You are strong enough to live this Life!

You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it. – Author unknown

Have you ever found yourself facing an uphill battle? The thought of persevering can be overwhelming. Certain seasons of life can relentlessly bring one obstacle after another without an inch of breathing room in between. In these moments, we need to focus less on the obstacles themselves, and more on how we respond to the Lord in those moments.

Sometimes we go through life asking God to open doors for us.  We seek his blessing for the plans we have made without much thought about what his plans for us might be.  This can bring such frustration and confusion when our plans fall apart even to the point of being angry with those around us and even at the Lord himself.

We lose sight of this important fact that sometimes a closed door is the exact thing we need, even if it results in suffering.

Our personal experience with suffering actually equips us for the ministry God is preparing for us to live out.  Even in these moments of our greatest anguish we must trust that his grace is sufficient.  Perhaps we might need a constant reminder of this truth in the hardest season of life.  Know that we are better equipped to speak into the lives of those who face similar adversities as we are reshaped by our experiences.

Never see your situation as hopeless.  The Lord is writing a story in your life for the purpose of offering hope to others.  Also to deepen your relationship with him as we need to ask the Lord to help us to strengthen and endure the challenges you are facing.  He is writing an incredible story for you to share with the world.

And so, Lord where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Psalm 39:

Written by Charisse Le Roux

Where do I put my Hope?

Hope, Don’t lose sight, strengthen, persevere

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Broken objects made beautiful.

Broken objects made beautiful.

‘God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength.  It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume.  It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.’ – Vance Havner

When a bowl is cracked or broken in Japan, it is put back together with a lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold.  When the cracks are filled with this gold it creates a beautiful lining.  The Japanese art of ‘kintsugi’ teaches that broken objects are not something to hide but to display with pride.

This is to emphasize the beauty in what was once broken and suffered damage…and has a history it makes it more beautiful.

Now the same thing goes for human beings…everything that you have been through; that what you are going through doesn’t make your life uglier although it may seem that way. You are not broken beyond repair; you can choose to pick yourself up.

You can get through anything life puts in front of you. Sometimes it takes being broken in order to become the new version of yourself.  You are never too shattered for repair.  You can wear your scars proudly as a badge of honour as if to say, ‘look what I have been through’, it has made me who I am today.

God does not want us to be full of ourselves.  He wants to fill us with a treasure-His presence, His glory, and His grace.  If we are not broken, people will only see us.  But when we have been broken, people can see God shining through us.

Let us learn from negative experiences, take the best from them and convince ourselves that exactly these experiences make each person unique and precious.

Only the Lord can bring life to what was broken.  He was willing to take on the brokenness of the world in exchange for our freedom.  Jesus makes all things new.

Psalm 147:3  “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.”

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Being confident at what you do.

 

I am bigger than anything that can happen to me.  All these things, sorrow, misfortune, doubt and disappointment are outside my door.  I am in the  house and I have the key.  Charles Lummis

 

You are full of capabilities, gifts and talents.  So what are you doing with your life? Do not stay in the boat like the disciples did.  Peter said, “Lord, I want to walk on the water with you!” It is time to step out and do the thing you desire to do. Do not allow anything to hold you back.  Be confident in what you are doing.

Do you have a vision for your life and want to do something greater than what you are doing?

Be a rare individual who jumps out of the boat and refuses to live afraid.  Fear is always going to come against you.  Jesus says, “Take courage, it is I.”

Have you got the confidence to get out of the boat and join Peter? You may wonder what your boat is.  Maybe a place of comfort or safety, or it coud be a place of misery. Most people yield to the fear and remain stuck in life.

Maybe your boat consists of peoples’ approval you crave.  Step out in confidence and follow God fully. Perhaps you are not even in the boat and still on the shore.

Be positive concerning what you can do and not worrying about what you cannot do.  It is opening to learning, to allow yourself to walk through life’s challenges and to unleash your abilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Living a life that Matters

Living a Life that Matters

Everything that God has started inside of you, He wants to finish through you.

Many of us have deep regrets because of things left unfinished. We say things like, “If God wanted it to happen, it would have happened”, when in reality we quit.

All of us love to step into opportunities that we think will give us a better future. Opportunities are big in the beginning and in the end, but skinny in the middle and that is when some of us bail out (the part that requires discipline and perseverance).

Can you imagine if Jesus didn’t go to the Cross after His suffering in the garden? Jesus decided He wasn’t finished until it was finished. (These were actually His final words on the Cross).

God wants to use people that are willing to say, “I’m not finished yet.” If you are still breathing, you are not finished.

When you come to the end of your life, will you be able to say “I gave everything I had”, or will you  have a hollow feeling inside of your soul that you quit too soon, that you expected too little, that you did not strike the last arrow.

Of this I am certain; whatever God has for you, whatever promises He longs to fulfil in your life, whatever riches may await you, you will only find them when you choose life over existence.

Never ever give up on your dreams, never, never, never. Press through, endure hardships, hold on, keep focussed, don’t let go. Live a life that matters.

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Endure until the End.

Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting. 

(Napoleon Hill)

It is not how a person starts a race; but how one endures to the final bell or moment to finish well.

There can be many obstacles and challenges, some will fall out of the race, some will make excuses,

some will give up and some will take the challenge. But believe and endure with a good attitude

for the final round.

The question you will one day be asked, is: “What did you do with what I gave you, your gifts, talents,

abilities, education, opportunities and time?  Did you use it well?”

We are running against opportunities God has given us and are not competing against each other,

but rather competing against ourselves.

Now keep on and don’t quit.

God has given us tremendous resources that one can use to accomplish the task to get the work

done. He has made us who we are and has placed us where we are for a greater purpose. If we are

faithful at  what God has given to us, He is going to give us more.

So, make your life count! The challenge for all of us today, is to live for Gods’ approval by

finishing well, in God’s will.

Let us fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith and focus on Jesus.

Matthew 25:23

His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things;

I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happinness!”

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Being Content

Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. – (Denis Waitley)

There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people
who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the
bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you well, pray for ones who
don’t. Life is too short to be anything but happy.

Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living. May you not forget the infinite
possibilities that are born in yourself and others. May you be content with yourself
just the way you are. Life should be lived and cherished, a source of experience, not
survived through.

Never save something for a special occasion. Stop worrying and spend more time
with family. Wear new clothes to go to the supermarket if you feel like it. Don’t save
special perfume for special occasions, use it whenever you want to.

The words ‘someday…’ and ‘one day…’are fading away from our dictionary. Each day,
each hour, each minute is special. If it is worth seeing, listening or doing, let’s see it,
listen or do it now…Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no one. Remember,
that ‘one day’ is far away….or might never come. It is in all these small things that we
would regret not doing, if we knew our time had come…

Philippians 4:11 ‘I am not saying this because I am in any need, for I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in.’

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