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PROGRAM D-7170
I’ve been passing along some life lessons that God has taught me—and is still teaching me. You know, one of the characteristics of a godly, truly humble person is to be continually teachable. So, I’m presenting ten of my life lessons, and we finish with numbers 9 and 10.
Life Lesson No. 9: When you’re facing what seems like a disaster, ask yourself, “What difference will this make in five years?”
This is a principle God began to teach me years ago—to have an eternal perspective, to see everything through Forever Eyes. In fact, I’ve written a book called Looking With Forever Eyes, because learning to live now in the light of eternity is one of the most life-changing things you will ever do. But I warn you, you have to be intentional about it and you have to work at it every day.
We so easily lose a realistic perspective when something is affecting us personally. Our emotions get all involved and we blow things out of proportion and we get very stressed over things that don’t really matter. In fact, I find that about 80% of what is bothering me at this moment won’t even matter in 24 hours, much less five years!
Now obviously, there are times when we do face substantive disasters, but those are very few and far between, as a rule. And if we can learn to let go of all the stuff that doesn’t matter, we’ll be far better prepared to deal with the true trials that come our way. I strongly encourage you to put this life lesson into practice in your own life. Believe me, it will make a difference.
Life Lesson No. 10: When God gives you a passion, go for it!
If you want to be a speaker, look for opportunities to speak. My friend, Cynthia, joined the Toastmasters Club years ago in order to overcome her stuttering problem and become more confident in front of a group. She’s now held many leadership positions in that organization. If you want to be a writer, start writing. Don’t wait for someone to come along and open the doors for you; if it’s a God-given passion, just somehow, someway go for it.
When God gave me a passion to start this radio ministry over thirty years ago, I had no idea how to start. I had no connections, no experience, no mentor. But I decided that I could no longer ignore that passion, and after much prayer, I determined to put some kind of a radio program together and take it to someone. Once I stepped out on faith, God began to open the doors, and now we’re heard on over 400 stations internationally. Don’t ignore God’s passions in your heart; don’t be afraid to take the next step and see what God wants to do.