In this third episode of the "Pain, Passion, and Purpose" podcast, host Shakeea Torres blends mental‑health education with biblical teaching to explore the meaning of purpose. She opens with a promotional call to join her paid podcast community and the Empowered Purpose Academy, outlining the resources and mentorship they offer. The core of the episode is a theological discussion of purpose, using John 17 and 1 Corinthians 12 to illustrate how Christ fulfilled His purpose and how believers are each a unique part of the body of Christ. Shakeea shares her personal testimony: her salvation, prophetic gifting as a seer and prophet, and how God has called her to be an entrepreneur‑minister, running a therapy practice, a coaching academy, and a nonprofit, Doing It for the Kingdom, which serves human‑trafficking survivors. She candidly discusses fear, feelings of inadequacy, and the need to rely on the Holy Spirit, referencing Sarah Jakes’ teaching on vulnerability. A significant personal struggle—her lifelong speech impediment—is recounted, linked to biblical figures like Moses and Paul, and presented as a source of divine strength. Throughout, she encourages listeners to seek their own purpose, trust God’s voice, and consider joining her community for further support.
Chapters
Welcome to Pain, Passion, and Purpose. I am your host, Shakeeta Torres, where I share mental health education, biblical teachings, and tips to help you to heal on purpose so you can walk boldly in your God-given purpose. This podcast is sponsored by Empowered Purpose Academy, a certified online Christian academy where where we provide services such as certification for Christian life coaches, mentorship for master's level aspiring and existing Christian therapists, mentorship for Christians, and continued education courses for the body of Christ. You can visit www.empoweredpurposeacademy.com to learn more and to download your free guide. If you like today's episode, please subscribe and leave us a raving review so that others can tap into the knowledge and wisdom that will be shared on this podcast.
Thank you so much for being here.
Hey, so before I get started on today's episode, if you have not subscribed to the paid membership of my podcast community, please do. It is going to bless your life. Listen, my episodes are already like therapy slash coaching sessions where I give you strategy and insight and all that good stuff. But the community, you're going to get a lot more. You're going to get more resources, more tools, and be able to ask more questions where I can create episodes around your questions. And you will be able to get discounts on some of my, my products and my events. So what are you waiting for? The price is very affordable. This is for those who are not quite ready to invest in one-on-one coaching with me or into the Pain, Passion, and Purpose mentorship program, which is also low, by the way, but that one is a lot more in-depth. You get access to courses, you get access to the Facebook community and all that good stuff. But this is for those who just need to just listen and just gain some tools along the way. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, subscribe. You won't regret it. It'll bless your life. We'll have topics around mental health and faith, biblical teachings, prayer, um, boundaries, communication, anxiety, depression, purpose, and so much more. I have had experience in mental health since actually about 2008 when I first finished my bachelor's program, and then from that point all the way up today and moving forward, I have gained so much knowledge, so much experience, so much wisdom, and I am anointed for it. So go ahead, hit that button, and I hope to see you in the community.
Hello everyone, welcome back to the third episode of my podcast. Today I'm going to talk about purpose, okay? I'm so excited.
I have a lot to say, so please brace yourself.
Hanging in with me and just listening to what the Lord has to say, um, through this podcast today. I will share about my purpose, but my focus today is really to encourage you to really open up your eyes and see truly what the meaning of purpose really is. And this is for believers and non-believers. Um, for those of you who don't believe, that's okay. I pray that this also will bless you and encourage you as well. And so, um, whenever I read— whenever I had written my ebook on my website, um, Pain, Passion, and Purpose was the topic that God had given me, um, to write to people to encourage them to walk in their purpose. And so one of the things that I do know for sure is that Christ Jesus served a significant purpose while he was here on Earth. And guess what? He could not leave this Earth until he fulfilled his purpose. Okay, let's go to the Book of John, um, chapter 16, and let me explain it to you. So first, let me tell you a little story. So maybe about 3, probably about 3, 4 years ago, me and my best friend and some other, other women, um, were doing a Bible study together. Every, I think every Tuesday night, we would get on and do a chapter in the Book of John John every single week. And so what we end up doing was we assign a chapter to each person, um, to read and teach, um, during that particular Bible study. So it was my turn to teach, and I was given, um, chapter, um, 17, um, in the book of John. And I was reading it, I said, okay God, you know, I need revelation as to what it is you want me to teach about. And I was reading and reading it, and just