”Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV)
As a teenage girl, Susan never knew what God had called her to be, nor did she understand her purpose. As a non- believer, the only thing she knew was that she often had dreams of being at the top and achieving greatness. Like many young people, her early journey felt normal and steady. However, as she grew older, she began to experience recurring setbacks. These challenges forced her to ask deep questions: why was she facing these obstacles, and, more importantly, how could she be delivered from them?
Desperate for breakthrough, these questions pulled Susan closer to God. Little did she know that He was drawing her into His secret place—preparing, moulding, and transforming her for His divine assignment .Because she couldn’t yet identify God’s plan amidst the noise of life, for it took her a long time to understand what was truly happening. That is gaining light, wisdom, understanding and knowledge on God’s Word.
Before Susan realized it, she was over forty years old. And her journey had been marked by heavy losses: two miscarriages, the passing of deeply loved ones, several failed businesses, health challenges, and severe financial instability.
At this breaking point, hitting a wall where nothing she tried seemed to work, she made a definitive choice to be completely sold out to God. It was in this season of total surrender that she finally recognized her true assignment: to be His servant, a prophet to the nations, teaching the gospel and connect the lost back to God.
We might ask: why did God allow her to spend over 25 years going in cycles without any visible, practical achievements? Why did she have to lose loved ones, money, and businesses? While there is no single definitive answer, those 25+ years to me served as her spiritual schooling—spanning from primary, secondary, university, and housemanship training. Sometimes, painful seasons are necessary to break our pride, make us sober, and cause us to yield to God.
Like Moses, Susan finally yielded to her divine assignment, and God took delight in her transformation. She quickly realized a fundamental truth: the earlier she yield to God, the better and faster she progressed. At age 45, God gave her some specific blueprint for her partnership with Him and she was commanded to:
• Obey the call to repentance: Embrace a new heart in Christ, walk with him and live a transformed life.
• Love God dearly: Keep God’s instructions faithfully for this obedience within a loving relationship carries the promise of long life and abundant provision wherever He leads her (Deuteronomy 11:1, 9, 24).
• Trust God absolutely: Looking to God daily for both physical and spiritual supply (Deuteronomy 11:14, Psalm 121:1-2).
• Guard against pride: Refuse to serve material things or wealth once blessings manifest (Deuteronomy 11:16).
• Legacy and discipleship: Keep these instructions and teach them diligently to her children, creating a ripple effect of generational blessings (Deuteronomy 11:19-20).
Many of us dabble in various ventures, wasting years before settling into our true callings. Like Susan, have you recognized your assignment, and are you actively walking in it? Or are you still unsure, trying different things just to see what sticks? The earlier we yield, the faster we advance.
Not all delays are demonic or orchestrated by the enemy. Sometimes they are self-inflicted; other times, it’s the weight of the assignment which requires a longer season of moulding. Therefore, re-aligning with God’s will gives us the confidence that we are in the right place and when we are aligned, achieving our assignment will no longer be an uphill battle, but a natural flow of His grace.
Therefore, align now and stop going in circles. Don’t allow setbacks hold you any longer!
Shalom 🕊️
Bimpe Lawal