Monday, March 5, 2012

Spiritual Well-Being

I read an interesting article by Angus Buchan yesterday and thought I'd share some of it....
Commitment brings success
When we go through hard times, we often wonder if we're on the right road. But in 1 Peter 5:10, God reminds us that, after we have suffered a little while, He will restore, support and strengthen us and place us on a firm foundation.
Whether it be farming, bringing up a family, completing a degree or fulfilling your dream, there's always a price.
Anything that costs nothing isn't worth having. We need to make a commitment to see our vision completed. One of the biggest dangers, especially among young people, is starting off with great gusto and then, when the going gets tough, throwing in the towel. That's not the way if you want to lead a successful life. Instead, we need zeal.
William Carey, who took the Gospel to India, was a country cobbler................................Carey was committed to fulfilling what God had called him to do - with zeal. The great man of God, Matthew Henry said: "true zeal makes nothing of hardships in the way of duty." In other words, once you're totally committed, there's no hardship that will put you off.
God never promised us a bed of roses. In fact, He never promised that He would take us out of the fire - instead, He told us He would walk through the fire with us!
As we've said before, hardships build character. They mould us and make us more humble, more understanding, more teachable and more loving. You'll notice that someone who's been through hardships is very slow to speak and always quick to listen. By contrast, someone who has never suffered always has a lot to say and seems to have all the answers.
William Booth, who started the Salvation Army said: "The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender." That applies in our day to day lives as well.
It's the measure of our commitment that will ensure the success of any enterprise.

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