Don’t let your mistakes stop you. The memory of the mistakes may be painful and persists but you must learn to repent, forgive yourself and move forward. Paul had to deal with his own. He did not live in denial. (Philippians 3:12-14) Plead the blood of Jesus upon your conscience and cancel the effect with the blood of Jesus.
7. There is a season for everything in life. There is God’s time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Life is in turn. (Esther 2: 12, 15) Things don’t happen always in your own time. Ecclesiastes 3: 11 says He makes all things beautiful in His time, not in your own time. Those who don’t know that put themselves under unnecessary pressure; they want to make things happen when God’s time for them has not come. No prophecy can make it happen before God’s time; the prophecy can only make you excited!
In Jeremiah 29 God sent Jeremiah, the prophet to tell the Israelites who were captives in Babylon not to listen to the prophets prophesying their release earlier than the time God had set; God said he did not send them. God’s word was that after 70 years at Babylon he would visit them and perform His good word to them in returning them to their land. God said He had not forgotten them. It was then He gave the Word we often quote: “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
But before the time of God’s visitation they must continue their normal life, take wives, have children, give their daughters out in marriage etc. He that believes shall not make haste. (Isaiah 28: 16) You must deal with every tendency towards impatience. You must follow those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12)
Do not stress up yourself. God has a plan for your life. If you force things to happen before God’s time or outside His will for you, you will only create problem for yourself; you will nurse the baby yourself: “But I saw the ram pushing westward and northward, and southward; and that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will and became great.” (Daniel 8:4) Beware of success according to your own will, not His will, and according to your own timing, not His own. Be sensitive to divine timing; don’t frustrate or endanger yourself.
8. The race is not for the swift. This is another powerful truth you need to arm yourself with in life. Your success in life is not dependent on your efforts alone. There are two supernatural forces that can work for you or against you - the power of God or the power of the devil. These two forces determine a great deal your outcome in life.
The most brilliant student in school does not always emerge the best in life among his mates. Often times, the one that was never given any chance would become the most accomplished. The fastest runner does not always come first; there are other intervening factors usually beyond our control. The God factor is the most decisive above all. When God chooses a person for an assignment or decides to favour him, there is nothing anybody can do about that. We just must accept God’s verdict.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 says, “Here is something else I have learned. The fastest heroes don’t always win races and battles. Wisdom, intelligence and skill don’t always make you healthy, rich or popular. We each have our share of bad luck.” (Contemporary English Version) The Kenneth Taylor Translation renders that verse thus: “Again, I looked throughout the earth and saw the swiftest person does not always win the race, nor the strongest man the battle, and that wise men are often poor, and skillful men are not necessarily famous: but it is all by chance, by happening to be at the right place at the right time.” So you can see it is beyond your skill, your wisdom, your strength, though all these are important.
Also, you need the anointing and the anointed in your life. The anointing destroys yokes (Isaiah 10:27) Be wise to carry the anointing along; all the qualities above are not enough (2 Kings 6:1-7)
9. Rat race is the highway to sorrow. To enjoy life you must avoid greed, envy, competitive jealousy and comparison. Don’t let the devil deceive you; you cannot have everything, you don’t need everything, you can not do everything and you cannot know everything. “And further by these my son, be admonished of making many books (readings) there is no end and much reading is a wearing of the flesh.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12) Solomon was speaking from personal experience. You had better believe Solomon because of his ‘track record’ If you are in doubt, read 1 Kings 4:32-33 and Ecclesiastes 1:17-18.
Those who chase everything on this false assumption of appropriating all end in sorrow. No man can receive anything except it is given him from above. (John 19:11) There are things God will not tell you or show you. (Deuteronomy 2:5. 2 Kings 4:27)
Don’t be propelled by comparison - you are different from others, so be yourself. 2 Corinthians 10:12 says those who compare themselves among themselves are not wise. He that is greedy of gain troubles his soul. (Proverbs 15:27) There are things that God will not give you no matter how much you desire them. He has allocated them to some persons. (1 Kings 2:15) Only those things you have received from the Lord, you will enjoy them with peace. If you have anything against God’s will, you may enjoy it but it will be with sorrow!
10. Avoid wrong company. You can not go through life alone; all of us must be in one company or the other - work relationship, friendship, courtship, partnership etc. You must however be careful the ship you enter because it will surely take you to a destination. You must be careful that the ship is not going to a destination you do not desire.
Relationships determine a lot the kind of life we live now and the future we create for ourselves. If you walk with the wise you shall be wise, the companion of fools shall be destroyed. (proverbs 13:20) Are your companions those that fear the Lord or otherwise? (psalm 119:63) Birds of a feather flock together - the saying is true. Also true is the saying: show me your friends and I will show you who you are. I can add that I will show you what you will become. Nobody comes into your life and leaves you the same - he adds to you or removes from you, lifts you up or pulls you down, makes you happy or makes you sad etc. Friendship is not by force; it is by choice.
If your ship - partnership, friendship, courtship etc is not leading you to the right destination come out of it and save your life. Don’t be emotional. Why must you make yourself habitually unhappy just to make yourself accepted by others? You know you are suffering silently in pain, misery and heartache owing to a wrong relationship which may not necessarily be evil but you’re pretending just because you don’t want to rock the boat. For how long will you continue to do that?
11. Be in control of your time. Whoever controls your time controls your life. As a person becomes older, he should be in greater control of his time. Manage your time well. Avoid time wasters - both persons and things. A time waster is a life waster. Differentiate between what is urgent and what is important. The enemy of the important is the urgent. Know what you should delegate without abdicating responsibility and know what requires your personal attention. Don’t procrastinate. Free up your time by allocating your time to only productive ventures and that which requires your personal attention alone. Don’t be a dabbler, be a planner. Be discriminatory in what you get involved in. Jesus refused to be drawn into a family squabble. In Luke 12:14, he told the person who wanted him to tell his brother to give him his share of their father’s inheritance “Who made me a judge and a divider over you?” That is how to live a focused life which is also illustrated in Jotham’s story of the trees inviting the olive tree, fig tree, vine, and bramble to be king over them. All turned down the offer because each recognized and was focused on its primary assignment; only the bramble accepted. (Judges 9:7-15) Know your primary and secondary assignments per season and don’t let what is not your assignment waste your time.
12. Protect your heart. In life, you must learn to guard your heart with all diligence. (Proverbs 4:23). Your heart is the centre of your life; it’s the spring of life which you must not allow to be polluted by wrong things that seek to enter it. Whatever you permit to be sown in your life will surely produce fruits ­negative or positive. Take heed what you watch, what you think, what you hear, what you do and how you do it because of the serious impact they can have on your heart.
As a strategic way of protecting your heart, understand that in life people will offend you from time to time and it is in your own interest to be quick to forgive (even before people offend you). Don’t be disappointed about people offending you even in the church because we are not yet in heaven; church is not heaven and we live in an imperfect world. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” Offences will come but don’t take them; learn to forgive. (Matthew 18:7, Luke 17:3-4) Avoid taking things to heart. Be patient with people. Make allowance for people’s fault. Don’t be a perfectionist.
13. Be anxious for nothing. Avoid worrying. Anxiety or worry can never stop whatever will happen. Anxiety shows your lack of faith in God. Worry will lead you to nowhere except to untimely death. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing but with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving make all requests known unto God.” Don’t be like Martha. Jesus told her she was anxious and troubled about many things whereas only one thing was needful and Mary had chosen that good part which shall not be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) Rather than worry yourself (and there will be many things you will worry about if you choose to be a worrier), cast your cares upon him for he cares for you. (IPeter 5:7). Concluded.
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