Pressing On!

For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. James 1:11-14 NIV

Running from problems never solves them, but staying put--in the middle of whatever life brings--determined to get through it with your head held high--is what perseverance entails.  A press--with fierce conviction--that victory is indeed at hand will keep you going.

We cannot allow the trials that come upon us to deter us when we know that God only wants what is best for us. His plans--are always designed for us to receive His best and when we don't , we must be able to look at what we do and determine how to change it so we will receive from Him.

Making a mistakes as a child of the Most High is not a problem for God--not learning from the mistakes and to keep repeating them becomes a problem for us. He expects us to make mistakes, but He also expects us to learn from them--and to keep moving forward.

The reason many people never get ahead is because they get stuck in a rut--doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result because they were not interested in doing a little self reflection or to seek God for wisdom in knowing how to live life victoriously. Picture this--going around in circles--encountering the same challenges and enduring the same defeats. A student who never studies for tests in school and keeps failing the tests--should figure out that they are not going to pass a class with failing test grades. And this is the reason many students end up dropping out of school because they did not learn earlier in life that there are certain protocols that must be acknowledged in order to be successful in school or any other venue.

Preparation time is never wasted time. If we don't adequately prepare to do anything, we'll never know greater success in doing anything. It's like the Boys Scout Creed--always being prepared for anything that comes your way.

I'm looking forward to a debate that my students are having and I'll know by how they present themselves who prepared for it and who didn't. It's not enough to have an opinion about things without having sufficient support to document why you think what you think. Even though my class debate could hardly measure up to the political debates that are coming up, if we are attentive--listening to each candidate during each debate--we'll know who spent time preparing for it and who didn't. Again, opinions without support mean nothing when there are no facts to back them up.

No matter who does better in my class, they will be encouraged to press on--thinking about what they did and how they would change it to make it better and then they're going to write an essay about the experience. One would hope--that after the first political debate--a similar exercise will take place--reflection and introspection--about what did or did not work and changes made for the next round. Rather than hear a lot personal attacks, I pray we'll all hear substantive responses regarding the issues with viable solutions rather than nonsensical rhetoric.

After the final curtain has dropped on the political arena with the debates, we must all consider what was said and press on--determined to see victory in our lives--knowing that God has the final word in all things.