MAKE THE MOVE

tHE journey from wilderness to wonderland begins with a step. There is no arrival without departure. It is one thing to dream but it is another to take the necessary steps towards that dream. If we want change we must move for change. We cannot sit still and expect things to change. Nothing moves until you move. Martin Luther King Jr. stated it this way: “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” The only way to arrive at your desired destination is to move from your current location.

Did you know that the number one reason many people are where they are is because they are where they are? God designed mankind for movement. That is why he gave us minds and feet. We were designed to change our locations and situations by freewill movement. We were not designed to sit still and be acted upon. In my beginner science class, I learned that one of the characteristics of living things is movement. All living things survive and thrive by movement. Non-living things don’t survive or thrive; they diminish over time because they simply remain where they are situated until they are moved by someone or something. You and I are living beings made in the image of the almighty God. No matter where we may be, things can begin to change for us the moment we start to make the necessary move.

I learned this truth from scripture. It works for everyone and in every situation. I believe it works because God is the one that make things happen. But He expects us to move first. Before God made Abraham the father of faith, Abraham had to move from his relatives. Before God made a path through the red sea, the Israelites had to go forward. Before God led Israelites to the promised land they had to leave Egypt. Before God ended the recession in Samaria, some beggars had to move from their sitting position at Gate of Samaria

I like one African proverb which says “20 children don't play together for twenty years”. Time sorts them as they move along the road of life.  Some may choose to remain where they were born while others will move on to discover higher horizons. Some will climb to the top of the ladder while some may choose to hang on to bottom the ladder. I am aware that some people blame the disparity of outcomes in life on fate or circumstances outside their control. While some circumstances are obviously outside our control, I know from experience that when you start controlling things you can control, you free yourself from the hold of the things you cannot control. But if you sit still, everything around you will equally become still. Nothing moves until you move.  

You can start moving towards your next destination today by taking the following suggested three simple steps:

1. See the DIFFERENCE. Reflect on your current situation in the light of your desired destination. How do you see the difference? Would you rather be here or be there? Your ability to see the difference between where you are and where you desire to be will give rise to first surge of energy you need to rise up from wherever you may be.

2. Make the DECISION. Decide that you can and will change. Decide where that change destination looks like. Decide which route you will take, the price you will pay and how much sacrifice you will make. Decide whom you will move toward and whom you will move away from. The ticket to your Destination is in your decision. What are your values? What is your passion? What is the alarm ringing in your head every morning and night? Make the decision to respond to that alarm and this wake up call.

3. Respond to your DESIRE. All wishes without work will end up as ashes and all dreams without a drive will end up as dust.  Get up. Start to drive towards your destination. Do what you have to do. Pay that bill. Read that book. Go to school Clean the house. Learn that lesson. Quit that habit. Say no to that pressure. Write that article. Make that phone call. Make that visit. There is time to rest and recharge but there is also time to reflect and refire. Respond to your desire to become a better you. Start Today!

What Does Freedom Mean To You?

Does the word RESTRICTED provoke a feeling of defense in you? If so, you are clearly in the majority. In our day, more and more people 'fight' for freedom wherever and whenever any sign of restriction is seen or deemed imposed. For most people, freedom is the absence of any form of hindrance or restriction. Therefore, the 'fight' for freedom is essentially a fight against restrictions. Yes, we all detest bondage and we must strive to overcome obstacles that stand in our way of progress. However, there is a challenge. In our fight for the freedom to choose whatever we desire at anytime, anywhere and at any cost; we run the risk of knocking down the walls that were designed to protect us and afford us the freedom we seek.

Take A Second Look At Freedom
Freedom is not the absence of restrictions. Freedom is the discipline to live within certain parameters that are essential for peace of mind and the enjoyment of the full pleasures of wisely selected options.

You would agree that if true freedom meant absence of restrictions, then nobody in the world would be considered free because everybody live under the law and laws are definitely forms of restrictions. Where there is no law there is no freedom. Where there is no boundary there is no peace. Free nations exist within geographical borders and it's citizens are governed by boundaries of rules and regulations that are essential for order and peaceful co-existence. Organizations operate within boundaries of specific products and services, core values, policies and procedures as well as government regulations and community requirement. Families exist within family boundaries and communities exist within community boundaries. Without the law, there would be no order and life would be chaotic. Think about it, would you and I be able to drive safely on our roads if there were no traffic rules and regulations? Freedom is gained and sustained by following prescribed rules and regulations that restrict the unwanted and safeguard the desired.

This principle of boundary-for-freedom is also true in health, finance and relationships. Wellness, as we know, has obvious requirements and those requirements are the boundaries within which everyone who desire wellness must live. You may choose to eat unripe pineapple, for instance but you won't be free to choose the consequences of the unripe fruit poison. The need to wait for the pineapple to ripen is the boundary within which the enjoyment of the pineapple fruit resides. If you choose to break through that boundary you get a bite of the fruit poison. You may choose to spend in one day all you have earned in one year plus what you hope to earn in the following year but if you choose to pursue freedom that way, you won't be free to escape the hurt of financial slavery. The need to live within your means is the boundary within which your freedom to choose wealth and escape poverty lies. It is important to always keep in mind that while we are free to break the boundary, we are not free to escape the bite. “…whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent” Ecclesiastes 10:8b.

