I Press...

A piece of coal with applied pressure is metamorphosed into a diamond. This scientific principle gives you a small glimpse of how God moves in hierarchic order. With each new level of spiritual growth, God applies added pressure to your life, peeling off layers of your flesh and removing that dark cloud of confusion that hovers over your mind. That God given fragment ,or piece of puzzle, to your life that at one time didn't make sense to you, begins to finally make sense. The big picture finally registers, and the puzzle becomes complete.Your spirit becomes at rest. And before you know it, your keenness in accurately hearing the voice of God, and understanding His direction and purpose in your life begins to develop even stronger and becomes clearer to you.

After each test that comes with your next level in life, you realize that you shine brighter. You're wiser.You have officially become a diamond. All because God saw that the condition of your heart was to persevere towards seeking truth, and well….he allowed you to find it.

I said all that in reference to the miracle that I have experienced this morning. Though I've always known the gist of my purpose in life, there were still loose ends that left me in question. During undergrad, God specifically told me to major in psychology, concentrating on media psychology, and minor in dance. So trusting God, I did just that. I began to study the media's effects on the development of a human being. Now I'm in graduate school, and God tells me to get a Masters in Digital Media Studies, aka marketing, and human services counseling. Huh?! So again I stepped out on faith believing that God will give me the big picture. Then finally, while praying this morning I heard the voice of the Lord say, "your calling is to market truth." I began to smile because now it all makes sense to me.

After many years of studying and evaluating human behavior and the media's tactics in marketing to the masses their identity and what reality is, it finally registers. My calling is to counteract against the false information that the media markets as truth: how a woman's beauty is based on her figure, complexion, and hair; how sexual activity means true love; how material consumption defines happiness, and etc.... As media illiterate individuals, we set our minds on autopilot, absorbing what the media markets to us as truth and reality.Therefore, we develop these cognitive processes and behaviors of how we think we should be based on these subliminal messages. So as a business research and development consultant I will do marketing research to study the habits of man, and learn how to counteract by marketing truth. "Marketing truth to redeem our culture"....Ahhhh.... i love it !! It's a great feeling to see clearly where my life is heading. I sought God's plan for my life and found it.

In conclusion, each one of us has the

Liberty

 in Christ to discover the mysteries of God and the plans he has for our lives. With it comes a hierarchic ladder of growth and discovery. So continue to run…run after God, climb the ladder of discovery, and hunger for Him until all is fulfilled in your life. And at the end, you see clearly, and you shine brighter.

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

{Philippians 3:14}

May God Bless you according to your faithfulness and obedience to Him.

In Him,

Ashley

Philippians 3:7
Ashley Card 2008 ©