Our life in Christ is a journey. And that journey is more like an excursion through life; it has victories and setbacks along with many wild and crazy turns. The value we place in the product of our journey will always determine our perspective within it. For it is our perspective that determines the manner in which we manage our life.
Some people take it very seriously and others, well not so serious. I, for one, am trying to smell the roses as I pass by, but what almost haunts me is the notion that I will stand before God one day and give account to all my actions – all that I produced or didn’t produce. And that brings me to a fearful sobriety.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a bit critical of myself. I consider myself as being very hardheaded. I know what I want but it seems like I keep making the same mistakes that prevent me from arriving at where I want to be. My desire is to learn, not just from my mistakes, but from others as well. Easier said than done…
I’m hardheaded. And one of the many attributes of “hard-headedness” is that hardheaded people live life failure to failure. Yeah, I know we all do that… but the difference is that hardheaded people spend too much time and energy picking up the pieces. And there is where the problem lies (at least for me).
The Lord said to the prophet Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king” (1 Samuel 16:1).
Well there is it… I must learn to break my hardheaded mind-set by quitting in trying to pick up the pieces, learning from the setback and filling my horn with oil, for God always has a new plan! For in Christ, failure is never final in His Grace and never fatal in His mercy. I’m think I beginning to learn this… Pray for me.
Pastor Manny
