The success of our life lies in our hands. Eve failed. But she picked up the pieces of her shattered life and ended well. Peter came crashing down and was drowning in his sorrow. But he pulled himself up and finished with a gold medal! So be encouraged. Here are some tips to make a grand success of your life.
1. Face your sin.
“A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him” (2 Pet 2: 19b). It could be lying, stealing, fighting, touchiness, laziness, tongue-lashing, flirting, anger, disrespect, covetousness, neglecting family, dishonesty or anything. It is these foxes that spoil the vine. Make 100% effort to uproot your sin. Going on in life with sin is like running a race with a millstone around your neck.
Someone gave me some American dollars while I was going to Srilanka. I was hesitant since I heard it was illegal. But being reassured by all I put those dollars in the first page of my Bible and packed my paraphernalia. At the last moment, since guilt sat on my soul, I removed those dollars. In the Srilanka Airport, the customs official opened my bag to check, put in his hand and brought out my Bible. He flipped open the first page, closed it, replaced it, zipped up my bag and waved me off. I was stunned but learnt a valuable life lesson.
2. Be the person God wants you to be.
If you are a wife, study about the wife’s role in the Scriptures and be the best wife possible. You can’t tell God, “But my husband Lord, . . .is a fishbone stuck in the throat.. .that’s why I am...” He will say, “He is next in queue, right behind you. I’ll talk to him about it. But were you the wife I told you to be?” Similarly the husband. Workers, don’t complain about the boss and vice versa. Same for students and teachers. Missionaries don’t drown in Mission politics; shine in your job. Your character should not be moulded by how others are but by the Word of God. “What is that to you, you follow Me” said Jesus (Jn 21). Let your eyes flit from the Scriptures to yourself and back. Be the best person you can be and then wait patiently for eternal rewards.
3. Never accept it’s all over.
It is the devil’s lie. It is not over yet. “You dear children, are from God and have OVERCOME them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). You cannot turn tail and runaway at the first sight of a problem. Fight till the end. Hope till the end. Everything can look like a failure in the middle. Winning is often the result of persistence. Refuse to give up on your difficult marriage. The devil is mighty but God is Almighty! That’s what makes our life a success. Oswald J. Smith was too sick to go as a missionary. He could not get a doctor’s certificate. So he sent missionaries in hundreds. He might have given up looking at his health. But he defeated the mighty one by the power of the Almighty.
4. Put problems in one track and joy (or ministry) in another track.
The storm was blowing but Jesus was sleeping. Paul and Peter wrote about joy while suffering. With handcuffs jangling Paul and Silas sang songs. Adversity and sorrow stalk into life on rubber soles. If you don’t put them on a different track you will break beneath the pressure and spiritual inanition can follow. Even Jesus had problems; but He let them run parallel with His joy. Read for example John 16: 32 & 33: “You will leave Me all alone.” So what? “Yet I am not alone, for My Father is with Me.” “In this world you will have trouble.” So what? “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Cry when you cry and then wipe your tears and look at the brighter side of life. That can be a springboard to a new goal. Don’t let sorrows destroy your life.
Bethany Hamilton, a 16 year old who lost her left arm to a shark while surfing says: “I am not saying that God made the shark bite me. I think He knew it would happen and He made a way for my life to be happy and meaningful inspite of it happening. If I can help other people find hope in God, then that is worth whatever is lost.” Truly she had found the secret of survival.
5. Do something positive everyday.
It can be as simple as baking a cake for your family, playing with your children, feeding a poor old man; or it could be as big as helping an accident victim. That will give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day and help you overcome your sense of failure or depression.
A girl came to me around 7 p.m. and started pouring out her woes. I had to put off the T.V. news which I regularly watch. She lamented for about an hour. I gave her a listening ear all the while thinking that she was taking so much of my time. At the close, I counseled her, encouraged her and sent her with a prayer. She said she did’nt feel heavy anymore but felt lighthearted. Though my routine was disturbed that day, when I went to bed I felt fulfilled, happy and uplifted.
If doing a positive thing everyday becomes a habit, it will change your outlook on life. You will no more feel like a failure but feel life is worth it. How many times we feel lonely and complain nobody cares. But have we ever thought of all the lonely people out there? Have we ever thought of visiting them to cheer them up? The secret of being positive is to forget about yourself and think of others. That was the attitude of Jesus.
6. Accept that life is hard.
Life is a roller coaster, and you never know when it’s going to take a turn. Storms are inevitable. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb” said Nelson Mandela. Naomi braved a famine, 3 deaths in the family and one loss. She was blaming God. But she was far from a quitter. Just as things were at the blackest, a ray of light broke through the gloom. What light? The Light of the world!
If you learn to separate inconveniences from real problems, you will live longer says the author (I forget the name) of an article I read. “If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same. One should learn the difference” says he. It was actually a counsel to a man who shouted at the servant for a lump in his oatmeal.
Don’t try to find the answers to all life’s questions. Why me? Why this? But develop your faith. Adversity is an opportunity to test our mettle and find out for ourselves what stuff we are made of.
ira F. Stanphill sang -
He washed my eyes with tears that I might see;
The broken heartI had
was good for me.
