Written by Leandra Cleinwerck: 

Hi guys! 

Here is a little about me, I’m a seventeen-year-old teenager who is madly in love with my Creator. God has changed my life and has given me a love for people. I have made it a personal mission to make sure that I can encourage a generation by bringing hope with God’s Love being my foundation. Enough said about me and let us jump into the message that I have for you today.  

I have summarized my message into five points that I will expand on: 

• Identify your calling and acknowledge it. 
• Chat with God.
• Spend time in the word.
• Obedience.
• Speak truth over yourself.

IDENTIFY YOUR CALLING AND ACKNOWLEDGE IT:

Our purpose in life is to fulfil our calling. The beauty with regards to this point is the fact that each calling is uniquely designed per individual but our purposes are all the same, to be used as God’s vessels. We were all created with a mandate, to impact and influence those around us hence why we are not useless beings. In fact, it’s quite the opposite actually, our mission here on this Earth is far greater than what we may think or at times even comprehend. Once we are able to understand why we have been created we are able to dig a little deeper. Our callings can vary but with each calling there is a spiritual gift attached. In other words, the world is a blank canvas but God has given you the pallet of paint, with a unique, specified array of colours and has given you the opportunity to paint the canvas. I firmly believe that God stirs up certain desires in our hearts that help us navigate what our callings are. Once we are able to acknowledge what those desires are we tend to become curious and ask specific questions about those desires. Please understand that there is a difference between spiritual desires and fleshly desires. Our flesh can lead us to destruction if not restrained whilst our spirit will always pave a way to a prosperous path ahead. 

CHAT WITH GOD: 

This is a personal favourite, I love chatting to God and actually expressing myself to Him. However many Christians battle to do so. Now you might be asking, what does she mean? What I mean is that we tend to put on this façade that everything is always okay, when it’s not. We do not need to be perfect in front of God, we need to just be honest. Honest about what and how we are feeling because whether we want to admit it to Him or not, He knows. In fact, He knew how you were going to feel before you even felt how you felt. Ha, tongue twister there. Anyway, in Psalms 139:13 it says, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” God already knows you so intimately as He formed you and designed your DNA. He knows everything about you, whether it be the smallest of details or the most obvious ones -He knows because He designed it. You should feel the most comfortable with God than anyone else. I want to encourage you to ask the hard, personal and vulnerable questions. God will give you some of His wisdom. At times we feel too ashamed to be honest with God just because of our flawed nature. Especially when we are honest about things we thought we overcame. I can solemnly promise you that God will never leave you and that He will constantly pursue you even if you turn your back on Him.  

SPEND TIME IN THE WORD: 

As I had mentioned before God gives us the tools in order to fulfil our calling. For starters, He has gifted us with unique spiritual gifts. However, one thing remains the same and that is His word. It always blows my mind to consider that the Bible has been crazy accurate since Day 1. Or just the idea of how History is always repeating itself just perhaps in various means or forms. Which emphasizes the fact that this world needs a Saviour. God has shared His heart, vision, wisdom and literal truth with us in the Bible. God ministers to us through His word as the Bible goes far deeper than what we just read. The understanding and context of each scripture is what is so surreal. Many times we will see that God directs us to certain passages in the Bible. We need to be able to ask God the hard questions and figure out what exactly He is trying to show us in these particular passages. The word will navigate your path and God will always help you to establish an understanding of His word.

OBEDIENCE: 

This one is a big one. We need to be able to surrender ourselves before Him and by doing so we need to lay down our fleshly desires. By turning away from our fleshly desires we can step into what God has called us to do. As only then can our plan can align with His. Speaking from personal experience it is always a lot harder to walk away from our fleshly desires as it fulfils us temporarily whereas with our spiritual desires we reap the blessings after the trial and be witnesses of our own personal and spiritual growth. 1 John 2:17 it says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” In other words, it’s harder to turn away from what’s bad as it poses as a sort of “quick-fix” instead of staying on the straight and narrow road as the victory comes later but lasts for a lifetime. With regards to your calling, you have the power to use it for good or for evil, but what you need to keep in mind is what seeds you are planting. Not only for yourself but for others too. 

SPEAK TRUTH OVER YOURSELF: 

The power of the tongue is essential with regards to stepping into your calling as it has the power to speak life or death. What we speak is released into the atmosphere and (I need to remind myself of this at times too) we need to build each other up and not tear each other down. There are little truths that I remind myself of daily such as, “You are enough.” “You are loved.” “You are never alone.” If anything, I really want to encourage you to build relationships with yourself. Get to know yourself and ask God to show you how He sees you. Whether you want to believe it or not, you are your own worst enemy or your greatest companion. What you feed your mind is essential to how you are wired. Do not get me wrong, this is easier said than done- I would know. Again, speaking from personal experience, I had to change the way I think. It took me two years to get into a healthy mindset and God was gracious enough to help me through it. He is gracious and merciful to us especially when we stumble. His Love is never determined by our deeds or how many we’ve wronged in our lives. His Love is based on truth and will forever remain so as He sent His Son to die for us fully knowing that not everyone will choose Him as their Saviour. 

In conclusion, speak to God about the desires of your heart. Know that your gifting is uniquely tailor-made for you. God has designed you in His image and He is the ultimate Artist. Spend time in the word as the Lord has given you the tools to overcome everything that this world will throw at you. The Bible is filled with truths that you can stand on to thrive. Lay down your fleshly desires and hold dearly on to your spiritual desires. When you are in doubt know that the Lord your God is always with you. Speak words of life over yourself and others too. Your calling is something so sacred and the enemy is aware of that but stand firm in your faith and believe that God will carry you through. Life will not always make sense but God knows what He is doing and the trials we face might last a lifetime but the blessings that God has for us lasts for an eternity. 

About the Author: 

I firmly believe that there are so many things that Christians are afraid of speaking about or asking due to judgment or shame. I have noticed this stigma attached to the idea of what it means to be the “perfect” Christian and I want to change that. A lot of my writing revolves around the real, raw, realities of humanity. Being born again doesn’t mean that your days of mistakes are through, it’s not. Being born again is understanding the Love that God has for you and choosing to walk in that. Regardless of any circumstances, we need to rise up and stand firm in our Faith. 

If you would like to know more about me go check out my: 

Instagram: @Leanov03 

Blog: Woman Redeemed Blog (https://woman-redeemed.com/blog-3/)