Why You Should Endure…

“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” – Hebrews 10:36

A truly great individual is one who has endured, persevered, the opposition, criticism, challenges, persecution, and risen above them all. Greatness comes after enduring the pains and trials, and suffering all the insufferable. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” – James 1: 12.

Everyone knows how to thrive in the good times. But it is the trying times, the hardships, the dark times that separate the one who will succeed and the one who wouldn’t. The most decorated soldiers are the ones who have gone to war and survived fierce and difficult battles and operations. If you want to live your greatest life, you have to endure the trials and tribulations, knowing that in them is the key for your breakthrough.

Have the faith to endure the humiliation of defeat and criticism, to rise above it and dare to do what is right in fulfilling your destiny. Or as Abraham Lincoln said, “Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”

“Our negative life situations are essential elements for us to fulfil our intended destiny. However, unless we possess the power of endurance to live through the dark of the night, we will not see the glory of daybreak.” All great people have endured…so endure to be great.

What Are You Willing To Give Up?

There is a story in the bible about a young wealthy man who came to Jesus to find out what he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments, of which he replied that he had kept those since he was a young boy. Then Jesus told him that if he wants to enter the kingdom, he should give up his wealth; make donations to the needy, and come follow him. But giving up things that he has become so attached to; the power and influence he has come to possess due to his wealth, was too great for this rich man to lose. He left Jesus feeling very depressed.

We are often told that to be successful, wealthy, great, happy, healthy etc, we must do some certain things. You see, most of us obey these rules; we exercise, do the affirmations, meditate, study hard, attend the seminars, attend church services and so on, yet we get so little results. Folks, obtaining Prosperity, success, greatness, reaching your ideal shape and weight is not just about what you are willing to do to gain it; more importantly, it is about what you are willing to give up in exchange for it.

Every professional athlete or sportsperson knows that to be a truly great athlete, there are some things he or she would need to give up, if not the training would be to no avail. He must have the discipline to forfeit some pleasures for the prize ahead. And so it is with every one of us who desire greatness. We must ask ourselves; What am I willing to give up, to become a great husband, wife, father, mother, boss, student, entrepreneur, employee…? Am I willing to give up the times that I spend with my friends? Am I willing to forego the parties and fun times that my friends enjoy? Am I willing to forego delicious, fattening food in exchange for a disciplined diet program?” Am I willing to forego watching sports to have time for my family? Am I willing to give up my need to always be right so that peace can reign in my home? Am willing to forego other things to serve my God more? Am I willing to give up my procrastinating habits?…etc.

Until we learn this principle; what Jesus was trying to teach the rich man, our desire for success and greatness would only remain a wish.

You Are Almost There….Hold On

“A holy man, because of his great virtue, was taken by the angels to visit heaven. As the angels were escorting him through the heavenly mansion, they passed through a great hall piled high with gifts of every kind. The man asked his guides why all these gifts were here. They replied, “These are all the things people prayed for but quit their prayers right before they were to be delivered.”

So many times in life, a lot of us quit too soon. We quit when we are just “three feet from gold”. We give up on our dreams and hopes just at the time when our hard work is suppose to pay off. I have read about and seen it in the lives of many entrepreneurs who give up on their businesses, and sell them after years of toiling, and then the new owners now take these same businesses, and transform them to multi-million dollar companies. Here in my country I have seen I have seen men who bought oil wells that were considered “dry” and unproductive, and struck rich from them.

Don’t give up on your dreams because it is taking too long. You closer than you think. Some of us don’t get what we desire and pray for because we quit desiring them. We lose heart simply because the people we look up to told us we can’t achieve our desires. Never allow anyone talk you out of your dreams and goals because there are people with worse circumstances than yours who have achieved higher goals than the ones you target.

Whatever you desire, focus on them. “Make them your definite chief aim” because you will never get anything you don’t truly desire. Be specific about your desires and go for them. Maybe the reason why your prayers and desires are not being answered is because you don’t know what you want. Today you desire a job, tomorrow you are talking about starting a business. If someone talks to you the next week, what they hear is you want something else. Folks, “if we are steadfast in our efforts to attain our worthy desires, they may come to us, but idle dreams seldom come true.”