He tore it al apart
and looked inside;
He found itful offear
and foolish pride.
He swept away the things that made me blind;
And then Isaw the clouds were silver lined.
And now I understand
‘twas best for me;
He washed my eyes with tears that I might see.
I think all of us can sing this song at the end of our lives.
God did not apologise to Job. He is God. Let Him be God. We cannot question Him. But remember, Jesus can turn your water into wine!
Revelation 17:14 reads like this: “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of Lords and King of kings — and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.” It is the Lamb’s job to overcome the enemy and we will simply be with Him. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:11). That’s our responsibility. That’s how Naomi won. That’s how Job won. Think of Job’s wife. She buckled under pressure. What a shame!
7. Decide to make yourself happy.
Happiness is the treasure of those who work at it. It doesn’t come just like that. Sometimes we have to push ourselves to be happy. Dennis Prager, now a theologian says that being miserable is taking the easy way out. “It’s news to many people that we have to work at happiness” he says. “But true happiness is largely under our own control.” There are many clean enjoyment like Church, Fellowships, Exhibition, Circus, shopping, hobbies, eating out, picnics, games and sports, children, grandchildren, etc. Now and then you should go to the exhibition, buy a big papad and eat and go on some rides, squealing like children. Try singing songs. These are simple things we can do to enrich our lives. That will give you almost unlimited latitude in your personal life. Allow your mind to have a pleasant little ramble, which will relax you. Sometimes it can turn up wonderfully creative ideas.
Live in the here and now without worrying about your past or future. Otherwise you cannot enjoy life. I don’t do anything when I sip my coffee. I appreciate every drop of it. Practice the art of living in the moment. This advice may seem simplistic but it is very practical. “This is the best day since the world began and you know what? I’m in it” said a joyful person. If you don’t enjoy the moment, it’s lost.“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10c).
In conclusion I want to ask you a question — If the disciples had remained calm in the ship do you think they would have drowned? An emphatic No! So much waste of energy. “Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith” says Henry Ward Beecher. Truly we kill ourselves when we go through problems. Jesus was also rocked by the tempest, but He was soundly sleeping because He trusted in His Father. We are in God’s bosom, under His wings. Stay calm.
Joy is not the absence of suffering but the presence of God, said someone. That’s why Paul said in Philippians 4:4-6: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!... Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This formula doesn’t solve your problem but help you overcome your vast sense of failure and live your life to the hilt.
Are you drowning and looking for someone to throw you a life jacket? Here it is. Put on these counsel and you will never drown in the turbulent oceans of life!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
The success of our life lies in our hands. Eve failed. But she picked up the pieces of her shattered life and ended well. Peter came crashing down and was drowning in his sorrow. But he pulled himself up and finished with a gold medal! So be encouraged. Here are some tips to make a grand success of your life.
1. Face your sin.
“A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him” (2 Pet 2: 19b). It could be lying, stealing, fighting, touchiness, laziness, tongue-lashing, flirting, anger, disrespect, covetousness, neglecting family, dishonesty or anything. It is these foxes that spoil the vine. Make 100% effort to uproot your sin. Going on in life with sin is like running a race with a millstone around your neck.
Someone gave me some American dollars while I was going to Srilanka. I was hesitant since I heard it was illegal. But being reassured by all I put those dollars in the first page of my Bible and packed my paraphernalia. At the last moment, since guilt sat on my soul, I removed those dollars. In the Srilanka Airport, the customs official opened my bag to check, put in his hand and brought out my Bible. He flipped open the first page, closed it, replaced it, zipped up my bag and waved me off. I was stunned but learnt a valuable life lesson.
2. Be the person God wants you to be.
If you are a wife, study about the wife’s role in the Scriptures and be the best wife possible. You can’t tell God, “But my husband Lord, . . .is a fishbone stuck in the throat.. .that’s why I am...” He will say, “He is next in queue, right behind you. I’ll talk to him about it. But were you the wife I told you to be?” Similarly the husband. Workers, don’t complain about the boss and vice versa. Same for students and teachers. Missionaries don’t drown in Mission politics; shine in your job. Your character should not be moulded by how others are but by the Word of God. “What is that to you, you follow Me” said Jesus (Jn 21). Let your eyes flit from the Scriptures to yourself and back. Be the best person you can be and then wait patiently for eternal rewards.
3. Never accept it’s all over.
It is the devil’s lie. It is not over yet. “You dear children, are from God and have OVERCOME them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). You cannot turn tail and runaway at the first sight of a problem. Fight till the end. Hope till the end. Everything can look like a failure in the middle. Winning is often the result of persistence. Refuse to give up on your difficult marriage. The devil is mighty but God is Almighty! That’s what makes our life a success. Oswald J. Smith was too sick to go as a missionary. He could not get a doctor’s certificate. So he sent missionaries in hundreds. He might have given up looking at his health. But he defeated the mighty one by the power of the Almighty.
