Stay in the place of your grace.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. - Romans 12:6-10

If you will excel and amount to much in God, you are to stay in the place of your calling. There is a place of your grace and there is also a place of your disgrace. You need to identify the two to know the right place to be. Abraham dwelled where God called him but Lot left the place of God's presence to a place that looked fertile - Sodom and Gomorrah, the land that God has cursed. Eventually, Lot lost out, died in the cave. He committed incest with his daughters to produce two cursed nations that have ceased to exist on earth today. A righteous Lot lost all because he did not stay in the place of his grace.

Beloved, the expertise of a fish is displayed in the sea. The fish does not struggle to swim; it does not learn to swim because water is its natural habitat. In water, the fish can do whatever it likes. But the same fish on the land, no matter how big it is, looks helpless and struggles to live/survive. It struggles and wriggles until it dies because it is not in the place of its grace. May you understand the place of your grace. Identify your placement and succeed there. Don't be presumptuous and assume you can do what others are doing. A broomstick cannot sweep but the whole bunch can. You need me and I need you, we all need ourselves, no one could say 'I don't need you'.

There are some today who are trying to be who they are not, they want to be others because they don't like what they are. If you like yourself, you will like whatever God gives you. No one is ungifted, God is a gracious God and full of mercy; He has given us grace depending on our ability. You are not a photocopy; you are born original. You may not be able to do what I'm doing but you can also do some things I can't do.

Beloved, when you identify your placement and place of your grace, you will excel, you will soar and become a master in whatever you do.

Criticisms of people against you are mere opinion and it doesn't affect your promotion if you are in the will of God. No one rewards a football fan for watching and criticizing the players. Only players are rewarded at the end of the game and it will be a waste of time for a player to answer critics while he's playing. May you learn to stay in the place of your grace.