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This is the 13th of our 14-week program, where we provide Lesson #13, on You Being Made for Greatness. Let’s start with my three favorite Scripture verses:

Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you. And I made you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
John 10:10 – I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.

To me, these verses mean that we are made for Greatness:

God conceived of us thousands of years ago
Made each of us with special gifts, talents, desires
He made us for a specific purpose
He made us in His image and likeness
As part of His grand plan, individually and as a part of all of humanity
God doesn’t make mistakes; He doesn’t make junk
On a scale of 1-10, we are all 10s
God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done
He wants the very best for you
He wants you to be happy
In fact…God made YOU for Greatness

We all want to live good lives, to be successful and to be happy. To do so, we have to embrace God’s plan for our lives (simple, not easy)…that’s how we find our Greatness. That’s how I found mine; that’s how you can find yours’.

Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy

With what the world emphasizes as making us happy, I’m not suggesting that surrendering to God’s will is an easy thing. It can be done though by following the steps detailed in these lessons. As discussed, it takes conversion. For me, it also required understanding just how little control I had (have), in addition to coming to a place of finally believing that God:

Loves you more than you love yourself,
Knows what’s best for you, and
Wants your happiness more than you do.

Greatness here isn’t defined as wealth or power or prominence; it’s not notoriety or fame. The greatness we are talking about is being the very best you can be with the significant and unique gifts God has given you. It means responding with a full YES to whatever God is asking of you. You’ll know you’re on the right track because when you start living this way, you’ll no longer feel overwhelmed. Instead, you’ll be fulfilled; you’ll experience peace and have joy in your life.

Lastly, I’m not suggesting that living this life will eliminate all of your problems. We all encounter challenges in our lives. You will continue to do so. What I can guarantee you is that you’ll be able to endure those struggles in an entirely different way. I can also guarantee you that living this life of Greatness that God calls you to will change your life forever….for the significant BETTER!!!

Suggested Actions

So, here’s my suggestion for this week:

During your morning prayer routine this week, think about two things:
- What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
- Given your talents, desires, and needs, what is God calling you to? Listen for His voice, which will lead you to your God given purpose….your GREATNESS!!!
Watch this Friday’s video on this same subject….it will be emailed to you.

Please join us next Wednesday for Week #14 when we conclude these lessons by talking about True Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment. As always, please feel free to get to me with questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

Week #1 – Being Overwhelmed
Week #2 – Earning the love of others
Week #3 – Lack of self-love
Week #4 – Fear
Week #5 – False gods, False happiness
Week #6 – Life’s Tragedies
Week #7 – Wounds, Resentments

Week #8 – Discovering God’s Love
Week #9 – Forgiveness and healing
Week #10 – Becoming the best Possible You
Week #11 – Path to Peace
Week #12 – Finding your Purpose
Week #13 – You were made for Greatness
Week #14 – True Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment

This is the 10th of our 14-week program, where we provide Lesson #10, Becoming the Best Possible You. Given what we discussed in Lesson #8 (in understanding God’s unconditional love, the unimaginable is achievable), I’m sure it won’t be a surprise that the things I’d suggest in “becoming the best possible you” are rooted in our faith.

In Chapters 9 and 10 in my book, I provide a litany of things that not only help us grow in faith, but will lead to a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment. Today I’d like to talk about two. Although they may not appear overly “sexy”, they’ve changed my life. They include:

Prayer
Spiritual Reading

Give me a chance here. Let’s review each individually.

Prayer

First, if you struggle with prayer, know that you’re not alone. Almost everyone struggles with prayer. Second, you may struggle with prayer because you think you don’t get anything out of it. I was there at one time too. Here’s how I solved for it.

Rote Prayer – for a long time, I’ve said rote prayers, specifically the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. Since my conversion, I’ve added to that the long form of the Serenity Prayer and a prayer that I wrote in 2009. The difference as opposed to before, is that I now hang on every word of each of those prayers, praying through them very, very slowly. You’d be amazed what it does for your prayer life, your connectedness to God, when you do this.

Quiet Time – 7-10 (even 15) minutes in the morning, a great way to start your day. Eyes closed, in solitude, describe an issue to God. It could be a challenge or an opportunity. It could be something you want to examine about yourself or find insight in others. It can be anything. Describe it to our Lord, providing your thoughts and ideas, your fears and ambitions. Then sit in silence. Wait to hear what Jesus has to share with you. Although I’ve never heard the audible voice of God, He speaks to my heart….I’ve never left this prayer time disappointed. It’s also a great opportunity to journal.

Spiritual Reading

Scripture – the first that I’d point to is reading Scripture. I love the saying, “it’s one thing to know the Bible, it’s another to know its Author”. The only way to get to know its Author, God, is to read Scripture. In reading short passages, I’d suggest two things:

Imagine yourself at the time of Christ; how do you see yourself handling the situation, reacting to what occurred?
Pray through what the relevance is in your life today

Faith Based Books – ten minutes a day will change your life. As an author, it amazes how many people don’t read. It’s true, many don’t. Struggling with reading as a youth, for years now I read 30-60 minutes before going to sleep every night. It doesn’t have to be that for you. Just 10 minutes a day (night) will have a tremendous impact. There are so many great books out there, those which speak to the heart and the head. I know you can find some that speak to you. I list some of my favorites is in the back of my book.

Suggested Actions

This week’s suggestions are pretty simple (not always easy) and obvious, given the above:

Pray
- Very slowly, say your rote prayers, hanging on and praying through every word
- Quiet time – share with our God what’s most on your heart
Spiritual Reading
- Read and pray through some Scripture every morning (I’d suggest starting with the New Testament)
- Read faith-based books that speak to you
Watch this Friday’s video on this same subject….it will be emailed to you.

Please join us next Wednesday for Week #11 when we talk about the Path to Peace. As always, please feel free to get to me with questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph