I love quotes a lot. One of my favorite quotes says,
“Ships in the harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for”.
You will agree with me that this is a very popular quote. As I was thinking about it I decided to go and try and find stories of ships that were destroyed in the harbor. I couldn’t find even one story. I searched and searched with no luck. Seriously, I could not find anything. I didn’t find a headline that said, SHIP DESTROYED WHILE IN HARBOR! Nothing. Interestingly enough I found more than enough stories about ships that were destroyed out at sea. Then it hit me. We are scared to take risk at times. We prefer to be comfortable and we prefer to be safe but this is the thing, we are not made to live in the harbor. We are meant to be out there taking risks. We are meant to be stepping out like Peter in faith!!! It’s out at sea that we see God. Actually it’s where God meets us! It is out in the sea that we see the miraculous. Being in the harbor is safe and comfortable but there is no growth. Someone once said comfort breeds laziness and I think he is right. Out at sea is pain and sorrow, and fear of the unknown but better that than lazying around in the sun, thinking about what could of being and moaning over chances not taken because of fear!!!! Enough of saying, “I wish I could of” or “what would of happened if I” or “If only I”…….ENOUGH!!!!!!
You were NOT created to live in comfort and safety but you were created to impact the world. You were created to grow and change the world around you. Amen……
There are a lot of songs that speak to me and that is one way God speaks to me. There is one song that is really ministering to me that I would like to share. I had a talk with my mentor or can I say he had a talk with me about my future and he was very open about where I needed to change and where I needed help. I thank God for him, because we all need those talks. If you don’t have anyone who can see the bad in you and love you enough to tell you then you are in trouble. You cannot have people who only tell you how fantastic and awesome you are and never confront you about the wrong that is in your life…….
Anyway after this talk I really got thinking and he was so right on so many levels and this is why this song ministers to me so much. God has so many amazing plans for us but we think it’s going to just happen. At the snap of our fingers we are going to have the car we want, or the wife we have always dreamed of or we are going to have the ministry we have always wanted and so on and so on but the truth is, it takes work. We need to have faith and we need to make the sacrifices needed to get us to where God has for us.
The song is called, “Waiting for Tomorrow” sung by Mandisa. I think there is a lot we could identify with in this song. A lot of us wait till “tomorrow” to get up and do something for God. We wait for tomorrow to start eating right, we wait for tomorrow to stop a particular habit, we wait for tomorrow because we are so busy today but the truth is today is the day, TODAY! Whatever you are waiting for know that today is the day to start. You may not have everything to start off with; I don’t have everything to start off with but today is the day. We cannot keep on putting life on hold. God is calling us to start TODAY!
I love the chorus. This is what it says:
Can’t spend my whole life wastin’
Everything I know I’ve been given
‘Cause you’ve made for so much more than
Sittin’ on the side lines
I don’t wanna look back and wonder
If good enough could’ve been better
Everyday’s a day to start over
So, why am I waiting for tomorrow
Do you know God has given you so much? After the talk with my mentor I looked at all that God had given me only to realize it was a lot. We have this thing where we look for the next seminar or the next business speaker to come so we can know “more” but what are we doing with the $1200 seminar we paid for 3 years ago???!!! That applies to me more than anyone else…..! We all have the potential and we are just sitting on it. I realized this as well, it is a sin to have so much from God and not do anything with it! We have a responsibility to use what God has given us. It’s almost like being given a car but all you ever do with it is walk out to the garage and admire it!!! What is the use? We got to stop sitting on the sidelines and we don’t want to look back and wonder what life would of being like if we had done this or that. Like I said, I speaking to me as well….
I love the last part of the chorus because she says, “everyday is a day to start over”! Today is the day to start over, not tomorrow, not next week but today! There is one other part of the song that is so important and that is the vamp. She says:
Oh, I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me
And I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me
This part is important because if we are to make this change we cannot do it alone. God is the only one that can help us. He is the one that gives us the strength to break laziness or unbelief and a whole host of other things that are holding us down. God wants to save you and he wants to save me and that is why He has sent people who care for us enough to speak to us about our life. Don’t block them out. Be open to what they have to say. God is very interested about what happens in our lives. He cares about what we go through and He is eager for us to accomplish all that He has for us in this life but you need to ask Him for help. Cry out to Him.
When we do that our tomorrow will look brighter and more than that, we will accomplish all He has for us! God has a plan and a purpose for each and everyone of us and today is the day to make a decision to chase after it. Today is the day….Amen
Laziness can kill your dreams. It is something that needs to be eradicated at all costs. I have been struggling with laziness my entire life. But there came a time when i realised how dangerous it could be. And God continues to help me in this area.
Let us go to Proverbs 13:4 which says:
No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it.
This scripture has really been ministering to me. I have my own company and it is so easy to be lazy. You are your own boss so you decide your own working hours. It has been quite a challenge i have to say. But reading this scripture brought things into perspective.
A lazy man may want a lot of things but will never get them.
You may have a lot of things you want to do but the one thing that will stop you is laziness. You may have all the potential in the world but it will count for nothing if you are lazy! It is a harsh but true reality.
There are a lot of things i want to accomplish but if i am lazy i won’t get them.
Laziness is a disease which eats at productivity.
What is the cure then? What can we do to be free from laziness?
For the answer we need to look at the last part of Proverbs 13:4 which says, “A hard worker will get everything he wants.
Wow right! A hard worker will get EVERYTHING he wants!!! That is what the Word of God says.
The cure for laziness is hard work. I can see people wince at that statement. But it is something that needs to be done if you want results.
The thing you need to do now is look at what your attitude is toward hard work. My mentor taught me that attitude is really about where you lean towards. If you are leaning towards something then your attitude is positive. If you are leaning away from something then your attitude is said to be negative. Do you lean towards hard work or lean away from it? Is hard work something you love and appreciate despite the phyisical aspect of it or is it something you run away from?
Hard work should be something we value highly if we are to see results. It needs to be a culture trait that we have adapted. Things begin to happen when we are hard working and diligent.
So let us make it our goal to be hardworking and diligent in all that we do.
There is a promise for us if we decide to be hardworking –
In all labour there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23
In ALL labour there is profit. You will not work at something with your hands and not get something. There will profit as long as you work hard. That is a promise.
kingspeech 