Thursday, June 30, 2011
Everybody Wants to be a Star
Everybody wants to be a star but nobody wants to do the work to polish it.
Scripture:
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23 (New International Version)
Recently I had a conversation with a friend regarding our writing journeys. We talked about how some people start on the journey with great zeal and talent, but after awhile if they have not received the recognition they believe they deserve, they will give up and quit. I find this to be true about quite a few things in life. We start our journeys with a desire to do well and achieve great things but over the course of time if we do not see the wanted outcome, we give up and quit. Having the desire to do something great is one thing, but actually having the tenacity to see it through is another.
If you look closely at successful people, you will see that contrary to popular belief, their successes did not come overnight. Recently, I watched the story of Jennifer Hudson and her climb to fame. She recognized at an early age that she had both the talent and the desire to become a great singer. She even made it to the pinnacle of reality television stardom on “American Idol.” However, after she was eliminated and the American Idol tour was over, she returned to a life of almost obscurity when she did not immediately obtain her dream. I’m sure it was enough to make her want to quit; but she didn’t. Instead, she dug her heals in and got right back out there trying to make her dreams a reality. And finally, she did.
I find this same reality to be true of so many wanna-be Christians as well. They accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and want to believe that suddenly they will become a superstar on their Christian walk. But then life continues to happen. The stress and strife that they thought would miraculous cease to exist remains and in most cases actually intensifies. Their faith is tested almost on a daily basis. And instead of staying on the battlefield to fight the good fight of faith, they throw down their spiritual weapons and return to the life they were most comfortable with.
What each of us must always keep in mind is that anything worth achieving will take hard work and perseverance, including a right relationship with God. Things will come against us that will try to turn us away from our chosen course. The key is remembering that there is no true success without trials and tribulations along the way and rather than give up and give in, we must stay the course so at the end of the journey we can hear these words:
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”
Be Blessed
Prayer:
I will Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto mine own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Lord, we come before the throne of grace once again asking that You would forgive us in our unbelief. We come asking that You, who are rock and our salvation, would help us to starve our fears and doubts and feed our faith. Lord, I personally ask for forgiveness and direction for myself. I know that sometimes, we take You for granted and in doing so, leave ourselves open to attack. Lord, we stand before You again, putting on the whole armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, wielding our shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, and placing upon our heads, the helmet of salvation. Lord, let us always be diligent against attacks from he who seeks to destroy us. Continue to bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. Continue to anoint our leaders. Help us always to be able to call upon the name of the Lord in our times of distress. Thank You Lord, for Your faithfulness. Thank You Lord, for Your covering. Thank You Lord that You pick us up, when we have been knocked down. We will praise the name of the Lord at all times, and His praises shall continuously be in our mouths. Praise His name saints of God. Glory hallelujah, thank You Jesus, in whose name we pray, Amen.
Scripture:
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23 (New International Version)
Recently I had a conversation with a friend regarding our writing journeys. We talked about how some people start on the journey with great zeal and talent, but after awhile if they have not received the recognition they believe they deserve, they will give up and quit. I find this to be true about quite a few things in life. We start our journeys with a desire to do well and achieve great things but over the course of time if we do not see the wanted outcome, we give up and quit. Having the desire to do something great is one thing, but actually having the tenacity to see it through is another.
If you look closely at successful people, you will see that contrary to popular belief, their successes did not come overnight. Recently, I watched the story of Jennifer Hudson and her climb to fame. She recognized at an early age that she had both the talent and the desire to become a great singer. She even made it to the pinnacle of reality television stardom on “American Idol.” However, after she was eliminated and the American Idol tour was over, she returned to a life of almost obscurity when she did not immediately obtain her dream. I’m sure it was enough to make her want to quit; but she didn’t. Instead, she dug her heals in and got right back out there trying to make her dreams a reality. And finally, she did.
I find this same reality to be true of so many wanna-be Christians as well. They accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and want to believe that suddenly they will become a superstar on their Christian walk. But then life continues to happen. The stress and strife that they thought would miraculous cease to exist remains and in most cases actually intensifies. Their faith is tested almost on a daily basis. And instead of staying on the battlefield to fight the good fight of faith, they throw down their spiritual weapons and return to the life they were most comfortable with.
What each of us must always keep in mind is that anything worth achieving will take hard work and perseverance, including a right relationship with God. Things will come against us that will try to turn us away from our chosen course. The key is remembering that there is no true success without trials and tribulations along the way and rather than give up and give in, we must stay the course so at the end of the journey we can hear these words:
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”
Be Blessed
Prayer:
I will Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto mine own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Lord, we come before the throne of grace once again asking that You would forgive us in our unbelief. We come asking that You, who are rock and our salvation, would help us to starve our fears and doubts and feed our faith. Lord, I personally ask for forgiveness and direction for myself. I know that sometimes, we take You for granted and in doing so, leave ourselves open to attack. Lord, we stand before You again, putting on the whole armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, wielding our shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, and placing upon our heads, the helmet of salvation. Lord, let us always be diligent against attacks from he who seeks to destroy us. Continue to bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. Continue to anoint our leaders. Help us always to be able to call upon the name of the Lord in our times of distress. Thank You Lord, for Your faithfulness. Thank You Lord, for Your covering. Thank You Lord that You pick us up, when we have been knocked down. We will praise the name of the Lord at all times, and His praises shall continuously be in our mouths. Praise His name saints of God. Glory hallelujah, thank You Jesus, in whose name we pray, Amen.
