How Big is Your Why?

Today is a day we remember that Jesus Christ died for us, so that we might have life....and have life more abundantly (John 10:10)

It is on days like today that I reflect on what I have done with this life thus far and what I will do with it in the days to come. Have i lived my life in a way that brings honour and glory to my maker or have i simply frittered it away like a never ending supply of cash? I'd like to think I do the former; that everything I do brings God glory, but if i'm honest I know that isn't always the case.

I am a man. A sinful man. A man with weaknesses. A man with short comings & vulnerabilities.  A man is desperate need of a Saviour. 

I am also a man with dreams. A man with hopes for the future. A man with plans bigger than myself that are achievable only with with God's provision.

But somewhere in between these two paradigms things often get muddled.

I read the bible and it tells me that:

"I CAN DO ALL THINGS,

through Christ who strengthens me"

(Phillipians 4:13)

but yet somehow I still struggle to achieve some of the simplest things in life. For others they seemso simple, but for me they are like giants mountains. Have I missed the boat? Is God trying to teach me humility? Or was I simply not designed to achieve these seemingly simple tasks?

For years these musings have lied as dormant unasked questions in my mind; simple rhetorics not needing an answer. That is until this last month when I made a decisions to change, whatever the cost. I made a decision to face up and fight the battles left unfought. To conquer the unconquered and to change the unchangeable.

A wise friend taught me that "real sustainable change" will only occur when my WHY? grows to a point big enough to defeat the resistance of staying the same. If I don't have the right "Why?" I can change for a time but will simply slide back into old habbits given the chance. When I understand the "why" behind the "what", I am compelled with the strength to push through to real change.

Christ died for our sins because God so loved the the world that he was willing to sacrifice his only Son for us so that we might live. His "why" is the reason why I must understand my "why"....

HOW BIG IS YOUR WHY?

In the Midst of Failure is Where the Future Seeds of Success Germinate

The way we perceive things often determines what we see as our reality.

Tonight I felt like the biggest failure. For a brief moment,  I allowed disappointment to get the better of me as the gap between my expectations and my reality grew to epic proportions. All of a sudden the perceived failures of an emotionally challenging week conglomerated together into an insumountable mountain. I lost site of what was in front of me and focused on what was never going to be.

Thoughts such as "Why did I bother?" and " Nobody cares" began to spring up like poisonous cancers, envelpoing my mind like the morning fog.

It made me think how important our emotions truly are and more specifically how fragile my ego had become. I mean no-one had done anything wrong or deliberatley caused me pain, and yet here I was momentarily feeling abandoned by the greatest injustice known to mankind.

Fortunately I was able to change my focus and look at the good things. I began to focus on the people who had made an effort to come; although small in number. I came to notice not who wasn't there, but rather who was. I shifted my intention from the great victory i had intended, to the matters of my own heart.

Our failure, both real and perceived has the ability to teach us more about ourselves than success ever will. We all make mistakes, but we don't all learn form them. Tonight may have appeared to be a failure on the surface but I know that I learnt a valuable lesson.

It is in the midst on my perceived failure, that the seeds of my future success will germinate.....

It may stink of manure, but it's necessary for growth.....

Get Rich Quick.....but at what price?

As so soon as I saw it, i recognised it.... That familiar style, that bold "Important Mail" stamp, that promise of instant riches. I knew there wasn't really $55,000 dollars in that envelope but still i felt compelled to make sure....just in case.

It reminds me of a lesson i learnt about myself just the other week....

I had scored some free tickets to a wealth seminar called "The Millionaire Mindset". The promoter promised me that the secret to unlocking wealth was already within and that all I had to do to unlock it was to change my thinking. "Why not?" I thought, I could do with being rich...in fact i deserve to be rich. And with that i booked my spot and started planning how to spend my future wealth.

Now i'd like to tell you I found the secret to becoming rich. That suddenly it all clicked and I now posses the answers to global poverty. I'd like to show you pictures of my new luxury yacht and boast about how succesful I am as you listen attentively hoping to grasp hold of even a slither of my new found wealth wisdom. But I can't, because the lesson i learned about myself was so much more valuable.

I discovered that I am NOT driven by the things I thought I was. Part way through a day listening to Millionaires talk about their wealth journey, escaping the clutches of poverty and now offering me that secret strategy for the bargain price of only $4,999, it suddenly all clicked. I didn't care about becoming rich! I didn't want more money...I didn't need to be wealthy...I wasn't in desperate need of a "millionaire mindset" and I wasn't motivated by the almighty dollar. I recognised it wasn't what drove me and it wasn't what made me get up in the morning. Which is lucky because I work for the church.

And so I left that seminar not with the intended "Millionaire Mindset" but with a fresh perspective on myself and my own motivations. I didn't need to be rich to be happy, I already had what I needed and it didn't cost me any money. Instead of going back for the rest of the seminar, I spent the next day with my family, taking them out for lunch and enjoying the important things of life...family, fellowship, freedom. These things I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world.

So remember this valuable lesson next time you see that "Get Rich Quick" scheme. You can't buy the most important things in life, no matter how much money you have....or intend to have. Look for the eternal riches all around you. Stop chasing the wind and pursue those things that really matter.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,

and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

 

Matthew 6:19-21 (New International Version)

The Journey of Life

Life is a journey. It cascades from moments of wonderous bliss to pockets of desperate despair. There are elements we can control and there are those that are completely beyond our human understanding. There are times when we feel like we could take on the heavy weight champion of the world in the boxing ring and others where even the slightest brush could push us over the edge. Some days feel like a lifetime and yet others flash by in a second. And day after day we return to partake in this rollercoster called life.

I've lived a blessed life thus far. I've waded through the childhood years without much heartache. I've survived the awkward teenage years without lasting damage and i've pushed into the early stages of adulthood without too much bother. I'm somewhat satisfied with my life thus far but I know there is more. Songwriter Stacie Orrico sums up my inner thoughts with her song lyrics:

"There's gotta be more to life...Than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me".

I often feel like i'm on the verge of doing great things but that I am held back by my own ill discipline and inadequacies, both real and perceived. There are days when i want to conquer the world and then there are others when i just want to crawl back into bed and make the world disappear.

Fortunately I don't have to do the journey alone. God is watching over me and will guide my every step as I look to him for direction. I know that he has my best interests at heart and has great plans for my life. Further to this he has placed little beacons of hope all around me, called friends. These people inspire and encourage me when i feel like the bottom is dropping out of the earth. Without them and God there is no way I could possibly achieve all that I will in the days to come.

Life is a journey best enjoyed with friends. Cherish them whenever you can.