was on assignment and must carry it out. Because of this understanding I had of my assignment, I had some very bad experiences on that particular job but I refused to be utterly shaken [I did get shaken some, in fact, I did try to leave at some point but obviously it wasn’t time so my Boss (the Lord) wouldn’t let me]. I just kept on believing that my God, Who gave me that assignment was able to move me when my assignment was over. And truly, when that assignment was over He moved me out and up swiftly! Does that mean that others who are still there are meant to be in bad situations? No way! They are still on their own assignments, and whenever it’s over, they’ll be moved too. It all depends on your understanding of Divine Positioning and His plans for you.

All I’m trying to say is that if you are at home presently with no job, use the time to develop yourself. Read, learn, and keep searching for a job but not in desperation, not in frustration, understanding that God knows exactly where you are and has a purpose for you for that particular place. When you’re going for an interview, have the consciousness that God is with you, if that particular job is the one He has appointed for you, you’ll surely get it, but if it’s not, then He must have something far better for you. You need to also volunteer wherever your services are needed, pray, listen to your Master speak to you. I tell you, when the doors open [mark it I said ‘when’ not ‘if’ because the doors will surely open], it will be thrown wide open.

Please note that the door being open could mean getting a paid employment or it could mean being an employer of labor. So listen to Him and look inside of you. Stay very sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

On the other hand, if you’re working at the moment and you need a change or a step up [don’t we all? Even me!], keep talking to your Father about it and ask Him to show you the reason why you’re where you are at this point in time, ask Him to work out His particular purpose through you, even if you don’t get to find out why you’re there just believe it is for a reason and yield yourself to God to use you and work out His will. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about His will and purpose being done on earth. Also remember that if you love Him and are called according to His purpose, He’ll work everything out for your good [Rom. 8:28]. So trust in His love, His mercy, His grace, His ability and His willingness to come through for you and bring you to your expected end which is the fulfillment of your assignment at each point in time.

A word of advice: if you’re job-hunting [whether while you’re in a job or at home], do it prayerfully please and whenever something comes up and you’re called for an interview, go believing that you will receive it but also settle it in your heart that if it happened that you did not get offered the job then there was something far better suited for you ahead. Please do not go blaming God for leaving you in this mess of a job and not caring about all you’re going through. That won’t help your sense of purpose in any way. I have been in a few interviews that ended up going to someone else, my understanding now is that probably the person who got it needed the job more than I did, or I would never have fit into that work environment or better still, my present office still needs me [i.e. my assignment here isn’t over yet] and because I have allowed the Lord to lead me in my career I have peace, even in the midst of storms. I have gone for job interviews and left there making new friends among my fellow candidates. By God’s grace I had even helped one of my fellow interviewees get a job while I was still waiting to get one [none of us got the job we had been interviewed for the day we met].

This is the heart of my note:

1. Focus: the time at home or in a ‘bad’ or an ‘under-paid/qualified’ job is a time of processing. Even if your mistakes made you lose your job [all things work together for your good… remember?], give the Ultimate Boss the chance to process you because He’s taking you somewhere.

2. Trust: that no matter what’s going on in your life and career at the moment, your Father is still in control and will work it all out for your good and for His glory. Trust that there must be a good reason why you didn’t get the job. I remember being interviewed for two dream jobs and not getting them, for the first job I received a mail from the Admin officer after the interview telling me I was not selected, I replied saying it was okay and that he should extend my best wishes to the successful candidate, the guy was surprised! He promised to keep me informed of subsequent openings in his organization! Well I later found out the recruitment process was not all that transparent [I bet it’s happened to a lot of us], I still didn’t feel bad, I told myself that my Father must have seen that I might not be able to function well in such an environment and so in order to protect me, He didn’t let me get in. The second time I prayed, confessed, professed, sowed seed, believed and all, yet I didn’t get the job. So what now?! I know one thing; my God will not withhold it from me if it was meant for me. So armed with that truth, I relaxed and gave Him praise. I am convinced that He has something way better for me ahead so I refused to allow the feeling of disappointment and frustration to get hold of me. I trusted my Father to work out His perfect plan for me and I had peace on that.

3. Be the best in what you’re doing at the moment: give it your best as much as you can, it’s not easy I tell you especially when you have a very difficult boss or a colleague that’s a thorn in your flesh, but it’s absolutely do-able because you have received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness therefore you reign in life through Christ [Rom 5:17]

4. Stay totally connected to and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading and direction: He will tell you what line of action to take; either to stay on patiently or to resign and believe for or move on to another job, or He might say go start your own thing, and trust me, His counsel always gives you peace no matter what you’re going through

5. Know what you want: don’t just go for any job that opens just because you don’t want to stay home any longer or you don’t want to stay on this particular job, don’t be hasty, allow the Lord to lead you. When you act hastily, you’ll end up wishing you didn’t move when you did but when He’s leading you, you’ll see He’ll move you just in time because He always wants to protect His own.

He’s always with you; whether you’re at home looking for a job or you’re in a job and the situations are ‘frustrating’ or you are just in need of a career step up, He has plans for you. Let’s just align ourselves to His will and purpose for our lives and let us all allow ourselves to be used to fulfill His purpose on earth.