Do you fight for freedom by resisting rules and regulations? I'm afraid you cannot find true freedom and peace of mind that way. In normal situations, boundaries and walls are intended primarily for the peace and tranquility of those residing within it and the restriction of enemies outside it. If you find yourself always fighting against rules, regulations and any form of legitimate restriction, ask yourself if you are a friend or enemy to your own peace of mind. Consider this: “Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear. Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms”. Romans 13:1-4 MSG.

Be it nations, organizations, families, communities or individuals, living in freedom requires staying within set boundaries. Rules and regulations are protective boundaries against possible harm; not punitive measures against those for whom they are made. Real freedom is not the absence of boundaries and restrictions but the ability to choose what one desires and refuse what you don't desire. That ability is what we call discipline. The highest form of freedom is the discipline to live within certain parameters that are essential for peace of mind and the enjoyment of the full pleasures of wisely selected options. Freedom resides within walls. Without boundaries, there is no freedom.

Who Do You See In The Mirror?

When you look into your mirror, who do you see? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What have you done and what can you do? Do you really know who you have been in the last 12 months? If you don’t know who you have been, you are not likely to be any better in future. Why? Becoming better starts from knowing who we are. If we don’t know our current strengths and weaknesses, how can we take steps to improve? This is why many people continue to struggle in the same areas of weaknesses day after day and year after year.

Where did you achieve best results in the past year? Focus on this area(s) Yes, there is a place for striving to do things we have not attempted in the past but we cannot continue to put our best efforts in our worst areas. Our best results come from finding the areas of our strength and putting our best effort in those areas. I am certainly not who I used to be. People who knew me a decade ago and who still know me today will testify to this. I hope to continue changing; but I will only become my best by putting my best efforts in my areas of best results.

Before you begin life in the new year, please take a moment to reflect on the person you have been as well as what mattered most to you in the past twelve months. Did you notice any positive change between the person you were two years ago and the person you have been in the past one year? Did you notice improvements in your weaknesses? Did you develop new interests? Are you satisfied with your current level of accomplishment? Are you grieving over the loss of a job, friend or position? Please understand that the person you have been in the last 12 months can stand in the way of the person you need to be in the next 12 months. A wise man said "To wear a new shoes, you must first remove the old one" Before you crossover to the New Year, be sure to get rid of old habits and allow the person you have been in 2012 transform into a better you in 2013. To experience a new you, you must first get rid of the old you. 

Let go of the failures, mistakes, pains, regrets, guilt, bitterness as well as current successes. Yes, satisfaction with our current successes can also keep us from attempting greater things. It is particularly important that you let go of people who are not helping you move forward in order to bring in new important people into your life. There may be a few key people that are meant to be with you for life and even then it is important to be sure you are all growing together. To hold on to people who are not advancing with you or people whose tenures in your life are over is to keep yourself tied to the past. The people God used to help you in the past may not be the same people God will use in future. I am speaking from experience. While maintaining quality relationships from the past and appreciating those God has used to bring me to where I am, I am also learning to give attention to the important people God put in my life here and now. 

Before diving into the new year, sit down and do a personal evaluation of yourself and decide that the person you have been in the past year will not stand in the way of the person you can be in the coming year. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to know who I am and who you assigned to help me become the person you want me to be in the coming year, in Jesus name.

Follow The One Who Knows The Way

Before the 1988 Olympics began, a television program featured a group of blind skiers being trained for slalom (zigzag) skiing. These blind skiers were paired with sighted skiers, and taught how to make right and left turns. When they mastered this procedure, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, "Left!" and "Right!" As they obeyed the commands, they were able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line. Everyone applauded. What was their secret? The sighted skier’s word (Haddon Robinson).

That is the way it is with us and God. We are in reality blind as to what course to take in life. We must rely solely on the Word of the One who is truly sighted--God Himself. God guides us by his word. He said “you will hear a voice behind you telling you turn to the left and turn to the right” Isa 30:21. God has promised to guide all his children in this wonderland we call world. Are you listening and following the one who knows the way or are you wondering in the maze? Do you live by divine direction or do you live by trial and error? Do you know how to hear and recognize his voice or do you base all your decisions on what you know or feel?

There’s good news: we can hear God through his word. the word of God is like a lamp that guides us in the dark path. Hearing God through his word is more than reading or reciting the scriptures. It is more than listening to sermons or putting the bible under your pillow at night.

Hearing God through his word happens when we get personal with the word. Live in the word and let the word live in you. It is only by so doing that we contact the spirit and voice of God which is beyond the ink and paper.

You will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way. Follow it, whether it turns to the right or to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)