written by Dr. Maxine Wilson
You got that kingdom assignment! You prayed for it and received it, but you struggled with the execution. All you can think about is how to work through the prescribed project management principles, including the defined start and end date with various steps in between. You have heard consistently about being SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Then you become distracted by the need for resources, worried about where and how you will access all that your “project” needs to accomplish success. You continue to question the financial requirements, including an infusion of capital. You have mastered the formulas and adjusted calculations as far as you can estimate. Finally, you start to doubt yourself, convinced that you lack the necessary skills, and are confident that you cannot guarantee success under those conditions. All that indoctrination is worldly strategic management 101, not kingdom assignment.
So very often, our assignment is derailed and our purpose abandoned by our overthinking. This is because we have focused too much on practicality. While in professional grooming, the technique is to forecast, develop strategies, and control variations, Kingdom Assignments are different. This unconventionality is mainly because of the absence of the details, an established path of experience, and identified contingencies. They are not about what you can do on your own strengths. Instead, these assignments rely on God’s strength, His divine guidance, and the application of faith, wisdom, and discernment.
Being a Project Management practitioner, I fully understand the philosophies and doctrines of this skill and its consistently evolving processes. We learn to predict outcomes, develop strategies and bottom lines then work backward to fit within the constraints. Basically, to control all aspects before we determine profitability and funding. If we can’t account for each detail upfront, we deem that assignment unproductive, a loss, and a “no-go.” Kingdom Assignments are not business as usual. Therefore, its execution cannot be modeled as required by blueprinted business principles.
A Most Recent Reminder
More than a year ago, I was called to a Kingdom Assignment. I was sure that I was on a break after my last decade-plus assignment, or so I convinced myself, but here I was, activated to service once more. There was a sense of urgency attached, and guidance was revealed through Hebrews 10 v 24 & 25: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching. I accepted and have been obedient to the execution of this event as my Kingdom Assignment.Â
During this year, I have fully understood the belief that God will honor the promise if we honor the process. It often felt easier to quit as I encountered challenges, stared down obstacles, and grappled with disappointments. Still, the Holy Spirit reminded me that “Complacency is the enemy of expectation and the creator of procrastination.” Revelation 3 verse 2 awakened me from my lackluster attitude: “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.”  I quickly pivoted with the understanding that I needed to change my view from the limitations of the turtle to the elevation of the giraffe. At that moment, I saw how everything we needed was made available even when many thought of it as impossible. I recall my angst when I realized we didn’t have even one vendor. After calls to twenty-seven with no interest and many excuses, prospective sponsors started to seek past performance analytics. On another side, we were being challenged by the “who and what was” naysayers and critics. Filled with frustration and disappointment, I sat in my closet, feeling lost and defeated. I cried out to God, reminding Him that I surrendered to Him, accepted the assignment, and am committed to its execution. I needed Him to remove the obstacles, guide me through the challenges and cover my team and me through the warfare. Two days later, I had my first vendor. A few weeks later, we were saying, “no more space” to numerous inquiries.”  We moved from no participants on the main stage to creatively calculating how to fit everything within the timeframe. Every expertise required to execute this assignment with excellence became available, and every mal-intended arrow was redirected for the benefit of the assignment.
I became emboldened to execute the vision unamended. I learned not to become paralyzed by fear – of the unknown or the perceived challenges based on the known details. Instead, I came to see the resources of the Lord as limitless, and I quickly understood my role in placing limits based on practical calculations. I faced my lack of ability to comprehend my infinite source.
Executing Kingdom Assignments
While no two assignments are identical, here are some lessons learned on executing Kingdom Assignments:
Translate the Vision
We are still required to translate the vision as this will help develop a real plan. In setting goals, be intentional and focused. Be cognizant that your assignment didn’t come with a full download of every minute detail. Your execution is built on faith, knowing that everything you need will be made available, even though you can’t see the complete picture at this stage. As such, don’t limit your plans to the known details. Believe that God can do exceedingly abundantly all you could ask, hope or dream and translate the vision on that unshakeable foundation. Be focused and intentional!
Set and Manage Expectations
You should translate the vision and execute the plans in alignment with the goal but understand that you don’t control the outcome. Recognize the makings of chaos and confusion while preserving clarity. Stand firm and confident that God is about order and any form of chaos or confusion is not from Him. Ensure you are operating and carrying out your assignment methodically and meticulously. You must align each action to the translated vision in a selfless and goal-directed manner. While you have been given the assignment, the focus was never just about you. Philippians 2:3 caution: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves.” When we remove our selfish ambitions and eliminate ulterior motives, we clear the path for the vision to be developed and executed according to the will of God. After all, it is a Kingdom Assignment. While we operate in this world, its effect and value must be distinctive from worldly maneuvers.
