I hear it all too often.

“I know I’m called, but I don’t know where to start.”

“I feel like I have so much potential, but I don’t know what to do.”

“I feel stuck.”

Does this sound familiar? Do you see people around you flourishing in favor and immersed in impact while you’re drowning in doubt? Do you question when you’ll have the opportunity to leave a lasting effect in the lives of others?

Fortunately, I can help. I’ve mentored many women, and between all of their stories, I’ve found four steps that will free you from the dreaded feeling of being stuck.

Step 1: Solidify your season

Your expectations are unrealistic when your season is unclear. If you expect to give to others when you’ve never discovered your gifts, then that’s unrealistic. When you expect to heal others while you’re walking around wounded, then that’s unrealistic.

Define your season.

Every person falls into one of four categories, or stages, in their walk with Christ:

1. Knowing: Knowing who God is; learning how to be intimate with Him.

2. Healing: Healing from wounds of the past and breaking free from sin habits.

3. Discovering: Discovering spiritual gifts, growing in self-awareness, understanding what you’re made to do and accomplish.

4. Walking: Walking in your calling powerfully and confidently.

If you’ve never sold out to knowing God, now’s that time. Don’t skip to working for God before you build a relationship with God. You could look wildly successful to the world, but if God’s not in it, then it isn’t a success to God. God wants to know you, and you should want to know God. Sell out to knowing God intimately and hearing His voice before you hastily rush towards a new venture.

If you’re in a season of healing, then sell out to being whole. Like the flight attendants mention in the airplane aisles after you take flight, “put on your mask first before attending to others.” When you’re healed, you have the strength to heal others.

If you’re discovering who you are, then use this season as a launching pad into your calling. Sell out to stewarding all of your gifts once you discover what those gifts are. What are you naturally good at? What are your spiritual gifts? What is unique about your personality?

Study yourself. Become self-aware. Become the best YOU possible.

If you’re in a season of WALKING, then proceed to the rest of this blog.

Step 2: Steward your gifts

Let me ask you this: if you know what you’re gifted to do but you’re not doing it, then what are you doing?!

You’re responsible to know your own gifts; a prophet shouldn’t have do that for you. You’re responsible to steward your own gifts; a mentor can’t do that for you. You’re responsible to multiply your own gifts; a pastor can’t do that for you. Like the parable of the talents teaches us, don’t just bury what you’re given; grow what you’re given! Take your natural abilities, pair them with your spiritual gifts, and then hone in on them to make them your expertise.

In December, my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I could have asked for makeup, clothes, or weave. In fact, I considered all of those things! But I knew that I needed to invest in myself in a deeper way.

In 2017, God told me that I’m anointed to preach, to pray, and to prophesy. I recently realized that I hadn’t been taking my anointing to preach seriously. It was time to grow in my gifts. In December, I told my husband that for Christmas I wanted to purchase Havilah Cunnington’s “Crash Course to Communication.”

Purchasing that was the best decision ever. I was able to learn how to format my sermons and messages so that they’re well-rounded, biblically sound, and relatable. After I stewarded my anointing well by investing in my personal growth, I was blessed with the opportunity to preach at The GO Downtown (the church my husband and I lead) for the first time. I preached on “Confidence in Relationships.” It was a blessing to so many people! Check out the sermon here!

I’m not suggesting that walking in purpose equates to the gift of preaching. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. Use YOUR gifts, abilities, personality, passions and experience to make an impact in your sphere. Learn how God created you so that you can navigate your calling with confidence.

Step 3: Set your goals BIG

If you desire to walk in purpose but you don’t have a plan, then you’re playing yourself.

Building something bigger than yourself does not happen by osmosis. It is intentional. It is calculated. It is planned.

First, set goals that align with your purpose and deadlines that challenge you. Then, scale your goals ten times bigger.

Example:

You-sized goal: I will start contacting various community outreach opportunities and volunteer once every quarter. I want to be a help to my community.

God-sized goal: I will contact community outreach opportunities and volunteer every single week. I will be be a pillar in my community.

See how that works? Now you’ve got something that you can work with!

It could be that you’re trying to grow in purpose, but you’re trying to set “realistic,” “reasonable,” or “reachable” goals. If you want to do something you can accomplish easily, then why do you need God, sis?

Stop playing it safe. Stop playing it small. Set God-sized goals.

Step 4: Speed up your pace

I mentor many women, and one common theme that I find when they’re looking to launch a God-dream and walk in purpose is speed.

You’re going too slow.

If heaven and hell are real places, then why are you sitting around waiting for an opportunity to be handed to you? There are SOULS on the line. People are waiting for YOU to step up to the plate to use YOUR gift and point them back to Christ.

If you work a job, you don’t sit around and wait for the perfect conditions to work. You just work. You just figure it out. Why don’t we treat the assignments of God the same way? We make excuses for why we can’t do what He’s told us to do, even though we claim Him to be “CEO” of our lives.

When you sit on your purpose waiting for the perfect timing, it’s an expression of entitlement. You think you’re entitled to live another day, when God never promised you that.

If you say, “I’ll launch next year,” then that means you’re assuming you will have another year.

Don’t procrastinate on your purpose. Don’t let perfection cause you to procrastinate. Don’t let pride cause you to procrastinate. As long as you have breath in your lungs, pursue purpose.

xoxo,

Amanda Pittman