So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
(Eph 5:15-17, NLT)
Redeeming the time means making the most of every opportunity. When priorities are wrongly placed, undue attention is given to things that are of temporal worth at the expense of the things that are of eternal and more significant value.
Satan knows too well that once priorities are misplaced, it becomes much easier for him to cause havoc and untold miseries in the lives of individual, families, communities and even nations.
You must identify areas of misplaced priorities in your daily schedule as well as the havoc that have been caused. Then make a determined resolution to put things right.
Everyone wants to win. I get it. I want to win too. I passed every exam from primary school to Master’s Degree. It was fun until I had to resit for ACCA Audit and Assurance paper, not once but passed after fourth attempt.
photo credit: spiritualcleansing.org
Failure isn’t God’s best for us. However, it’s necessary because of the lessons He wants us to Learn. If all we expect is win-win, then we would become vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. Satan is vicious and terrible so Daddy sometimes toughens us up for two reasons:
To help ourselves
To help others who are caught in the trap of Failure
Let’s consider Paul’s statement to Timothy;
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith
(2 Timothy 4:7, KJV)
Two words to consider from Paul’s statement are: Fight and Keep. We Fight, We Keep. Good things don’t come easy. We Fight, We Push through, We Persevere, We Persist, We don’t back down.
And after you have Fought for it, You Keep it. it’s easy to lose things you don’t fight for. But when you remember what you went through to Achieve your successes, you are determine to protect, defend, or guard whatever it might be.
Sometimes that’s what Failure does. In my case, I thought passing exam was an easy thing to do. Just sit, study, and pass. I always relied on Self and my own strategies. I thought of myself as the smart guy until Failure set in. I believe God allowed Failure to reshape my perception, and to realize that It was the Power, Mercy, and Grace of God that made me successful in previous exams. I learnt my lessons and Fought through. I didn’t SETTLE.
photo credit: enkiquotes.com
Lessons from my Failure:
Failure is a point of reflection:
It’s time to reflect on what went wrong and to seek God’s guidance
When Joshua failed against Ai, he went to seek answers from God
It’s also time to assess the methodology. It could be flawed
God uses Failure to shift our focus back to Him:
It easy to think that our strength, connections, or resources made us successful
Depending on self could be fatal because if satan strikes against your health (strength), what would be left of you?
When you head on that direction, God permits failure to get you back to trusting Him
It makes us strong for the battle:
God never promised an easy journey. He only said that He would be with us
Every failure teaches you one more way of doing things right
It teaches you to realise that “Everything worthwhile in life is uphill” as said by John Maxwell
It becomes your message to encourage others who fail:
People are failing everyday and they need help
I remember friends who called me to talk about failing their Professional exam. When I told them about attempting Four times, it was enough encouragement for them to Try Again.
Your failure today could be your message tomorrow, next week, month, or even decades to come.
Your destiny is worth fighting for. Your Faith in God should be Kept. Don’t allow the enemy to shift your stance on God’s word. Always remember that If God permits Failure, then it means there are lessons to learn. Pick yourself up, Learn fast, and Move on. Try Again.
Maybe this year has been though. You’ve checked the calendar and thought It’s Over, It’s too Late, I Can’t. This is Self talking to you. Remember that No one can succeed by strength alone. Get back to God, and like Joshua, He will show you what to do in order to Succeed in your next Attempt. Don’t give up, Try Again.
Many things come to distract Life from its purpose
Life is a race
Life isn’t competition with people
Life is a Race but each individual has different course to follow which eliminates the concept of Competition. The only competition that exist is with yourself (or myself). You were created with unique skills and abilities for distinct purpose so we can’t compete in anyway.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
(2 Timothy 4:7, KJV)
This race has prize tag when you cross your finished line. The prize is so great that your adversary will try anything possible to distract you every minute. He wants you to bury your talent till the Master comes.
Here is the main thing: The race is structured in such a way that you can’t finish with your own strength. You need God. When you recognize the God Factor (G) in your RACE, You activate GRACE.
If you have played racing games before, GRACE is like Boosters in racing games. It releases your supernatural power to do extraordinary things you couldn’t do on your own.
Therefore when your Race turns to GRACE, Life becomes easy as the Holy Spirit begins to work in you daily to outsmart your adversary and his strategies.
Race is full of struggles but GRACE comes with Peace and Ease. Where people fail to cross, you triumph. You don’t get stuck in Life and everything you do prospers.
Be encouraged to recognize the God Factor in your Journey (Personal life, family, marriage, business, academics, career, etc) and I can assure you that your Journey will be Graceful.
Uplifting Christ 