The Secret of Godly Success

Self Doubt can be overcome! Photo Credit: Creative Commons

 “God doesn't require us to succeed, He only requires that you try.” Mother Teresa 

Selling Myself Short

I have been beating myself up lately. Picking on my ideas, and criticizing my goals. Who am I to want to write a book? Why are my ideas so important I want to share them with the world?

The answer of course is I am a child of God. Created for a purpose. I've been given a mission. I must try to do what I can to get the message out, because it isn't really my message. It is God's.

There is nothing new under the sun. God has been working toward one goal since the fall in the garden: the restoration of mankind into right relationship with Him. I have a small part to play in spreading that message so others can grow closer to God.

I am no Paul. I am no Peter. I am no Billy Graham, or Amy Grant, or Joyce Meyer, or any of the other people I admire. I am me.

And you are you. Made for a purpose. Born with a unique calling: to be who God made you to be and to share that with others so God gets the glory.

Encountering Resistance 

There was a man named Nehemiah. He had a job working for one of the most powerful men in the world. He was good at his job, he was even friends with his boss. Then he began to feel a tug. A call to do something big. A mission to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. He was changing. 

He  traveled thousands of miles only to find resistance. From officials, and from enemies. But he did not give up, he tried anyway. 

He gathered the resources and he worked 24/7. He recruited everyone he could to help. He became foreman of one of the largest construction jobs in history. 

And he nearly failed. 

Enemies worked against him. Rumors flew. He had to work with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other just to get the work done. So what did he do? 

He prayed. 

Sometimes resistance comes from within: like the doubts I have experienced. Sometimes resistance comes from our co-workers who wanted the promotion you just got. Perhaps you are experiencing resistance from a family member who does not support your dreams like you want them to.

Where ever the resistance comes from you have to press through it. 

Do Not Give Up

So what you get knocked around a bit. What is a bruise in the grand scheme of eternity? Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again. What you do now, this great thing you are doing, will reverberate through time. This will be a legacy that will live through eternity. What you do now is what matters! 

Whether you are trying to be the next great American novelist or just be a Godly parent, your purpose is worth working and fighting for. Like Nehemiah, you may need a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other, but do not give up! 

Keep pressing in and pressing on! Keep going! Don't stop! Don't listen to the detractors, shush the voices that tell you "you can't"! You can! You have a purpose, you matter! 

God's promises are yes and amen! He has a plan for you. He makes your paths straight and lines up your footsteps. Trust in Him and go, go, go! The real success is in the trying. 

Join the conversation: Do you struggle with moments of self-doubt? How do you pick yourself up? 

This is Dangerous!

Beaver Nelson Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Scared is a Good Thing 

I recently watched a video about Austin based musician, Beaver Nelson. He scrapped the traditional way of creating music and branched out in a way that has him a little scared.

This is good.

Beaver said "This is dangerous to me, it’s tricky and I'm not certain."

The Truth Is

We live in a comfortable state most of our lives. 

We rarely do the dangerous thing. Oh, we may jump out of a plane for recreation, we may climb a mountain and hang by our nails, but the truly dangerous thing, that thing that kills us every day THAT is the thing we rarely do.


Laying down our lives and taking up something bigger, something better, and something worth dying for? This is what our souls cry out for, but our minds cannot comprehend. So often, we don't do what we are meant to do.


We wait.


We look to see if anyone else will do it. If we happen upon someone who is laying it all on the line and living dangerously, one of two things happen. We either admire them or we attack and criticize them.


Beaver laid it all on the line, and is living out loud in front of the world. He is walking by faith. That uncertainty he feels is okay to feel. It is kind of like walking a high wire blindfolded and backwards. 

It feels dangerous.


Living our purpose can mean we go against the flow. We make waves when the waters would otherwise be calm. We step out when others are stepping back. This is what it means to live our purpose.


Fear of the unknown is understandable, but it cannot render you helpless. You cannot be relegated to the sidelines of life watching others fulfill their dreams. Step out in faith and live dangerously!

Have you ever felt uncertain about what you should do in life? Leave a comment below. 

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