Be Indifferent About Money

Whether you have plenty of money or a little, remember, “Money is not part of who you are. You didn’t bring it with you at birth, nor will you take it with you at death.” Enjoy your money. Have money work for you and make it contribute to your life. See money for what it is, but no more. Don’t let money take over your whole life, because money is fickle. – Chin-Ning Chu
Keep an indifferent attitude towards it. “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1Timothy 6:10

Real Success Takes Time

The reason why you are facing so many challenges at the moment and everything around you seem to be going at snail pace is because God is preparing you for a great future.

Never mind if everyone around you is making progress but you don’t seem to have any headway yet. You see, though we all strive for success in life, some of us are just aiming for survival, to live average and comfortable lives. What these individuals would require to succeed is not the same as what you, who is striving for greatness would require. “When a person takes a journey to the nearby woods, to return a few hours later, he doesn’t have to prepare a supply of food. If he has to travel 100 kilometres, he would need to prepare food for overnight. If he has to travel 1,000 kilometres, he would need to prepare food for three months.”

when one is destined for greater accomplishments in life, the preparation for such a journey can be extensive, often you will be ridiculed, laughed at, scoffed by people who do not understand your purpose and goals, but never mind, endure till the end. Real success takes time.

You Are Not An Accident

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5

Your life is not an accident. It was no accident you were born into your family, received a certain education, and are being confronted with certain, unique experiences in life. You are where you are, who you are, and what you are for a reason.
You see, most of us don’t accept this fact. We hate ourselves and resent our families. We believe our genetic makeup is responsible for our lot in life. Folks these negative attitude won’t take us anywhere, rather it is what is holding us back from advancing. You can’t see anything good when you are blinded by evil.

I have seen many people who believed that if they changed their physical appearance, families and even nationalities, their lives would change. You are not your physical appearance, and your outer realities. So while you may succeed in influencing the way the world looks at you by changing your physical appearance and location, it doesn’t affect who you are on the inside.

To start living our greatest life, we need to surrender to, and accept the will of our Maker. No matter how hard you try to effect physical changes in our lives, “if our Divine Maker does not will it, not even a single leaf will dare to fall.” Your skin colour; family background; the education you have received; the challenges you are facing are part of the training necessary to prepare you for a successful journey through life. And in them, our God has provided us with everything we need to achieve our highest potential, and live our greatest lives.

The Battle Must Be Fought

Each one of us is a warrior in our own right. We are the warriors of life and life is an eternal battle. We choose to enter the battlefield from the day we are born. We are committed to win the battle of life. Just like a warrior in the midst of the fierce fight, there is no way out. He can choose to fight courageously to ensure his survival and victory, or he can choose to get killed. We do not have to like the fight. We simply have to fight to the best of our abilities. To survive in life, we have to confront the inner negativities and the outer realities. – Chin-Ning Chu

Live Prepared

“I have seen many people grow old, but not graciously. Their eyes reflect pain and disillusionment. They have been beaten by life; they have so many broken dreams. The hope and expectations of youth have vanished—only death awaits.”

Don’t allow yourself to be beaten by life. Take the time now to prepare for the harsh lessons of life because, ready or not; like it or not; the obstacles, disappointments, failures, pains, tears, challenges will come, and they do come in everyone’s life. A lot of us are always caught off guard by these negative events because we never take the time to develop a Winner’s mentality.

Folks it doesn’t matter how much we try to ignore the possibility of any unpleasant thing occurring in our lives, they do happen. But you can choose to learn from them or be consumed by them. You can learn from them by acquiring the unshakable inner strength and positive attitude through prayers, studying the word of God, learning from others who have faced these events and are sharing their secrets through blogs, books, audio tapes, seminars, etc.

We may not have control over what happens to us, but we do determine how those events affect us. Live prepared…don’t be a victim of life.

Revenge With Success

“When others tell you that you can’t do this, you can’t do that, you’re a lofty dreamer, a chronic loser, “This is just another of your stupid dreams, just look at you… why can’t you face who you really are?” you feel hurt and angry. Use their negative energy plus the negativity that you feel for them to create an emotion explosive enough to support and realize your dreams. Again, success is the sweetest revenge.” – Chin-Ning Chu