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.....