[Ukemeobong Michael]

I truly believe everyone should take the EHD personal assessment because it helps reveal you to yourself and gives an overview of what this course is really about.

Interestingly, I would suggest not to be too focused on the score itself (I was rated as an emotional adolescent) or to quickly reach the end. What impacted me more were the deep reflections behind each question. It actually took me much longer to complete because I kept having to pause and reflect honestly on the message behind the questions.

One thing I realised this week is that all of us came into this program with different expectations, just as we discussed during the live session. Oftentimes, we come to God with our own expectations — what we think we need. But God sees the full picture, including the things we don’t even realize we need.

Sometimes what you think you need is not actually your deepest need.

The paralysed man at the Beautiful Gate wanted money, but what he truly needed was to walk so he would no longer have to beg again. I believe many of us in this course will discover that God wants to give us far more than what we initially came asking for. But to receive it, we may need to let go of our expectations long enough for God to truly get our attention.

The burning bush was not the main point for Moses — it was the attraction that captured Moses’ attention. The call was the highlight.

For some of us, our hurts, exhaustion, disappointments, or difficulties may simply be the burning bush — the thing God is using to stop us from running outside His plan and to draw us back to Himself.

The scripture that came strongly into my spirit was:

“Take my yoke upon you and learn of me… for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We cannot carry both ours and His at the same time. At some point, we must hand ours over to take His.

So my encouragement would be: don’t become so focused on what you want to get from this course that you miss what God wants to give you through it.

Another reflection I had was this:

Don’t use the Word of God to cover or excuse your weaknesses. Use the Word of God to discover your weaknesses — and then let God cover you.

Share your own thoughts or reflection in the comments.

[Ukemeobong Michael]

One part of the Week 1 that really challenged me was Pete Scazzero’s personal story — how he was leading a growing and impactful ministry while his inner life, marriage, and emotional health were quietly falling apart. What stood out to me was not just the crisis itself, but his humility and openness to change when confronted with the reality beneath the surface.

It made me reflect on how easy it is to pursue success according to prevailing cultural or even “spiritual” standards without realizing we are slowly drifting outside God’s boundaries for our lives. Sometimes the pressure is subtle — the feeling that we are not doing enough, building enough, achieving enough, or becoming enough.

What stood out to me deeply is that not every image of success we see around us is necessarily aligned with God’s assignment for us personally. Even good messages, good ministries, or good examples can create unhealthy internal pressure if they are shaping desires God never intended for us to carry.

I remember a season where while praying, I felt the Spirit of God instruct me to stop listening to certain messages. Not because the preachers were wrong, but because of the images, pace, and ambitions those messages were producing in me that did not align with what God was building in my own life.

This week reminded me that discernment is not only about identifying what is wrong, but also recognising what is not assigned to me.

1 Peter 2:11 (NLT) says:

“Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”

Sometimes those “worldly desires” are not always obvious sinful things, but subtle pursuits, comparisons, pressures, ambitions, and images of success that quietly pull our souls away from rest, peace, and alignment with God’s true calling for our lives.

How do we remain grounded enough to pursue God’s purpose for our lives without being swept away by the prevailing winds of culture, social media, comparison, or even ministry expectations?