Someone sent this story to me recently. Seemed like it stood on it’s own legs, so I haven’t edited it for posting. I hope it encourages you as much as it encouraged me.

“One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well, and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.”

Pastor Graham Cooke, in his teaching, Living Your Truest Identity, suggests this exercise to help with this discovery process:

God’s goal is to help you live in the “instead.” (See Isaiah 61) And it’s not about getting there … it’s about staying there. God has already done this for you. We are looking for the “abiding.” (See John 15)

1. Take out a sheet of paper. Down one side of it, list everything that you feel is against you; everything that threatens you; areas of personal defeat; everything that is keeping you from your destiny; any areas where you have a deficit in your personal character. This is your “negative” list. Any negative thoughts, or ideas that you harbor, write them all down. This is not a quick project. Take your time. Let Jesus help you.

2. Now, take out a second sheet of paper and ask the Holy Spirit to help you find the opposite of the things you wrote down on the first list. Maybe a thought like “I always do it wrong,” becomes “I do everything perfectly in God’s sight.” This list too will take some time.

3. Once you’ve completed your second list, (Destroy the first one) go back through and look at these as promises … ask, is there a prophesy or a revelation; maybe a Scripture verse Jesus wants to attach to these?

4. This second list is a list of all God’s purposes for you in Christ in this next season. God wants to establish and bless you in each one of these. He wants you to realize, and live in everything on this list. This becomes your “instead” for the foreseeable future.

5. Refer to this list often. Use it during your prayer time. Share it with your spouse, or close trusted friend. And begin to practice living in these promises. This is how Heaven sees you. This is where God wants to relate to you. This is who you are!

“It is your desperate attempt to get some control over something you can’t. It is impossible for you to take control over something you can’t. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn’t even real, nor will it ever be real. You try and play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try and make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear.” (Paul Young)

It’s a hard concept for many to accept; that your entire life, every aspect of it, was written and surveyed by God before you ever came into existence. Theologically, you can debate this all day long, but the fact remains; “all the days ordained for (you) were written in (God’s) book before one of them came to be.” So rather than spending our lives swimming up stream against God’s current, how might your life be different if you embrace your journey as it unfolds, and ask Father God to show you, each day, what He has for you in each circumstance?

“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16)

How much of life do you spend trying to arrange for it to happen the way you’d like for it happen?

“Man searches for better methods, but God seeks for better men. The world takes able men who are talented and tries to give them character. God says to take men of character, faithful men, and He will develop them into able men.” (Strategies For Spiritual Harvest)

Corporate America is always looking for a more qualified chief. It evaluates man’s success rate and ability to produce results as criteria for position. It’s survival of the fittest, the smartest, and the most qualified. Just because someone is “smart” doesn’t mean they have the right heart. God isn’t always looking for the smartest, or the most talented to send out on His assignments. By all accounts, the Apostle Paul wasn’t a very polished guy. And by his own admission, didn’t speak very well. Moses said, “who am I?” How many times have you said that? When it comes to matters of the Spirit, don’t let yourself be judged by the standards of the world. As Kingdom citizens, we have different criteria. If God calls, go. Let Him prepare the way and work out the details.

“But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)

Do you ever feel like God’s asking you to do something you don’t think you can?

“To sleep through your dreams is to choose a life of restless nights and unfulfilled days. To avoid the pain of fear, doubt, and disappointment we have numbed ourselves from the exhilaration of a life fully lived.” (Erwin McManaus)

I realize how difficult finding your authentic path in life can be. It’s a journey. While I believe I am closer than ever before, it is still being defined for me. The key, I believe, is to stay in touch with the Holy Spirit and His movements in your life. This generally is not an instant process. My wife went on a nearly two year exploration within herself, often stepping away from the path because of the frustration. Eventually she followed up on a nudging of the Spirit to investigate a potentially new career field, and it paid off. Now she’s in training, and loves it. She believes, and I can tell, this is what she was supposed to do. But I know there were moments when her resolve was to just leave things as they were. We all experience it. What I want you to take away today is, don’t give up hope. Even when it feels like there are no answers. Keep digging into your heart, and investigate every whim. The next one might just be the right one.

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:25)

Have you given up hoping for God to show you where He wants you to be?