Maintain Balance without Compromise
Everyone is not a part of your assignment. Although some are longtime and ardent supporters, you cannot bring them with you or make them part of your assignment. Yes, this is where you have to maintain a balance between relationships and Kingdom resources. We want to include those we trust and reward those who have been by our sides, and we create opportunities to include them in our current assignment. However, be mindful that the choice for those on your assignment is not up to you. Most importantly, God often uses those we deem insignificant to the process and even the enemy’s soldiers as a resource to achieve success.
Effectively Manage Your Resources
Never allow autonomy to become the Modus Operandi of your assignment. Reliability and trust in your resources are admirable, but we must be watchful while maintaining healthy boundaries. It is your assignment, and some tasks require YOU, no one else. Don’t allow the fear of losing support or valued skills cause you to compromise the vision. Do not be afraid to manage the people helping you execute your assignment. We become so grateful for the skills and talents we are accessing that we give in to their suggestions, advice, and actions contrary to the vision. It is wise to take counsel and adjust when necessary, but always ensure that implementation of those ideas and activities does not deviate from the vision or that adjustments do not water down or change the assignment. Always check motives and maintain the authority you gained as part of this assignment.
Let Go and Let God
God brings us like-minded people to support our assignment. He will also allow challengers in the process. Each person will come for specific roles over defined periods. Some will support the planning, others the implementation, and some will bring lessons. Still, there will be many who stay for the entire assignment. Recognize who is who and when the time has come for them to go, let them. Many issues are born when we try to keep seasonal people as permanent participants.
Recognize the Tactics
Managing Kingdom assignments requires us to be aware of challenges, obstacles, and the various tactics implemented across our path. There is no question that once you accepted that assignment, you entered the battlefield. Like any solider, you will need to “suit up,” requiring you to have the whole armor. However, to know how to respond, you must be able to recognize these tactics. Know when it’s the enemy’s distraction versus a divine adjustment. Guard your mind! Become aware of games targeting your mind or feeding into your weaknesses. Recognize that your opponent uses your insecurities to gain leverage and fear based on those insecurities to paralyze you.
Discern God’s Timing
You don’t control time, so don’t fixate on it. Often we push to accomplish tasks and execute the vision within our schedule. We fail because we made it about ourselves and our personal schedules ̶fitting the assignment within the constraints of our demands rather than allowing God’s timing to prevail. In my first foray into Kingdom Assignment, onlookers viewed my process as a reaction to an injustice. After factoring in all the positive variables, the calculations suggested two years for a full resolution. On the contrary, that assignment lasted fourteen years. The lesson ̶ we don’t control the variables, and depending on the nature of the assignment, we have no choice but to honor God’s timing.
Be Thankful in All Things
Maintain an attitude of gratitude for all things. It is challenging to stay upbeat through all the seasons of your assignment. Still, there’s a difference between understanding the significance of these challenges and being thankful. Rather than looking at situations from the perspectives of setbacks, loss, and disappointments, view them as lessons, blessings, and revelations. Instead of focusing on what has changed or resting too long in the success, learn always to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. Refrain from self-pity or allow yourself to become controlled by the situation, but go through them with divine guidance, praising God through it all. Remember, the best way to demonstrate faith is to give thanks always, in all circumstances, knowing that there is a purpose to it all.
Pray, Meditate, and Reflect
You put your faith into action aligned with transformational goals through prayer, meditation, and reflection. Within these moments, you learn how to maintain calm, trust the process, and take bold actions on your instructions. Pray continuously, especially when you feel distracted, tired, burdened, or challenged. There is no need to over-analyze or accept defeat driven by fear. Instead, bring everything to God in prayer. Ask the questions and seek answers. Confess your worries and give Him your struggles.
Listen for His instructions.
The faith-based approach to Kingdom Assignment is often unpopular. Many will quickly point out the follies of this approach based on their experience in business and success defined by titles, status, and education. However, that is the beauty of Kindom Assignments. It is not given by people and cannot be qualified or quantified by their standards. It is often sensationalized that God gives his hardest battles to his toughest soldiers. While I don’t know God’s reasons, I know we are often called to duty and given assignments aligned with our purpose. Know that whatever the assignment you have been given, even in areas you have no experience, God will provide you with everything you need precisely when you need it.
