I Failed Into Success

 

Do you know that the quest to succeed today is so demanding? And because of this demand, many people are afraid of starting something new for fear of failure. They prefer to sit and watch other people play the game of life while standing as commentators or spectators. Isn't that ridiculous?

 

Failure is the institution that graduates one into success. Unfortunately, many people are ignorant of this truth. This is because people are not sincere or honest about their commitments to life issues or simply not seriously being deliberate about what they do. If you belong to this group then hang on for a while.

 

I learn this great secret from the Bible and I Failed Into Success. Proverbs 24:16 says, "No matter how often honest people fall, they always get up again; but disaster destroys the wicked." GNT

The passage of the Scripture we are considering says something profound that we cannot ignore. HONESTY. As long as you are HONEST about an area of life that you want to succeed in, you will fail while trying to become free in that area but at the end of the day you will surely SUCCEED. The following are some of the things that can turn failure into success in your life.

 

WHY I FAILED INTO SUCCESS

1. FAILURE IS A SCHOOL: As a school, you must learn from all the steps that you actively engaged yourself in and find reasons why the steps did not help at first. This will help you pay close attention to what you are doing so that you do not repeat the cycle of failure. The more you learn from your failure, the better you are at succeeding in all spheres of life.
2. FAILURE NEEDS HONEST PEOPLE: When you are honest, you will accept the truth about your current situation and tell yourself that you can try again and do it better. I believe that an honest person will not take failure for a defeat but as a stepping stone.
3. FAILURE HUMBLES PEOPLE: The humility failure brings our way is to inform us that we are not yet as good as we suppose to be. It tells us that getting to the top in the particular area of life requires hard work, commitment and dedication to the cause at which we are pursuing. It also positions us to learn from others so that we will not be full of ourselves.
4. FAILURE PUSHES PEOPLE TO THE BRINK: Failure can also take us to breaking points, stretching and sucking out all the juices in us. This is so because you must decide to continue or not to do anything at all. Those who persevere will eventually get results.
5. FAILURE BUILDS RISK: One good thing failure does to us is that it builds our risk taking ability. An African proverb says that, "He who is on the ground need no fear of fall". If a situation knocked you down, you are down so just brace up and face the situation squarely. Apart from this, the lesson here is that risk is worth taking even if you failed in the process you did not fail but learn something new.
6. FAILURE CONQUERS FEAR: The greatest reason why people don't venture into things is the fear of failure. But if you are not afraid of failure, you will use failure as a learning tool to overcome fear.

 

The thing about failure is not as dreadful as we thing. It just informs us that something was omitted in the process. Once you find the missing piece, you can solve the puzzle. Thomas Edison said "I failed my way to success". He tried several times to come up with the electric bulb and failed until he succeeded.

 

So the righteous will fall even seven times and rise again seven times. Today, I charged you to embrace failure as a learning institution that will bring out the best in you.

I AM WITH YOU

      

  

   In the film Shawshank Redemption, an old man named Brooks was released from the prison and had difficulties because of loneliness. He had lived most of his life in the prison to the extent that he couldn’t connect with the reality of life after his jail term. He hung himself after gaining freedom from the prison. Nothing is good as knowing that you are not alone. When you are alone and lonely you put yourself in danger especially when you are depressed or disappointed. This is why today’s lesson is important. The Lord is saying “I am with you”.

Haggai 1:13-14

Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, spoke the Lord's message to the people, saying,"I am with you, says the Lord." So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God NKJV

THINGS TO BENEFIT WHEN THE LORD IS WITH YOU

1.      IDENTITY: God identifies you as his very own child, so your identity is his image in you. You are not an alien or a bastard but you are a legitimate son. What makes one an heir is the blood that runs through you. His blood purchased you. God identified with his people before he sent prophet Haggai to them.

2.      DESTINY HELPERS: God will send destiny helpers to put you through the path to which he will lead you. Haggai was the destiny helper for the people of Judah. He set them on the path of the Lord so that his spirit will energize them.

3.      STIR YOUR SPIRIT: The Lord will stir you up so that your spirit will be lifted high to live a purposeful life. It is called passion or in proper terms obsession to a call. Once you are obsessed with purpose nothing can stop you until you have achieved that purpose the way it was meant for.

4.      WORK: This is the practical application of the three above. God gives you an identity, sends destiny helpers, and stir up your spirit with purpose, passion and obsession to work. The work is according to his specifications that is why you are first his child. His spirit carries the manual that leads to do an excellent job. However, you must stand up and work hard enough to see the plans come through for you.

CONCLUSION

It feels good to know that God is with you. I have been richly blessed by this topic because the Lord is with me. May you find rest and comfort in the Lord when faced with life’s challenges. I can still hear him say “I am with you”.

7 Ways to handle Helplessness

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in church while singing praise and worship, and feeling grateful to God for his goodness that I was abruptly interrupted by a few of my children, "Uncle, that thing has started". I needed no one to tell me the rest of the information because I have a child with a history of seizures. 

