Women of Reverence welcomes Yamkela Pan as a guest blogger.
Yamkela is a wife to Unathi Pan, together they have 3 active boys. They have recently been appointed to lead the youth ministry at Gateway City Church, Alexandra Township in Johannesburg.
Yamkela is an entrepreneur, owner of Panva (Virtual Assistant Business) with a Bachelor of Commerce in Law.
She enjoys baking and spending quality time with family and friends.
After relocating to Johannesburg, at the beginning of this year I sought the Lord for an opportunity to work. The Lord gave me a job at the end of January 2020. COVID -19 happened and my employer had to let me go as they could no longer retain me. I was extremely frustrated with God. I did not understand how he could give me a job that I had prayed for and loved and a few months later, take it away.
God later reminded me of how uncomfortable I felt when I was at my previous workplace. This was not because of the work that I did nor my employers but something in me was missing. When I look back, I can’t help but to be grateful to Mr Mazibeli for the push that he gave me when I was under his leadership. He always encouraged me to aim for excellence and nothing less. He would constantly say to me “Hey Boss, you know you could do exactly what you are doing here from home”, sometimes I would ask myself why he hired me if he wanted me to do my own thing at home.
He expected nothing but the best from me, sometimes this frustrated me as I was still learning. He would double check to see if I have put a full stop in all my sentences, made sure I wrote in perfect tense and aligned my text with the correct units. When I asked for the meaning of a specific term, he would quickly tell me “google is your friend”, not because he didn’t know; but he was teaching me to be self – sufficient.
Fast forward to July 2020 and I registered my virtual assistant business which is due to launch in September. It’s all working together for my good. You see God is doing something new in my life, I am walking on uncharted territories. I believe God afforded me the opportunity to be employed at the beginning of this year so that I can be equipped with the necessary tools to grow my business in excellence. Had I not lost my job, I would still be enjoying the comfort and security of a monthly salary and not take a leap of faith towards my destiny.
There are a few points that I would like us to take note of when God is preparing us for something new:
Allow God to prune you: John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Pruning is uncomfortable; even more so it’s painful, it feels like you are taking 10 steps forward and 20 steps backwards. Allow God to prune you so that you will be even more fruitful.
Get rid of the thorns: Mark 4:7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain” Sometimes the things around you that cause you to feel comfortable hinder you from bearing fruit. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, its not enough to grow- we need to bear fruit.
Learn to wait on the Lord: Habbakuk 2:3 “Though it linger, wait for it, it will certainly come and will not delay” resting in the promises of God gives you peace of mind. His promises might not come at the time that you expect them but remember His timing is perfect. You can not plant today and harvest tomorrow- wait on the Lord.
Trust the process: Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path” The most difficult part about God doing a new thing in your life is trusting the process. Often, we do not understand the detours that He takes us through - but trust that these are pitstops that are meant to equip you. Paul puts it beautifully he says “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4)
No matter what you are going through right now, I encourage you to trust the process, wait on God and while waiting allow Him to prune and de-thorn you so that you will be able to bear even more fruit.
Blessings
Yamkela Pan