Are You Wearing The Right Shoes?: Keys to Cultivating a Purposely MADE Life, Part 3

Trust. It's only a 5-letter word, yet it has tremendous power to change our whole world.

In this blog series, we've been discussing how to walk out cultivating a purposely made life wearing the shoes of peace and patience.

So far, we've dived into 2 parts of what makes up the soles of these shoes: thanksgiving and timing. Today we tackle the remaining component...trust. Admittedly, this is the component that I often resist the most, especially during seasons of transition.

Yes, we've all been through (especially currently) a season of transition. Whether it's moving away to college, a promotion, a new marriage, in between jobs/ careers, a break- up or looking for something more meaningful out of life. If you're actively living life, transitions are inevitable. These times can be difficult and the fear of unknown can increase self-doubt

So how do you navigate seasons of transition with a positive thought process and a growth mindset?'

It starts by setting an unbreakable foundation: God-confidence + Self-Confidence = Unstoppable Favor

The adhesive between these concepts is TRUST.

Just so we are all on the same page, let’s begin by defining the important concepts in this formula:

Trust

/trəst/

firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

Belief

/bəˈlēf/

an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

Confidence

/ˈkänfədəns/

the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.

The reality is that it can be hard to trust that transitions will work in your favor when what is seen with the eyes, heard with the ears and meditated on by the mind differs from what is believed in and the desires the heart.

Confidence Killers will steal your hopes and desires and keep your development stagnant. Three of the most potent confidence killers are:

1. Feelings of Unworthiness: You are worthy loved and valued by God. This is the truth that must be repeated daily. When you don’t believe in your worth and you engage in negative self-talk you are rejecting your own inherent value. The meditations of your heart and mind can either set you up to achieve your dreams or sabotage you so that you fear your blessings. From your very beginning, God deemed you worthy of all the desires of your heart. Awakening and pursuing your purpose leads to the manifestation of these desires. (Eph 1:3-4, TPT)

2. Comparing yourself to others- When you compare yourself to others is a complete energy waster! Why? Because we all have a unique blueprint of our journey in this life. It’s impossible to compare purpose to purpose. Most of the time when we compare lives with someone else, it is based on the “things” that have been granted or earned in their lives so far and where society has said that we should be at in our lives. Again, value and worthiness is attributed to external factors. Your worth is determined by your internal character. Character building is an individual journey so celebrate and express gratitude right where you are instead of comparing.

3. Surrounded by negative people- What you focus on will grow. When you are in a season of transition and redirection, it is crucial that you surround yourself with a like-minded and/ or supportive community. A community that will pray with you and challenge you to grow through action or positioned waiting. Negativity is the poison to true clarity. Nothing will kill a new beginning like consistent seeds of doubt. It’s important to note that, although some people around you will mean well and think they are “just keeping it real with you” in the name of support, truthfully their advice is a reflection of their own fears. When moving into something new in your life, make sure the loudest voice that has the most weight in your decisions is God.

Ultimately, cultivating a purposely made life of peace and patience requires a complete trust and confidence in God. Trust meaning:

Trust really means totally relying upon God promises to you. There are over 3,000 promises in the Bible, a promise for any and every transition in life. Trust is an exchange of faith. Trust is not needing to know the why or the when. It's being present in the moment.

Having God-confidence and Self-confidence will help bring you back and keep you in the present.

God-confidence is supernatural self-assurance; having a firm trust in your God given value, worthiness, and abilities when circumstances or seasons in life challenge your perception of the Truth. Self-confidence is the belief in oneself and feeling assured of your own abilities and chances of future success. It permeates your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Many would argue that the most important character trait that we should focus on is only God-confidence, but I am convinced that both are important. God-confidence is what we KNOW. We know that we can stand on God’s promises as the TRUTH. His word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11)

However; self-confidence is the ability to act on what we KNOW and BELIEVE. Faith without works is dead. In order to see change and manifestation during the seasons of transition, we must be individually confident to trust God and act in faith…. when what is seen with the eyes, heard with the ears and meditated on by the mind differs from what is believed in and the desires the heart.

Trust = God-Confidence + Self-Confidence

God-Confidence + Self-Confidence = Unstoppable Favor

Trust = Unstoppable Favor

Learn to trust God moment by moment in order to receive peace about the inevitable transitions in life and the patience to embrace the growth process.