I rushed down stairs to the children's church wondering and as I approach their area, there he was, laying motionless on the floor while the teachers were praying for him. I joined as we all prayed, hoping, trusting and believing that this history of seizures will end immediately. 

I was helpless because I have watched this boy battle for years with seizures. But today's incident was different because it was very severe and the uneasiness in me was on the increase. I have prayed over and over again for this boy. Our entire household as well as church members have also prayed. But why is this thing still manifesting? The rest of the day was bad for my boy because he had several other attacks before we got him to the hospital.

 Here are the 7 Ways to handle helplessness.

 

1. Pray: when you find yourself in a helpless situation pray.  It is a sign of surrender and trust in God to step in and turn things around. You acknowledge and enthrone God as the only way out of your situation and you are giving Him an open invitation to intervene.

2. Surround yourself with love ones: Your family and close friends will comfort you and redirect your attention that you are not alone. They will help to lift the burden and assure you that we are in this together. In the presence of love ones strength and hope become visible.

3. Seek for Help: look for a professional in that area of need and allow them to do their work. Their professional counsel or expertise will help greatly. 

4. Take a Nap: you will draw fresh energy when you rest. You will gain your calm and see things differently from the initial.

5. Eat well: since the situation is beyond your control you must no allow it to determine your path. Make sure you eat well and take enough water for your system to function effectively. 

6. Take it easy on yourself: this is not the time for blame game or regret, rather it is a time of hope. The Bible says "All things work together for good for those who are in Christ Jesus". So calm down and see how the picture unfolds. 

7. Prayer Chain: invite the people in your network to take some moments and pray as the day or days go by.

 

Helpless is not a good place to dwell in but it can serve as a spring board that can improve our relationships with God. Jesus was helpless when he said, "My Father, why have you forsaken me? ". But that helplessness was what the salvation of the world was hanging on.

REFLECTION

 

The best way to personal growth and development is looking deep into ourselves. When you do that, you draw an enormous energy to drive your engine until all the pieces of your inner being crystallizes and a fresh and vibrant you emerge. Reflection will take you from your present reality into a modest reality where you can breathe and gain back the strength that you need for every day challenges.
From the life of Jesus we can attest that He was a reflective person because early in the morning, before the dawn, His lifestyle was to withdraw to a lonely place.

 

Here are a few moments that will help you to reflect well:

• Early in the Morning: The advantage it presents is that at this time many people will still be asleep and the whole world will be silent and ready to listen to your thoughts and accept them. If you leverage on it you will gain a lot of strength and energy to pursue your day effectively. More so, you just had a number of hours resting and your whole being is alive and ready to be directed positively.
• Quiet Place: Having a quiet place is important because you avoid distractions from family, friends, colleagues and other people. It positions you to receive because you are deliberate about it.
• Natural Environment: No matter how down I feel as a person, I find a lot of connection with natural environments that fires me up. You may go on a hike, walk by the beach, relax in a garden or just find a place that you feel at home with. This will greatly boost you motivation level and help you derive the passion to face what comes your way.
• After a Nap: A nap is a short break used to relax your nerves, reboot your entire being and get you refreshed. One of the advantages of having a nap is that you can face your day with a renewed strength.  

 

Everyday, people are becoming busier but stressed up. The level of their efficiency dwindles as the days go by and lost of interest has become the order of the day. If only you take a little time out and reflects, a lot more will increase in your life than decrease.

I SAY NO

 The Habits that you developed over the years or period of time that keep coming back after you have made several progresses in your life have cage you for too long. You may be struggling with anger, pornography, masturbation, lies, unfaithfulness and so many other things. I want you to know that there is hope for you and me. Instead of quitting and allowing these habits have an upper hand on you, you can say no.

 

The most important component you need to say no to any addiction is called GRACE. Grace is the ability received supernaturally to make progress over those areas of our lives that have caged us behind the prison bars of all sorts of limitations, habits, or challenges. Through the grace we overcome and become victors in real life battle.

The scripture says,

For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people. That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world   (Titus 2:11-12 GNT)

 

            From the scripture above, God is saying to you and me that the Grace brings salvation, then instructions on how to give us bad habits, attitudes or lifestyle we have developed, then the Grace will give us self-control to live upright in this age. The spirit of the age is one that is against God’s way of living for us and we need the Grace to live right and do right.

 

            I say no to habits, attitudes, and lifestyle that is detrimental to my growth and development in this world. By His Grace I am an over comer, you are an over comer and we are over comers in Christ Jesus.

4 BASIC WAYS TO ACHIEVING TRUE FREEDOM

Do you know that the freedom you have today is a result of other people’s sacrifices? Someone out there fought so hard and went through loads of uneasiness to lead you to the state you are now. Freedom is one of the major things that everyone seeks to have, achieve or attain in life. Freedom comes with lots of privileges and gives you the leverage to soar in all ramifications. No wonder the world has been in a quest for freedom in areas like speech, sexuality, religion, and all sorts of movements among many others to see that people truly have, or feel that sense of freedom that they so desire.

