Dear Friend,
This month, we will focus on co-creating an unstoppable life. Before we delve into this post, please look back over January. Were you as disciplined as you said you'd be? Did you do or even take steps toward what you purposed in your heart? If you didn't, I encourage you to step back and consider why.
What stopped you? Please assess why you didn't progress last month, or else you'll threaten to repeat the same mistakes this month. Essentially, it's a cycle that you must break.
It's time to create an unstoppable life.
As I sat to write this post, the Biblical story regarding the Tower of Babel came to mind. While I wasn't sure how this story fit this month's Unstoppable Life focus, I knew Holy Spirit would begin to unpack the Genesis 11 story, and I'm excited to share what He's been teaching me.
The Story of the Tower of Babel:
The Tower of Babel story is found in Genesis 11:1-9. It tells of a united humanity that sought to build a tower reaching the heavens in the city of Babylon. Motivated by pride and a desire for self-glory, the people sought to defy God's command to spread across the earth. In response, God confused their language, causing them to speak different tongues and scattering them across the globe. Indeed, the Tower of Babel serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of human arrogance and disobedience, emphasizing the importance of humility and obedience to God's will.
More Context:
Genesis 11:2 tells us that they were new Babylonian citizens, meaning they had just entered a new territory. Upon further study, I learned that they were new to the territory because they were descendants of Noah. More specifically, they were descendants of Noah's son, Ham. From Ham's lineage came Nimrod, a king (Genesis 10:10), who authorized the building of the tower in Babylon (Genesis 10:10 and Genesis 11:2). So the newly settled Babylonian citizens, who likely carried the generational trauma of their forefathers after the flood, decided to build a tower to protect themselves.
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4
Your First Lesson:
The first step to building an unstoppable life begins in your mind with your thoughts. If you want to go further than ever, you must come out of survival thinking. Trauma, whether experienced firsthand or not, can potentially distort gene expression and tamper with your thoughts. It wasn't that the people in this story wanted to build a tower for godly purposes but to make a name for themselves. Essentially, they tried to establish themselves, which they thought offered security. I must remind you that nothing you build out of trauma will last.
So why are your goals your goals this quarter? Why do you want what you want? Please sit with these questions because I think Holy Spirit wants to reveal what's really driving you. While there's greatness inside all of us, few of us have the proper motives, which is why there might be delay.
Do you want certain things to stunt on other people, or do you want it because it helps to establish the Kingdom?
Do you want the accolades because they are central to your Kingdom assignment, or do you want to prove people wrong?
When you begin to step out on faith with the wrong motives, you'll still be able to build. However, what you're building will be perverted and lack potency, leading to ineffectiveness and frustration. Furthermore, God has no obligation to uphold or preserve the work of your hands because you've purposed to do it for yourself in the name of yourself. You've decided to build something for visibility and not transformation. You've chosen to establish yourself instead of allowing God to establish you. You've decided to play God in a dangerous game.
Don't be like the new citizens of Babylon. Don't allow trauma to drive you into constructing something that God will eventually destroy or allow to be destroyed. You've never been this way before. You've never been on this level, and yet, you're threatening to allow trauma to steal from you again.
This month, examine your heart because out of it flows your thoughts, and then you make sure that your desires align with God's plans and purposes for you.
As you go forward, remember Proverbs 19:21 (NIV), "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails."
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