Differentiating

‘O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised’ Ps.119:169

The fact that something is possible does not mean it is plausible. The fact that something is possible does not mean you should pursue it. Just differentiating between these two will save you a lifetime of stress. At this point a lot of people would want to know what to look out for. So how do you know what could be that should be, especially now that you know that not everything that could be should be? How do I know what could be that should be? How do I know what dream qualifies to be the vision I should pursue – the vision I should give my life to? In qualifying a dream, there are three things you need to look out for.

1. The question of why. You must answer why. It could be but why should it be? Why should it be you? Why should it be now? When I was transitioning from paid employment to entrepreneurship, I had a chat with my wife’s boss at the time. She is a renowned consultant in Nigeria. I chatted with her just to pick her brain on a few things and she just went for the jugular. She almost ‘why-ed’ my vision to death. I left that meeting very discouraged and convinced that she was a pessimist. But years have passed and I am grateful for that meeting because the questions she asked caused me to wrestle with certain things. Why? The question is why should there be another church in Nigeria? Does Nigeria really need another church? No. So why God’s Favourite House? Why should Nigeria have another church? The answer is that Nigeria does not need another church; Nigeria needs a different kind of church.
2. The question of purpose. For what purpose is this? It must align with God’s purposes. It is known that if purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. You must know the purpose.
3. The question of burden. After you have answered why and you have checked purpose, the next question is does this bother me? You don’t go into what you don’t have a burden for. Don’t work in a school if you don’t like children.

Prayer: Precious Holy Spirit, help me to discern appropriately what could be that should be, based on the ideas that You have given, in Jesus Name.