Very often we see failure as something very negative. Indeed something to be avoided completely. What if failure wasn’t such as bad thing after all? How different will our lives be if we perceived failure in other ways?
Fear of Failing
Failure and the fear of it is probably the most debilitating condition we suffer day in day out. This robs us of the opportunity to truly attain all the feats we are capable of in every sphere of life: academia, business, careers, marriage, ministry et cetera.
It was lunch time. Right after lessons had adjoured for the day. As my fellow students and I approached the dining hall, we were suddenly overran by other students who were writing their final papers. Their mission? Take the dining hall. Objective? Raid as many tables of the food served for students – 12 per table.
This weekend I had the double sorrow of bidding farewell to two brothers: a friend and a cousin. Both cut down in their prime. Two big potentials who had their mortal remains lowered back into the dust but their spirits returned to their Maker. God never designed man to die but sin changed the course of man’s destiny and has guaranteed pain and sorrow from generation to generation.
Yet still, mortality is an acute reminder of our frailty as human beings. We very often focus on things that do not matter. When a man dies on his tombstone or epitaph is written a few words. Very often it is a reference to whom he is survived by. Very rarely will his achievements be mentioned. No matter the amount of wealth, power, status or privilege in death it doesn’t matter. Indeed it is his most important relationships that are mentioned.
Yes, what does God really want? Many people often say that they do not know if He exists let alone know what He wants. If one reads the Old Testament it will seem like He is one demanding entity, almost a killjoy! All those “You shall”s and “You shall not”s.
Who can even meet half of the requirement of His Law? Very good question.
No one.
As we enter Passion Week it is important to remind ourselves what Easter is all about. Easter is not about chocolate eggs or bunnies. It’s about something very serious – a blood sacrifice. Indeed in our very sanitised world today concepts like a blood sacrifice seems anachronistic or the stuff of the occult.
However, blood sacrifices are not as uncommon as we may think. Almost every other day a special group within the community lay down their lives for the rest of us. Soldiers lay down their lives in order that our freedom is guaranteed.
Ever wondered what the best way to save your hard-earned wealth and obtain the highest Return On Investment (ROI) was? Some will say Stocks, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, FOREX, Gold, Real Estate etc. All these represent very solid forms of investments you can explore.
Well I’m about to show you the best form of investment that will never lose its value and present the highest yield ever! I mean EVER. No, I haven’t become a stockbroker overnight but hear me out.
As the festivities come to a close and we prepare to usher in the new year it is also time we begin to reflect on the year soon gone and the year approaching. 2014 will soon be gone and indeed we will begin 2015 AD. 2014 will be gone forever and never to return. That is very apparent to all. What may also be apparent are the opportunities we missed. Those opportunities to grow, develop, get promoted, get rich or perhaps get married. Whilst it is good to aspire to greater heights of personal achievement we very often lose focus of probably that most important of goals – doing God’s will. Your God-given talents are desperately required to bring about transformations in the lives of many. The sick, the hurting, the bound, the poor and those in despair are waiting you and I to step up. Not everyone is called…
In the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve fell, sin and a whole raft of unpleasant things including disease and death entered our bloodline. However a few of those things that truly cripple us are fear, insecurity and a profound sense of unworthiness.
We all suffer from one insecurity or another and in varying degrees. For some it’s the quest for perfection. For others it’s the need to appear good all the time in order to attract compliments. For others still it may be financial insecurity.
Ever felt frustrated with all the pain and crises going on around you and the world as a whole? Have you ever wondered “God, where are you in all of this?” or heard others cry something similar? You are not as powerless to act as you may think. You can pray!
Prayer is about who is receiving [the prayer] not who is making it. God is sovereign and is able to save. We only have to play our part by simply bringing all requests to His altar of Grace and Mercy.
Our world is facing seemingly insurmountable problems from wars, rumours of them, strife, disaster, poverty and disease. It is not bad enough that we have cancer, now we have to grapple with the plague of Ebola. In an age where there’s much to despair about, we can be that hope through our loving.
The sum effect of all of these is that there is an immense need for loving kindness and tender mercy all over the world. Unfortunately we are blinded to this need by the numerous distractions we are surrounded with. I won’t go into all of them because we know what they are. However there is one that is most potent – self-pity. It is very crippling and must be overcome before we are able to reach out and love our neighbour. When we shift the focus from us to our neighbour, our world and our Creator, something radical changes within us.