Placed on Purpose

Good morning darlings, 

Such a great session in the boardroom last night here's our roundup  as always. 

Whilst in Bible studying prayer last week I read Psalm 68:6 and, if I’m completely honest, I had a bit of an emotional meltdown. Not necessarily in a bad way, but because I realised God had answered something I had been praying about, and it made me look at this scripture completely differently.

This Bible study started with Psalm 68:6: “God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains…”

The word that caught me was “setteth.” God is intentional about placement. He doesn't just bring us out of something and leave us there, He is also concerned with where He is taking us next.

That took me straight back to what I have been studying in Joshua. God didn't bring Israel out of Egypt simply so they could say they were no longer slaves. Egypt was what He brought them out of, Canaan was what He was bringing them into, and the wilderness sat between the two.

Sometimes there is work to be done between deliverance and possession and in the waiting.

I can relate to this massively in business. I've prayed for growth, more students, more opportunities and greater influence, then realised that what I was asking God for required greater capacity from me. Darling what works when you're starting a business doesn't necessarily work when you're leading an organisation. The blessing has changed, so your capacity has to change with it, and sometimes thats uncomfortable too.

We also talked about what being “solitary” can look like for high capacity women like us. You can have a phone full of people, a busy diary, employees, clients, family, church, friends and a huge network and still feel that very few people genuinely know you, and when you have demanding lives like we do, its the case.

But we also need wisdom here because when you're carrying businesses, teams, families and leadership, everybody cannot have unlimited access to you and it is ok to say no! People can pull on your time, knowledge, experience, skills and emotional capacity, so boundaries are absolutely necessary. The question isn't whether everybody knows you, They shouldn't. The question is: have I allowed the right people to know the real me?

There is a difference between healthy boundaries and unhealthy isolation and also letting the wrong people in for the wrong reasons.

Then Joshua taught us another huge lesson. At the Red Sea, Moses stretched out his hand and the water moved, but at the Jordan, the priests had to actually put their feet into the water first.

Same God, different method. And that my darlings is life! 

Sometimes we're so busy looking for God to do something the way He did it before that we miss what He's doing now. Maybe the last opportunity came easily from someone recommending you, but this one requires you to pitch for it this time. Maybe your business grew organically before, but now you need proper marketing. Maybe you could do everything yourself before, but now you need to build a team and actually let them do their jobs. Trust me, that one is a lesson and half!

Then in Joshua 5, the manna stops. If you don't know, manna is the food that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years, it's the food that God provided.

God hadn't stopped providing, the provision had changed because the season had changed - they needed different tools and skills and a different mindset.

Sometimes we're asking God to restore manna while standing in a field He expects us to cultivate. This season we may need to develop new skills or change our mindset.

And this is where Psalm 68 and Joshua really came together for me: you can leave Egypt without Egypt leaving you.

You can have the title and still operate from rejection, you can have money and still think from scarcity, you can lead a company and still be driven by the need to prove yourself.

Achievement can hide dysfunction beautifully.

Perfectionism can look like excellence and control can look like high standards - but please do stay loyal to your standards. Overworking can look like ambition and people pleasing can look like good leadership.

But God sees the heart underneath all of it.

So my prayer has changed from simply, “God, bless what I'm building” to “God, show me what is driving me while I'm building it.”

Because I don't want to build something God gave me using wounds He wants to heal.

Maybe that is the real lesson of being placed on purpose. God isn't only concerned with getting us to the promise, He is concerned with the woman who arrives there too. Honestly, I just love Him so much. 

So this week ask yourself these four things: 

- What has ended that I'm still trying to keep alive? 

- Where is my Jordan, the place where I know I need to take a responsible step of faith? 

- What manna has stopped working because God is teaching me another way?

- Where have I become solitary when God actually wants me in a healthy community?

Psalm 68:6 reminds me that God is intentional about where He places us. Joshua reminds me that getting there will require courage, obedience, standing up for yourself, renewed thinking and sometimes letting go of the way God did it before.

So perhaps the prayer isn't just, “God, bring me out.”

Maybe it's “God, prepare me for where You're taking me, and develop my character so that the woman I am becoming has the capacity to carry what I've been praying for.”

Here are some scriptures to study to help you if you want to study this on a deeper level too, although we will be studying more of Joshua in the next few sessions.

Scriptures to study

Psalm 68:5-6, Joshua 1:1-9, Joshua 3:5-17, Joshua 5:10-12, Romans 12:2, Proverbs 27:17 and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.

And as you read them, don't just ask what the scripture means. Ask: What is God showing me about Himself? What is He showing me about me? And what needs to change because I now know this?

Because darling girl, Bible study should never just give us more information. The Word should transform how we live, learn and then take the principles and use them in life.

That's all this week from the board room, if you have any questions or want to be involved in our bible study, feel free to send me a message. 

See you soon darlings.

Love always and God bless,

Hannah-Curlita x