like one day I was in the kitchen washing dishes and it just hit me, and the Holy Spirit said, Christ could not leave this earth until he fulfilled his purpose here, which was to come here and train up the disciples, train them up so that way they'll be able to effectively go out and really impact the world and impact other people. But first they had to get it. At first they had to understand who Christ was. How can, you know, someone explain who Christ is if they had no idea who he is, right? So let me go to 1 John chapter 16, and I'm going to verse 29. Then the disciple said, now you are speaking clearly without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God. So prior to all of that, Christ had been speaking to them in parables, trying to break everything down to them, and a lot of times they were left confused and left puzzled, right? And so in that moment, they finally understood who Christ was. And then Christ says, do you believe now? He said, a time is coming, and in fact that has come, when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. So Christ is, you know, telling them, hey, pretty soon I'm going to be leaving. I'm going to be leaving. And then if you go into, um, chapter 17, it says, after Jesus said, said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed. He said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your— that your Son may glorify you, for you granted him authority over all people, that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent, which is him. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Come on, somebody, listen, listen. Purpose, purpose, purpose. Oh my God, it's all over that, right? Christ came here and he fulfilled his purpose, and then he went into prayer. He prayed for the disciples that they would be, you know, fully equipped, and they'll be strong, and they'll be girded, and they'll be ready to be able to carry out the mission that Christ started, y'all. That he started. And what so many of us are trying to do today is to carry the torch, carry our weight, do our part, right? So speaking of part, many times people, I feel like we compare ourselves to other people, other ministries, what, you know, what, you know, little Sarah's doing, what Johnny's doing, or whoever is doing, when God has an assignment specifically just for you, for your DNA, for a time such as this, right? So we're going to go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 12 through 27. I'm not going to read the whole entire thing, um, for the sake of time, not to keep you guys on my podcast all day, but, um, it reads in verse 12. Once again, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 12 through 27. Since there is only one body, but it has many parts, but all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We are all baptized by one, by one Holy Spirit, and so we are formed into one body. It didn't matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people, we were all given the same spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part, but it has many parts, and the parts are— it's us, right? Someone has to be the head, someone has to be the foot, someone has to be the eyes, the hands, someone has to be you know, every part of your body, the legs, all of that. Like, and so what Christ is saying is that we all have a specific part that he wants us to do. So again, tap into that, tap into Holy Spirit, you know, ask God, God, what is my specific part? Um, one song that I love so much is called Comparison Kills by Jonathan McReynolds. Uh, go to my blog right now, it's a blog about it. About that song, and he's pretty much saying how comparison is the thief of joy. That scripture— and comparison is what keeps us from walking in our purpose because we feel like we have to have, you know, what somebody else have in order to accomplish what God is asking us to do, right? So hopefully that encourages you, okay? Um, so going right along. So in the first two episodes, I talked a lot about, you know, my pain and about my passion. And as promised, I'm gonna talk about my purpose. So just like Christ, my purpose is to draw people to Christ and also to love God with all my heart, all my body, all my mind, all my soul. And it's the same thing for you, the same thing, right? So I know, and I feel like whenever we possess those qualities, everything else kind of fall into, you know, fall into play. Like, you're— you'll begin to discover, to understand, uh, what it means to have a kingdom mindset. Um, having a kingdom mindset pretty much means that you want to, you know, build up God's kingdom with his people by drawing them to Christ, teaching them about Jesus, helping them to, you know, overcome, you know, different hurdles in their life, right? And for everybody, that looks different, right? Okay, like a vehicle. Yeah, we know a car is a car, right? But not all cars look alike. Not all cars do the same thing. Not all cars go at the same speed. Not all cars carry the same weight. Not all cars are the same color, right? And believe it or not, the word car in, you know, the dream context means ministry or your personal life, okay? And so for me, discovering my purpose was a journey. It was a journey, um, that I shared before, um, I think in my first podcast about how I got saved and how God just like snatched me up and he was like, listen, you belong to me. You are my daughter. I love you. I have purpose for you. Come, come, come on to me. Come on home.
Okay.