You may be in dare need of spiritual, financial, educational, emotional, or social freedom but do not know how to go about it or attain to this freedom. Whatever kind of freedom you desire you can get there if only you can hold on for a while.

What really is freedom?  Freedom is tied to being unstoppable in achieving self worth, identity, belief system, importance and living it out practically without prejudice. As important as it is, it is also a universally accepted ways of life that liberate people from bondage that demean the right of people to live as they should to their full potential. Freedom is emancipation, a power or right to speak or act or live out your life.

When we talk of freedom in our contemporary world today, people like Rev. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, are not new to us. It is accepted that they paid prices for their people to achieve freedom.  These prices include death, starvation, intimidation, imprisonment, separation from family and loved ones so that the future will not reflect that dark side of the past. The truth is, are you really free?

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32).  

Today, I present to you the 4 basic ways to achieving true freedom. They have been tested and proven right to be keys to setting you free from whatever is holding you back. Keep on reading and enjoy.

1.      HOLDING ON TO A CAUSE

2.      WORDS

3.      KNOWLEDGE

4.      TRUTH

Simply put, freedom can only be achieved when you have something to hold on to, using words as weapons to pursue your cause, and having the knowledge of your preferred destination which comes from the truth that the right thing should be done to liberate humankind.

HOLDING ON TO A CAUSE

            You cannot be free if you live carelessly. For freedom to come your way, you need to be purposeful. You need to hold on to something bigger than your present reality and have faith that this thing you are holding on to is possible. Create a picture of where you are going to and you will get there if you keep working on it. For the Jews who believe in Jesus, He said to them to hold on to his teachings, that way, they will become his disciples.

WORDS

Words are instructions, teachings, commands or information that you use to psych yourself with. You need the right words to put your mind into the new cause you are embarking on. You may ask yourself if you really want to be free or if it is just a cliché. Words are the weapons you need to fight your freedom through to the end. You need to use the right information to get the right result.

KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge is facts. Your life experience is important but more importantly, you need the right knowledge to get to a new horizon in life. You will need to feed on, meditate on, know as much facts or truth as possible because that will direct your cause to freedom. I bet you, you will not be where you are today if you know as you should out the area you want to be free from.

TRUTH

Truth is honesty, accountability, resilience, and belief. Truth will set you free says Jesus. The truth you need to know about yourself, the areas you want freedom, the reasons behind your motivation cannot be over emphasized. You need the truth in you and in what you do. You need to deal with people and assess yourself truthfully to attain to freedom. Don’t follow the easy way by being untruthful. Truth is truth and it cannot be relative no matter what you try to do to it.

 

SUMMARY

The summary is this; Truth is the foundation of every freedom. Knowledge is the expression and experience of truth. Words are spoken from what you have knowledge of while the cause you are holding on to come from your words. You cannot jump one phase and expect things to go on well.

THE TRANSFORMED 1

To be Transformed means many things to different people. To some it means a complete change in form, shape, attitude or direction. To others it means an overhaul of a system or a paradigm shift. Whatever your definition of transformed, it is important to look at the root meaning of the word so that we may dig deeper to the not too familiar understanding of transformation. The Greek word metamorphoo (metamorphosis) means to transform, to change, or transfigure. 

            From our elementary science classes, we learned that a process called metamorphosis occurs before a butterfly comes to life. The adult butterfly will first lay the eggs, after the incubation period, the eggs are hatched into a larva called caterpillar. The caterpillar then feeds on leaves as much as possible until it reached a stage and change in form into a pupa where it ruminates and stationed in a place inside a cocoon for a period of time before it finally breaks away from the cocoon and a new, colorful and vibrant butterfly emerges.

            If we are literally going to adapt the metamorphosis cycle to explain what it means to be transformed, it will mean that we pass from one stage to another until we finally emerge as a complete people that we are design by default to be.

            Romans 12:2 says that, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (NKJV). The verse before us says that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Suffice to say that the mind is the center or the arbiter of the transformed. Therefore, to be transformed means to make the mind new. Making the mind new is then seen in every aspect of our lives from sunup to dusk.

            The question that might be going on within our minds could be how can the mind be made new or renewed? Now, Proverbs 23:7 helps us understand that, as a person thinks so is he or she. It means that a transformed person is a product of what he or she thinks. The chameleon is a typical example of how our thought functions because whatever the chameleon focuses on it changes the color of its appearance to that object of it’s focus. So also is everyone of us because we are all objects of our thoughts whether we directly or indirectly focus our thinking in line with reality.

Another question might be, what do I think about to be transformed? Philippians 4:8 has the answer. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (NIV).

To be transformed means that we think about— focus our thought line like the chameleon which focuses on a particular object until it assumes the color of the object’s appearance— whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. As we think about these things in increasing measure, we are been transformed because our minds are renewed to the objects that we feed our minds on on a daily basis.