So you want to become an accountant, doctor, lawyer, IT professional, business guru, banker, financial adviser etc…? You have an idea of what you need to do.

You want to get A’s in your exams? You have to attend classes + study study study!

So you want to lose weight? You have an idea of what to do or at least know where to get the ‘how to’s’.

You want to make more money? You can cut your expenses and start looking for other sources of income, maybe even go back to school for another degree.

You want to have a baby? Lol, you certainly know what you must do..

According to www.dictionary.com, to be Deliberate means to be conscious, intentional, unhurried and purposeful!

So since we can be deliberate about so many things we want to achieve, why do most of us often fail to be deliberate with the most important person in our lives, God? With the things we really want, we plan how to get them and put the structures in place to execute our plans.

Some of us are even so good that we plan on how to handle the what-ifs and other such challenges if they arise. But our God is not a what-if God and He won’t let you down. So we cannot afford to keep relegating Him to the back burner and meeting with Him at a time of our convenience. We need to walk in a similar vein with Him and be VERY deliberate in our relationship with Him.

He has assured us that Allll not Some, but Allllll things work together for GOOD to those that Love him… so why can’t we deliberate with our relationship with him?

Here are some tips on how to Be Deliberate:

Tip 1 — Surround yourself with the right people.

Iron does indeed sharpen Iron — Plastic cannot sharpen Iron!

Earlier this year, I participated/co-lead Priscilla Shirer’s online Bible Study called the ‘Armor of God.’ Prior to starting the study, I felt God nudging me to do it. However, I was busy and I kept postponing the study. I discussed my busy-ness with a friend, a woman that has been a catalyst in my spiritual journey several times, and she MADE me do it. Fortunately, she already had an online bible study platform and offered to provide the support I needed. She refused to accept my “busy-ness” as an excuse, especially as God had instructed me to do it! Because of her encouragement and her platform, I was pushed to do what God had already instructed me to do in spite of how ‘busy’ I was.

It was important to have a friend that will encourage and not discourage me from obeying God. Through that study, I met many amazing people and so many of us were encouraged, saved and re-energized! There is indeed a purpose for every assignment God gives us :)

Tip 2 — Have Faith

What is Faith? Faith is believing and acting as though God is telling the truth.

Faith means that I trust God, I believe in Him and I have full confidence in His promises.

Many of us have read about the successful believers in the Bible and even in today’s world with amazement. A lot of these men and women had tremendous faith in God. And when you read through some of their stories, you see that their level of faith increased their level of obedience. So this means that the more faith we have, the more obedient we are towards God. When we don’t have faith, we are telling God that we don’t believe in Him and His capacity. We are telling Him that we can sort out our problems without His help.

But note that the main antagonist of faith is FEAR! The opposite of faith is pretty much fear. It creeps in and tells us to be afraid to believe God’s truth and to handle our problems ourselves, after-all God can’t know better than us… (doesn’t this sound like the Devil trying to prevent us from the best!). Fear has held many people ransom for years but it is time to say bye-bye to it and have faith in God.

But it is not just enough to have faith. You need to exercise it as Faith is an ACTION word. So we will discuss how to exercise our faith with the next tip.

Click here for Part 2.