And so I did. And so, like I said before, you know, whenever I gave my life to Christ, it was like spiritually, you know, dreams and visions for me just took off. Okay, so I am a— what they call a seer, which means that I have dreams and visions from God specifically. And, um, God will give me things about myself, my family, other people, situations, world events, things that are to come. And they're given by God, you know. Most of the time I don't ask for it, it just happens, right? Um, and so I am, um, also a prophet. Many people don't know that, and I'm okay with that because I already know that people have this perception of what that is supposed to look like. I know I did. I know whenever I first, you know, came into ministry, I was around a whole bunch of prophets. I was around the fivefold ministry, and so I had my idea of what that looked like. But it is totally opposite today what that looks like for me and my ministry compared to what I saw, right? And so it's also a nugget for you to really lay down what you think your ministry should look like. Lay down what you think, you know, you should be, or how you should look, or how you should act, or how you should— whatever it is, right? And so I had to go through that myself. It's like, okay, God, I know what you told me. You didn't told me about 100,000 times who I am, what you calling me to. I was like, well, God, I don't feel equipped. I don't feel like I fit the bill. I don't feel like I can carry that weight or carry that kind of responsibility spiritually. And the Lord really began to deal with my heart, and he was like, I equip the called. I will equip you as you go along. And what I'm calling you to, I'm, you know, I'm continuously developing you for that more and more as you continue to pursue me. And so I had to learn that the way God used me you know, as a prophet, is it going to be the same way he used someone else as a prophet? And that's perfectly okay because once again, as I said, someone has to be the eye, someone has to be the hands, and all that good stuff. So I am specifically called, you know, in this season, um, well, not season, but probably the rest of my life, is to be an entrepreneur in the marketplace. And God uses me in my therapy practice to help reach souls, to help them to have healing and deliverance, which is a big part of the prophetic ministry, and to speak life and to use the authority God himself has given me to help break strongholds, to help bring clarity, to help them to, you know, open up their eyes to see, you know, what God is doing. But it has to be God, Holy Spirit-led, you know. Um, yeah, I can pray for someone, but if their heart is not, you know, ready to receive it, it's going to fall by the wayside. You know, we'll get into that scripture a different day, a different time. But as far as, you know, the seeds that God wants you to sow, the, the heart has to be ripe. And it takes discernment, it takes, um, understanding, it takes wisdom, it takes knowledge for you to know exactly what to say. And so over the past, like I said before, since '08, that's when my life just took off spiritually and God began to develop me. And so there is so many different types of ministries, but the purpose is always about Christ and drawing others to Christ. Okay, so what do us— what else do I do, you know, in my personal life? So of course being a mom, that's a ministry. Being a wife is a ministry. I'm an entrepreneur, so I have, you know, Empowered to Shift for mental health, and I have my coaching business now. And then also God has called me to you know, already did it, already start a nonprofit called Doing It for the Kingdom. Um, you can go to the website, you can check it out. I'm doing it for the kingdom is a nonprofit that God called me to create, um, to help survivors of human trafficking and help to provide education to the community about human trafficking. And so with all of that being said, of course I definitely had some fearful moments. I definitely had moments where I felt like God, like I can't do this, this is just too much. Or, God, I don't think like I have all the tools I need to be able to fully, you know, walk out what it is that you're calling me to do. Especially for the nonprofit, that was a big deal for me. Um, when God first told me to do it, I said okay because I want to please him. But then when I began to really get into like the, the nitty-gritty parts of it in the background, like laying the foundation, y'all, it's a lot of work. Okay, it's a lot of work, and I had to keep my mind on the mission, which is to help these souls, to help these people to get what they need through Christ Jesus, right? That's what keeps me going, that's what keeps me— keeps me pushing. But best believe I definitely had moments where I was like, God, I can't do this, I can't, I'm not, I'm done, I'm moving forward. And you know, I thank God for women of God who has encouraged me and prayed for me, um, to keep pushing past, you know, my, my fears and my flesh. I was listening to a podcast— actually, not a podcast, it was Sarah Jakes talked about on her Instagram page. And I love Sarah, I love me some Sarah, y'all. And she talked about, um, you know, living from a place of inadequacy where we feel like if we, you know, if we're in— feel inadequate that we cannot do what God's asking us to do. And she was saying how she had to learn that her inadequacy is— that is exactly what God wants. He wants her to be vulnerable. He wants you to feel like, I can't do it, because then you'll know for sure that it is God that is doing the work in you and the work through you. And that's where I'm at, y'all, okay? That's where I met with this nonprofit That's where I'm at. Like, the work is being done, you know, by the Spirit, because in my own strength I cannot, okay? In my own strength and my own thinking and my own capacity of my small-minded self, sometimes, not all the time, I cannot do it on my own. And so for some of you, you at a crossroad, like, oh my God, I know what God's telling me to do, but I don't have the tools that I need to build this thing. And before I talked about, you know, investing in your education, investing in your spirituality, your personal and your personal, professional, and spiritual development, you have to invest. But