perseverance

Morning Leaders – Hang On For Dear Life

October 22, 2013

Morning Leaders. “On a final note, for any of you pursuing something that you feel deeply, something you know you need to do in order to be truly alive, something that requires every iota of courage you can muster, something that makes you at times forget there is a clock meticulously ticking, something that requires you to risk losing everything familiar, something that excites you so thoroughly that it sometimes becomes impossible to sleep, know that it will make perfect sense to quit hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times along the way and get on with something else. Know that you will certain days be numb and exhausted and joyless. Know that perseverance is infinitely greater than talent. Refine the work. Hone the work. Mercilessly cut away the parts that are not vital. Then let your growing body of work speak for itself. And hang on for dear life.” — Linford Detweiler, “Over the Rhine”

How Do You Become an Overnight Success?

September 28, 2013

Overnight Success

It’s easy.  You work your tail off for twenty years doing unbelievable work that no one notices.  Then one day you are tapped on the shoulder and you become THE overnight sensation.

Well, Jon Gordon tells it better from his own experience in this honest and well crafted post: Overnight Success.

The Biblical Remix – Make It Happen

December 1, 2011

 

The Biblical Remix – Make It Happen

Genesis 37, 39, 40, 41 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixmakeithappen

Of all the dudes in the Bible who had it tough I def have to look at Joseph, the son of Jacob.

While still young his moms died.  His pops showed him mad love but that actually made his life worse cause his ten brothers hated on him big time.  The hateration got so bad his brothers actually sold him into slavery.  Joseph was only a teenager.

As a foreigner in a strange land he had to work wherever he was sold.  At one spot he was wrongfully accused of raping his master’s wife.  They threw him in prison for that one.  He did a bid for a couple of years.

However whatever situation Joseph was in, the favor of God was with him.  It was mad evident.

By the time Joseph hit thirty years of age, he was a boss.  He became the Second in Command to Pharaoh in Egypt.

During the ceremony, the Pharoah had a fine linen robe and a fat gold chain placed on Joseph.  In the background this Mariah Carey song was playing:

“If you believe in yourself enough, And know what you want, You’re gonna make it happen, Make it happen, And if you get down on your knees at night, And pray to the Lord, He’s gonna make it happen…”

Reflection:

Many of us have gone through hardships.  Some of us have been incarcerated and have found work after prison really difficult to find.

Some of us have been wrongly accused in marriages, relationships, and work ordeals.

Some of us have been abandoned, abused, and disregarded by our families.

And yet we stand.  We stand by the grace of God.

Joseph knew in the midst of all his problems there was a God who was watching and intervening in his life.  A span of 12 to 13 years existed from when he was sold as a slave until he became Second in Command of Egypt.  Yet in every circumstance there is no record of him giving up.

During his trials he knew no one.  He had no family.  And he lived in a foreign country where he had to learn new customs and a new language.  Yet Joseph did not give up hope.

And today I say that to you.  Life may have sucked for you up to this point.  Hardships may keep piling and piling up.  Trust in the Lord.  Trust in your Heavenly Father.  Your earthly father may have bounced but God has never left you nor has He given up on you.

For some people what I am saying is very hard to accept.  Your history and reasoning tell you to think something different.  However in your heart you know what I am saying is true.  He loves you.  God really loves you.

Don’t you ever think He can’t love you because of the life you have led.  God is love.  He doesn’t love us because we deserve it.  He loves us because He IS love.

Don’t give up.  Get down on your knees and pray.  God CAN make it happen.