Saturday 30 June 2018

MANAGING SUCCESS – THE POWER OF OUR THOUGHTS

Our mindset is a major player in managing success. It is therefore important that we check our hearts frequently to ensure that the things hidden therein are not only appropriate, but also what we intend to store. They must be right thoughts; right because they align with the word of God. It is true though, that the enemy often suggest thoughts to us which must not be retained hence the need to check our hearts frequently so that we can very quickly identify, expunge and replace such thoughts with the right one. Just expunging wrong thoughts is not enough, we must be deliberate about having them replaced with the right thoughts. It is our job to ensure that we are always in control of what we think on; no one can do it for us. It is easy to assume that it is okay to think any thoughts since no one sees them but not only is that wrong because God sees them, but we also are the product of what we think on. At the end of the day, our thoughts are made manifest in our actions. They are not hidden even from man, forever. So we must be deliberate about ensuring that our thoughts concerning every issue are thoughts that will do us good and not bring us to shame or cause us to act disgracefully. Many believers have failed just because they thought of themselves a little higher than they should have.

Philippians 4: 8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about the things that are excellent and worthy.”

Psalm 119: 9 “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.”

Romans 12: 3 “…I give each of you this warning: Don’t think of you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”

It is of utmost importance that we do not wait until we become “successful” to begin to give great consideration to who we chose to be and how we desire to carry ourselves. Without a doubt, there is enough convincing revelation today that we are destined for greatness, so that success should not take us by surprise. We must therefore be prepared for it. It may be too late or cost much more to learn to manage success when you're already there. It is wise to cultivate the right attitude of mind whilst on the path to it so that what God meant for good to us remains so. We must bear in mind that all good and perfect gifts, including success, come from God. No doubt our participation is required for our God given blessings so I am by no means suggesting that we be lazy; but God sets the stage, empowers us to do what is required and then breathes upon that which we have done to make it successful. Just knowing this makes us a little more balanced helping to ensure that we return the glory to whom it rightly belongs - God. Of course there is always the other voice which always suggest that we take the glory but if we prepared our minds already, we will not be deceived or lured away by that voice. The gift actually belongs to the one who originated it and we are but stewards who will be required to give an account for the way we managed the gift. If we always remember that we are only stewards for the success, we will most likely deal correctly.

James 1: 12 “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father”

It is not wise to expend energy guarding all we have which we can never really guard. The Giver of all good gifts is the best watch man and is able to keep all that is committed to Him. We must do our part and then, let Him do His which leaves us with more strength enabling us to effectively guard our hearts which is our job to do. There is a real need for us to guard our hearts, even from ourselves, because our hearts truly determine the course of our hearts. Even our own thoughts may not be really helpful because our minds have the capacity for more evil than we know. Our propensity for evil is only tamed by the Word of God hence the need to store God’s word in our minds and think on them. What we allow to feed us will eventually determine how we end up with the success. God wants us to enjoy all the success that comes from Him so we must do all that enables us do that.

Jeremiah 17: 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is.”

Proverbs 4: 23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

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