even with that, it still takes Holy Spirit to tell you where to go, whether to go left, whether to go right, whether to go straight. Because there's time, okay God, I'm gonna go left, but I know, Shakeeta Torres Torres, I want you to go right, I want you to go straight. And so it does take about having a relationship with him and that foundation with him for you to know his voice and for you to, you know, understand what it is that God is asking you to do. So yes, and don't worry, in my future episodes of my podcast, we are going to talk about, you know, combating fear, and we're going to talk about some of the things that can hinder you from walking in your purpose. Um, I discussed previously in my second podcast about, you know, fear being a big thing, but also you know, our past experiences, our traumas, our emotions, our unhelpful thinking style, um, grief. All these different things can cause us to be stagnant in walking into our purpose. Um, low self-esteem, perfectionism, doubt. I mean, so many different things that can hinder us from walking in our purpose. And I will, I will tell you this, um, one of the biggest things that I had to overcome when it came to me, you know, walking in my purpose and pushing past some of the fears that I had. It's a speech impediment. Many people, um, tell me that they can't tell or they don't know, but it's because I know God hides me. But you guys, I stutter, but I've came a long way. Um, I definitely went through that, being bullied for how I spoke. Oh my gosh, it was horrible. Oh my— all throughout elementary school, middle school, some in high school, I was picked on horribly for how I talked., and it was embarrassing. And so a lot of times I wouldn't say a lot because I didn't want to stutter and be picked on. And so of course, you know, God brought me to the scriptures about Moses and how Moses too had a speech impediment, but God was able to use him greatly. And so now honestly, I'm at a point when I stutter, most of the time I don't care anymore. I'm like, okay guys, a part of who I am. I prayed about it. Trust me, I've prayed about it. I have given it to God. I have did all of that, you guys, okay? I believe in healing and all that, but God has not removed this from me. And I think about, you know, Paul, why he, you know, he was saying about the thorn in his side and how he wanted God to remove it. And God told Paul, you know, he said, no, because in your weakness I'm strong. In your weakness I can show you who I am. In your weakness, you know, I can I can perfect, you know, everything that I'm doing to you, you know, in your weakness. And so I hold on to that scripture. Um, I have presented, I have did workshops, I have, you know, counseled my clients, and I know I'm stuttering. And I'm like, Lord, they not hear me stuttering? And I would ask them, they was like, no, I didn't hear you stuttering. I'm like, wow, God, you really did hide me because your girl was stuck. And definitely my family, my daughters, my husband, I'm like, yeah, Mom, me, yeah, we Yeah, you stuttering right now. We don't understand what you just said, but we still love you. So yes, you guys, I had to overcome a speech impediment.
So that is all I have for you guys on this episode about purpose.
I am already drafting out more content for you all. Um, as far as my podcast and how it will go, I like to post, um, or record myself whenever I'm inspired. Um, I'm inspired by a lot of different things. I don't like to just do it just to be doing it, but I want to be very intentional about what I, you know, give out to you guys. I want what I put out there to be a blessing to people and not just something to do to take up your time. Like, I care about impact more than anything. So I'm not going to post every single week, and I might at one point, I don't know, however God lead me. But anywho, thanks again so much for listening. Um, also be on the lookout for, um, my new school. One of the things that God has put on my heart is to create an online school. It is called Empowered Purpose Academy. I have been working so hard, you guys, on this project, okay? And I am working on my first course, which is going to be called Grief and Faith, and I know it's going to bless so many people. I'm so excited, and I want to make sure that it is right. I want to make sure it's packed, you know, with good content and good information and tools for you all, um, because it's going to bless you. Um, oftentimes people, especially in, you know, in the faith, you know, think that grief is just something that we should just have and then get over, or we'll have it and, you know, God don't care, whatever the case may be. And so in the— and so in this e-course, I'm going to teach you guys and educate you guys about grief and what it is and what it looks like and what it feels like and how it's okay to grieve and how God cares about, you know, you, you know, you're grieving. And oh yeah, So by the way, so this past Saturday, um, April, um, the 10th, made 25 years that my mom had died in a house fire. And so it really did— like, that day, you guys, I was just so full of emotions of, like, gratefulness, because over the 25 years, God has brought me such a long way. He has healed me from so much. Oh my God, including losing my mother at a young age. I was 11 years old whenever she passed away, and I would say that's probably like one of the worst days of my life. Uh, my family, we are very familiar with grief. We've been through a lot. We've lost a lot of family members over the years, including my two favorite uncles. Oh my God, we lost them. And so I'm super excited about this, um, this first e-course. And once I launch the school and launch the first course, I'll be continuing to add other courses that God has given me to be able to help and bless so many people. So be on the lookout, um, go to my website, subscribe for, you know, my ebook and newsletter to stay in the loop about whenever I will release and launch my school. So again, thank you so much for watching. Thank you so much for listening, and I will talk to you next time. Thank you so much for being here today. If you like today's episode, please take out time to rate my podcast and subscribe and share with your family and your friends. Thanks again, and I will talk to you soon.
