"A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS"
Welcome to this week’s edition of the "I AM" segment here at Trojan Horse Forge. Today we are going to discuss a subject matter that I have found to be of utmost importance and is critical in my opinion to understand when you have decided to make a positive change in your life. Its importance applies whether you have decided to start a business, become a better father or maybe even just quitting smoking. It applies the same across the board for all of these. So, this study has been labeled “Producing in alignment with your purpose”, “A recipe for success”. So, let’s dive in here. It took years and years of failure after failure, heartache after heartache to finally figure out what we are talking about today. You have probably already noticed that we are more than just a metal forge here at Trojan Horse Forge. We want to help you find your success and fulfillment by helping you find the power in YOUR purpose. We want you to forge your soul, your mind and your heart. God has a plan for you and wants to remind us constantly that the pain, the failures and the heartbreaks in life are not just useless and random events that show his anger or his distaste for you or me. These events can be used to spring us forward or refine us to becoming better business leaders, fathers or the husbands that we want to become. Let’s read from Malachi 3:3
“He will sit a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify and refine them like gold and silver. “
You see, the heat and the pressure mold, purify, sharpen and even weaponize us. The pain that God has allowed in our lives is sometimes purposeful and not just meant to allow us to be hammered into oblivion. So, let’s move on here a bit. How exactly does one go about finding their purpose you might ask? What direction should I go? What job should I take? What kind of business should I start up? Or even, who should I marry? One of the great questions that man has been asking himself since the beginning is “who am I and why am I here?” These types of questions can really be answered by using a simple and systematic approach that will produce clarity and cut confusion in finding your answers. I personally believe that God made it simple for a reason. We all really tend to overthink things in my opinion and miss the beauty and simplicity of some of the tools God has given us to utilize. That just happens to be one of my biggest problems myself. I really tend to overthink things and get lost in a labyrinth many times because of this. Most importantly, this approach will begin to generate an everlasting relationship with God. You will start to walk with Him, talk with Him and learn how to listen the for the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit. He will help you navigate life and show you how to become what you where put here to be. There is nothing worse than watching a world of people walking by us every day, who have bought into an idea that they are not special or have not been given any epic ability or talent. What a crock! Interestingly enough, this system and promise even applies and works for those who are troubled by indecision or do not recognize the fact that they have some decisions they need to make. It works for those serious about a decision or direction to take and for those that have no idea where they are going or why. It works both ways. So, by now, most of you are probably saying enough already, what is this system you are talking about? Well, without further ado, let’s get into that.
Step One is finding your purpose. Most people keep try to achieve success by climbing corporate ladders in life or somehow become wealthy hoping this will reveal their purpose. Almost all the time, this just doesn’t work at all. You first need to find your purpose which will give you the fuel necessary to start becoming a success. When someone knows their purpose, their chosen line of production becomes exponentially more clear, powerful and exciting. So once you know your purpose or general direction, you can start aligning your line of production with the purpose God gave you. This will make all the difference! Things start to light up, you begin to feel strong energy and a powerful unquenchable furnace begins to burn inside of you. Soon enough you begin to radiate power and purpose that will be recognizable to you and those around you. Sometimes right away as a matter of fact.
EX: God’s purpose for you------->-------->-------->Your production
Once these two things are aligned the other benefit is that you will find that you will not run out of fuel and burn out nearly as easily. As I once heard someone say, “The two major reasons men or women fail boils down to two words. They are burnout or boredom”. God finds it pleasing when you are seeking him to find your purpose, and He will begin to bless you and empower you with energy and excitement that you have not felt since you were a kid. So, you might be asking “how well does God really know us and is He really interested in our finding ourselves”? Let’s look at what Jeremiah 1:5 says: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Also, let’s read from Luke chapter 12 verse 7. “But even the hairs on your head all have been numbered”. “Fear not, you are more valuable than many sparrows”. Here are just two examples showing how God knows us better than we know ourselves. So, to summarize step one I would like you to consider the possibility that finding your purpose is not some pot of gold at the end of some rainbow that only a few lucky ones ever find. It is not far away from you and is definitely accessible. This leads to our next point and next important step.
Here we go with step number two. Most of us have heard this word a few hundred thousand times in our lives and have really ignored the importance and power of this word. This word is Ask! (A.S.K.)
STEP TWO:
1. A.sk--------->and it shall be given you
2. S.eek-------> and you will find
3. K.nock-----> and it will be opened to you
The bible says in Matthew chapter 7 verse 7 “Ask and it shall be given you; Seek and you will find; Knock and it will be opened to you”. God wants us to A.S.K.! Many people will go through their lifetime never asking, seeking or knocking at all. In my opinion, this is why there are so many lost and wandering souls in our world today. They bounce from job to job, husband to husband, wife to wife, house to house etc. All of this in hopes of finding the answer to their problems. Ultimately, they usually end up repeating the same destructive behavior repeatedly. This behavior digs a pit of despair and sooner or later, most people have dug the hole deeper than they can climb out of. That used to be me for many years. It took me many years of trial and error, business failures, heartaches and losses to finally see the power of this great promise and law God gave us. I began to awaken and realize that this verse, that most of us have all heard many times was not just a great “feel good” story to listen to at church on Sunday. It is an actual promise made by God and a gift for us all to be used by us all. This opens up the communication channel with God allows Him to mold us and direct us in a way that glorifies Him and benefits us in the process. It is a powerful promise to stand on for sure. I Ask you to consider Knocking on God’s door and Seeking your purpose. Seek His wise counsel. At the end of the day it really boils down to this; don’t ask, don’t seek, don’t knock? Don’t complain! You will more than likely be subject to more of the same old random and cyclical lifestyles that so many people are living today. I still remember that merry-go-round very well unfortunately.
I think it’s necessary to make a couple of notes here. When God says “ASK”, he really means it! We all ask for things every day in our lives as every day routine. “Can you pass the salt”, “Can you help me move my new sofa into my apartment this weekend”? etc. When it comes to asking God for help, it has been my experience that the best results come when you really ask whole heartedly with earnest and pleasing motives. God is looking for our attention and really begins to interact with us when you are fired up and convicted. The same applies for when we seek and knock. I’ll have you consider this small example of the difference I am trying to get across here between regular asking and really asking. Have you ever seen someone looking for something valuable to them that they’ve lost? Maybe a lost child or an iPhone? They are absolutely focused with intense will, concentration and motivation to find this valuable thing or person that they so love or need. This is the level of Ask, Seek and Knock that you should have when you want to see results and hear God’s voice quickly. One last quick note, it helps to be on your knees when praying for God’s divine help and direction.
Well, there it is. In order to be fulfilled and truly happy in your success, you need to know your purpose. To find your purpose, you Ask, Seek and Knock on Gods door. Once you feel inspired about what gift God has given you, you can finally begin aligning some sort of business or life production with your new-found fire. Best part of all is that your fire will burn hotter than it ever has, and your fuel will rarely if ever run out because your fuel is coming from God Himself! Thanks for reading the Trojan Horse Forge “I Am” segment.
Best Regards,
Jeff Graz