4. Put problems in one track and joy (or ministry) in another track.
The storm was blowing but Jesus was sleeping. Paul and Peter wrote about joy while suffering. With handcuffs jangling Paul and Silas sang songs. Adversity and sorrow stalk into life on rubber soles. If you don’t put them on a different track you will break beneath the pressure and spiritual inanition can follow. Even Jesus had problems; but He let them run parallel with His joy. Read for example John 16: 32 & 33: “You will leave Me all alone.” So what? “Yet I am not alone, for My Father is with Me.” “In this world you will have trouble.” So what? “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Cry when you cry and then wipe your tears and look at the brighter side of life. That can be a springboard to a new goal. Don’t let sorrows destroy your life.
Bethany Hamilton, a 16 year old who lost her left arm to a shark while surfing says: “I am not saying that God made the shark bite me. I think He knew it would happen and He made a way for my life to be happy and meaningful inspite of it happening. If I can help other people find hope in God, then that is worth whatever is lost.” Truly she had found the secret of survival.
5. Do something positive everyday.
It can be as simple as baking a cake for your family, playing with your children, feeding a poor old man; or it could be as big as helping an accident victim. That will give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day and help you overcome your sense of failure or depression.
A girl came to me around 7 p.m. and started pouring out her woes. I had to put off the T.V. news which I regularly watch. She lamented for about an hour. I gave her a listening ear all the while thinking that she was taking so much of my time. At the close, I counseled her, encouraged her and sent her with a prayer. She said she did’nt feel heavy anymore but felt lighthearted. Though my routine was disturbed that day, when I went to bed I felt fulfilled, happy and uplifted.
If doing a positive thing everyday becomes a habit, it will change your outlook on life. You will no more feel like a failure but feel life is worth it. How many times we feel lonely and complain nobody cares. But have we ever thought of all the lonely people out there? Have we ever thought of visiting them to cheer them up? The secret of being positive is to forget about yourself and think of others. That was the attitude of Jesus.
6. Accept that life is hard.
Life is a roller coaster, and you never know when it’s going to take a turn. Storms are inevitable. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb” said Nelson Mandela. Naomi braved a famine, 3 deaths in the family and one loss. She was blaming God. But she was far from a quitter. Just as things were at the blackest, a ray of light broke through the gloom. What light? The Light of the world!
If you learn to separate inconveniences from real problems, you will live longer says the author (I forget the name) of an article I read. “If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same. One should learn the difference” says he. It was actually a counsel to a man who shouted at the servant for a lump in his oatmeal.
Don’t try to find the answers to all life’s questions. Why me? Why this? But develop your faith. Adversity is an opportunity to test our mettle and find out for ourselves what stuff we are made of.
ira F. Stanphill sang -
He washed my eyes with tears that I might see;
The broken heartI had
was good for me.
He tore it al apart
and looked inside;
He found itful offear
and foolish pride.
He swept away the things that made me blind;
And then Isaw the clouds were silver lined.
And now I understand
‘twas best for me;
He washed my eyes with tears that I might see.
I think all of us can sing this song at the end of our lives.
God did not apologise to Job. He is God. Let Him be God. We cannot question Him. But remember, Jesus can turn your water into wine!
Revelation 17:14 reads like this: “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of Lords and King of kings — and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.” It is the Lamb’s job to overcome the enemy and we will simply be with Him. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:11). That’s our responsibility. That’s how Naomi won. That’s how Job won. Think of Job’s wife. She buckled under pressure. What a shame!
7. Decide to make yourself happy.
Happiness is the treasure of those who work at it. It doesn’t come just like that. Sometimes we have to push ourselves to be happy. Dennis Prager, now a theologian says that being miserable is taking the easy way out. “It’s news to many people that we have to work at happiness” he says. “But true happiness is largely under our own control.” There are many clean enjoyment like Church, Fellowships, Exhibition, Circus, shopping, hobbies, eating out, picnics, games and sports, children, grandchildren, etc. Now and then you should go to the exhibition, buy a big papad and eat and go on some rides, squealing like children. Try singing songs. These are simple things we can do to enrich our lives. That will give you almost unlimited latitude in your personal life. Allow your mind to have a pleasant little ramble, which will relax you. Sometimes it can turn up wonderfully creative ideas.
Live in the here and now without worrying about your past or future. Otherwise you cannot enjoy life. I don’t do anything when I sip my coffee. I appreciate every drop of it. Practice the art of living in the moment. This advice may seem simplistic but it is very practical. “This is the best day since the world began and you know what? I’m in it” said a joyful person. If you don’t enjoy the moment, it’s lost.“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10c).
In conclusion I want to ask you a question — If the disciples had remained calm in the ship do you think they would have drowned? An emphatic No! So much waste of energy. “Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith” says Henry Ward Beecher. Truly we kill ourselves when we go through problems. Jesus was also rocked by the tempest, but He was soundly sleeping because He trusted in His Father. We are in God’s bosom, under His wings. Stay calm.
Joy is not the absence of suffering but the presence of God, said someone. That’s why Paul said in Philippians 4:4-6: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!... Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This formula doesn’t solve your problem but help you overcome your vast sense of failure and live your life to the hilt.
Are you drowning and looking for someone to throw you a life jacket? Here it is. Put on these counsel and you will never drown in the turbulent oceans of life!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
