None of us living had the power to determine the following: Who we were born to? What purpose we were born to fulfill? When we were born? Where we were born? How we would we be raised, and why we were born in the era we were? Over the course of our lives we fill in the myriad of questions with answers. It is up to us to determine who we really are on this earth, what purpose God sent us here to fulfill, when we will put our life in God’s hands, where our lives will have the most impact, how we will best use our God given gifts and talents, and why God felt we would be at our best within the era that we live in. In the book of Acts chapter 17 verses 26-27 the Apostle Paul helps us reinforce our answers. He wrote, “And he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” With his infinite wisdom God knew exactly where and when to send us to fulfill the mission he has for us. Imagine if basketball legend Michael Jordan was born in 1863 instead of 1963. Would there have been a game called basketball for him to revolutionize? Imagine if computer maven Bill Gates was born in 1855 instead of 1955. Would there have been a computer industry for him to effectively innovate? Then imagine if inventor Thomas Edison was born in 1947 instead of 1847.Would there have been electrical innovations for him to implement? Finally imagine if Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford was born in 1963 instead of 1863. Would there have been vehicle assembly lines for him to pioneer? Each of these individuals was born at a time when the tools that God gave them could be maximized. God knew exactly when the world would be able to receive the best benefits from their gifts and talents. We may not have pioneered assembly lines or turned Nike, Microsoft, Edison and Ford into household names; however there is still the ability for greatness in each of us. When God sent us to earth, he knew exactly when to send us, where to send us, and which family to send us to. The environments and cultures in which we allow ourselves to be immersed foster the growth of our abilities. There are prime tasks for all of us to complete within the era in which we all live. We were not born fifty or one hundred years before or after the date God ordered for our lives. He knew exactly when the world would need the gifts and talents that he placed in us. God knows exactly who to use, and precisely what tasks to use them for. In my own life I have learned that the timing of God works in our best interest. If it were up to me, this book would have been written in 2004. Back then I felt that the timing was right and that I was ready to challenge the world with my pen. The problem was when I would try to write, the words seemed inauthentic. The truth is, at that point in my life; I really hadn’t lived or closely witnessed many of the situations that I’ve elaborated on in this book. My work at that time looked as if it would have been guesswork and not genuine. There are many of you reading this that have battled the circumstances of the world longer than I have been alive. The thing is I have been able to take my lessons learned, and those of individuals who have inhabited the earth longer than I and make them relatable to everyone who reads it within these pages. Over the past several years, I have done something that most people never do. I have found my voice in this world. The inconvenient truth is that most people never find their voice in this world. Scores of people have allowed their voices to be silenced or drowned out by others. I have learned that unless you find your voice in this world, someone else will speak for you. Just as importantly as finding my voice, I had to learn the proper time to let my voice be heard. Several years ago I knew the goodness of God, but I lacked the knowledge of his greatness. I had to go through some difficult circumstances and had to experience the power of God moving within my own life firsthand. Looking back now I realize that God allows us to go through difficult circumstances and then he decides to pull us out just in time. I refer to these times as spiritual credit checks. They are evaluators of our faith scores and let us know that God is the only one who deserves the credit for our deliverance. Through it all, I had to grow into the person who wrote this book. For the past several years I wrote fiction, but I didn’t have a passion for the work I was producing. During that same time period, unbeknownst to me, I had been accumulating research materials for this book. God knew better than I that this book would be best received in 2012 and beyond as opposed to 2004. Back then an economic calamity was an unimaginable concept in the United States of America. For most people their lives had been business as usual up until that point. So much has happened in our country since then, where normal life has gone from people skating by, to people scraping just to get buy.
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