hope

Overcoming the Poison of Society’s “Success”
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Overcoming the Poison of Society’s “Success”

In the pursuit of a dream, we will stumble across many “poisons” that attempt to deter us, weaken us, and make us doubt our dream’s capability and legitimacy. Like a physical poison, it’ll work through your system and slowly kill any hope of passion and confidence.

One of those poisons that has haunted me quite a lot is the perceived notion of “success” that is intentionally-unintentionally pushed on us from society. Well, it is half the time, and then the other half is our own self-imposed notion. There’s different factors that we may deem “successful,” and it can slightly differ amongst us, but overall it involves the same concept. And, ultimately, it results in us believing that because our lives don’t match this picture, then we’re not successful.

First of all, this is all this “success” is: a picture. An idea. An ideal imagined by generations of a collective culture that has changed and merged and intersected so much we’ve lost track. So this picture of “success” has changed an insurmountable amount of times. It’s irrelevant. It’s pointless. There’s no need to pay it any attention.

Here are a few things to dwell on:

  • What makes you happy?

Now, if having a certain income or marrying well or climbing the ladder to CEO or becoming famous is what makes you happy, then by all means pursue it! If none of that matters to you, then there’s nothing wrong or different about that. If you’re happy, or at least content, I’d say you’re doing pretty good.

  • Every path is different.

Even when two people are pursuing the same thing, they won’t do it exactly the same way. And both are valid and equally successful.

  • What’s better: satisfied others or satisfied you?

What’s so great about living a life that others demand and being miserable and bitter all the time? I’m sure you’d rather be pleased with yourself. Now, this doesn’t mean you don’t listen to wise and well-meaning advice from those you trust and who know you well, and this doesn’t mean you don’t practice humility and sacrifice (after all, Character comes before dreams). But also don’t forget to listen to your own gut. Even in the midst of presumed certainty, your gut will never lie.

  • Society knows nothing of you.

You know you. Your family and friends know you. What do they say about you? What does your heart say about you?

  • Divert your thoughts when they dwell too long on this “success.”

Thinking too much about this will only make you lose hope and energy. Have a plan to divert your thoughts to something more productive, and something more positive. Choose a subject on which you will habitually think about when your mind starts to wander into darkness (Philippians 4:8-9, “think on these things…”)

Weekly Devotional: Nothing More Hopeful than Love
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Weekly Devotional: Nothing More Hopeful than Love

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

I’ve come to realize something: need hope? then love.

I don’t think I have to go into an explanation of how and why love is the most powerful thing. But I do think sometimes we forget about the close correlation love has with hope. Hope can be a hard thing to keep. At times it feels like we are hanging on to it by a single thread. From a cliff. With one hand. And it’s raining, making our grip nearly impossible.

The one thing that gives us strength to keep hanging onto that precious thread is love. If you don’t seem to have enough of it, then give it out. More love=more hope. Think of love, and get hope.

 

 

 

Weekly Devotion: …Because you trust Him.
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Weekly Devotion: …Because you trust Him.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Romans 15:13 NLT

There’s plenty of parts in this scripture that will capture our attention first before we actually notice the point of it. All those lovely words-hope, joy, peace, confident, overflow, power-are well and true, but there’s something there between them:

…because you trust in him.

It’s very easy to forget that in a relationship with God, we have our own weight to pull. God can do everything, but He won’t do everything, and He has a reason for that. That would be something called Character…

This scripture is part of a chapter full of well wishes and wise encouragements. Notice that it did not end at joy and peace. Paul did not say, “I pray that God will fill you with joy and peace.” He said, “I pray that God will fill you…because you trust in him.” God has every intention to give you joy and peace. He desires it for you. He gives it to you freely. You know what your part is? Trusting Him. And because you trusted him, then you have joy and peace.

Trust gives birth to hope, and hope gives birth to peace, and peace gives birth to joy. God can’t give you trust. He won’t make you trust Him. Do you want joy and peace? Now where does that path start again?

Remember, Character comes before Dreams
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Remember, Character comes before Dreams

Romans 5:3-5 says: “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Despite how much God wants to see your dreams fulfilled, and help you achieve those dreams (he has a purpose for you, after all), there is something significantly more important to him than that, and which should be more important to you. That is character.

And here’s the thing: you can invest in Character right now. You began from the moment you had the ability to make your own choices. Character doesn’t need resources. In your life pursuits, character comes before dreams. And with good character, the pursuit of your dreams will be more successful and pleasant. To the right people, your character will stand out stronger than your ability; to the right people.

What you leave behind will stick around longer than what you bring about in your lifetime. Don’t stop pursuing dreams, but pursue character first.

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Today’s the Day…Romans 15:4

Photo Apr 23, 5 19 25 PM

“Such things were written in the scriptures long ago to teach us. And the scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s purpose to be fulfilled.”-Romans 15:4

One thing stands out: we wait patiently. Perhaps there’s something you’re waiting for…it’s the scriptures that give us hope and encouragement while we wait.

Today’s the Day you’ve been waiting for. Now make a reason why.

 

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Project Inspiration: A Hopeful Endeavor

A while back I had posted about an endeavor of purpose I decided to start, called Project Inspiration. It’s kind of a life-path I created in which I fulfill my purpose of being an encourager and inspirer. Obviously, that ranges a plethora of activity and deeds. This blog is part of that endeavor. Since I chose to make it a part of my life, I haven’t necessarily kept track of what I’ve done that would be categorized with it. I don’t want it to be a category thing; I want it to be a conscious part of my mind, where I’m always looking for and fully aware of those opportunities to encourage or inspire someone.

I do have one story. It’s small and maybe insignificant, but it meant something to me. During the work day last week I went to Walmart to get my brother some salad (he was in need of healthy food) and while I was at it I got myself a peach, one of my favorite fruits, and I hadn’t had a peach in a very long time. Basically, I was looking forward to this peach. On the way out of the parking lot at the exit turn, a man on the street stood. I had a brief battle in my mind going on: “Give him the peach. But I want the peach! I’m craving the peach! No, give him the peach.” As I pulled closer, I rolled down my window, called out to him, and gave him my peach.

He told me how much he loved fruit. He also said, “I am not owed anything, and I know that what I get is a gift from God.”

There it was. And you know, the feeling I got was overwhelming. As I drove away, I said to myself, “Golly, I want to do that again!”

The other day when I was feeling void of encouragement, I wondered why. Then I realized: it was because I hadn’t encouraged anyone lately. When I got to work the next morning I wrote a little sticky note letter of love and encouragement for my brother and left it on his desk.  Whether it made a difference to him or not, it uplifted me. Here’s why: God gave me the purpose to encourage and inspire, and when I act in that purpose, I am fulfilled and taken by joy. Those feelings I get all make sense.

This “Project Inspiration” is a hopeful endeavor of mine that I anticipate will affect others besides myself. Isn’t that what we’re all meant to do, when it comes down to it? Change others’ lives.