Uncommon Path Network

Dear Path Finder,

I pray you find your purposeful path, walk audaciously in it, and inspire others to find theirs too.

On 05 June 2025, I published my very first Uncommon Path newsletter.
I remember how long I sat with the idea, not because I didn’t know what to write, but because I didn’t know if anyone would read it.

I wondered:
Will I be consistent? Will people engage? Will this even matter?

And now, seven months later… here we are.

Uncommon Path is no longer just a weekly newsletter.
It has become a home, a platform that holds writers and Path Finders who are choosing to journey bodly on their uncommon path.

The resistance I faced before publishing the first newsletter wasn’t from people closing doors in my face.
It wasn’t from friends or family discouraging me.
It wasn’t even systems working against me.

The battle was internal.

It was me against me.
A battle with myself.
The enemy within.

Because sometimes, our delays and limitations aren’t caused by external opposition. Sometimes the enemy is the voice we carry inside ourselves, the beliefs we’ve hosted, the fear we’ve normalized, the insecurity we’ve made peace with.

We spend so much time praying against external enemies, people, systems, delays, rejection, and yes, those things can be real. But sometimes the greatest limitation isn’t what’s happening around us. It’s what’s happening inside us.

We wait for doors to open, while our self-esteem quietly keeps us locked inside ourselves.

We wait for people to take a chance on us, while our limiting beliefs convince us we’re not worth betting on. And if we don’t confront those beliefs honestly, we will never conquer them. We will never take them to God in prayer. We will just keep carrying them quietly… and calling it “waiting.”

That is why the worst enemy you can have is the one living inside you, especially when you are unaware. Because what you don’t confront, you will always accommodate. And what you accommodate, you will begin to call normal.

Confront the enemy

You might be thinking:
“Oyena… what does it even mean to confront the enemy within? And isn’t the enemy overcome on the cross?”

Yes, Jesus overcame the enemy on the cross.
But we still wrestle with the residue of fear, shame, trauma, insecurity, and lies that were planted long before we knew how to defend ourselves.

So let me start here:
When I think about what I had to confront, it looked like this:

• My hunger for validation before I moved
• My need for approval before I started
• The belief that I needed people to affirm me before I could obey God
• The habit of waiting for “perfect timing”
• Entertaining thoughts of “I’m not good enough”
• Feeling incapable of carrying a vision alone
• Believing old words that were spoken over me when I was young

And if I’m honest, I didn’t always call it fear. Sometimes I called it wisdom.

I would tell myself:
 “It’s not God’s timing.”
 “Good things take time.”
 “God is building me.”

And sometimes that was true.

But sometimes… I was simply scared.

Scared to fail.
Scared to be seen.
Scared to be consistent.
Scared of discovering that I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was.

And the Lord is gentle enough to call us out, not to shame us, but to heal us. Because if God is truly building you, He is building you holistically, from the inside out.

Conquering the enemy

After confronting the enemy within, comes the harder part:

The work of allowing God to re-engineer your mind.

And my encouragement to you is urgent:
Do not do this alone. Engage the Lord. Invite Him into the places you avoid.

You might say:
 “Oyena… you’re preaching. Give me practical tips.”

Bestie, God is more practical than we give Him credit for. If you’ve never experienced how practical God is, you will only know Him theoretically.

So let’s talk practical.

God says:
You are fearfully and wonderfully made — not that you must look better, sound better, or meet the world’s standards.

God says:
You are the light of the world — not that you must shrink yourself, fake humility, and hide from opportunities He sent.

God says:
I will cause you to sit with kings — meaning your life is not limited to your current skills.

There is no room for imposter syndrome where God is the one promoting you.

God says:
I have plans for you… to prosper you… a future and a hope.
You were not created by default.
You were formed intentionally.

When God renews your mind, your actions will shift. Because how you show up reveals what you believe about yourself.

This article is my gift to you as we step into a new year. Please don’t just read it, sit with it. Pray through it. Work through it. Let the Lord make you whole.

Let’s pray:
 Lord, I confess that I’ve hosted fear, insecurity, and false beliefs.
 I repent for shrinking when You called me to stand.
 Renew my mind, restore my identity, and give me courage to move.
 In Jesus’ name, amen.

Merry Christmas, Path Finder.

With love & Shalom,
Oyena

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