Hou aan verbeter

2021-01-30
Lukas 12:48 NLV

Die skrywer H. Jackson Brown Jnr het geskerts: ‘Talent sonder dissipline is soos ‘n seekat op rolskaatse. Daar is baie beweging, maar jy weet nooit of dit vorentoe, agtertoe of kant toe gaan nie.’ As jy weet dat jy talent het en al baie beweging sonder veel konkrete resultate gesien het, mag jy dalk selfdissipline kort. Kyk na verlede week se skedule. Hoeveel tyd het jy aan gereelde, gedissiplineerde aktiwiteite toegewy? Het jy enigiets gedoen om te groei en jouself te verbeter? As jy dit aanhou uitstel en vir jouself sê dat jy dit later sal doen, moet jy aan jou selfdissipline werk. ‘n Kwekery in Kanada het ‘n plakkaat op die muur wat lui: ‘Die beste tyd om ‘n boom te plant is vyf-en-twintig jaar gelede. Die tweede beste tyd, is vandag.’ Begin vandag om jouself te dissiplineer. Hoekom?

Omdat: 1) Daar ‘n prys daaraan verbonde is om die volgende vlak te bereik. Die Amerikaanse dramaturg Sidney Howard het opgemerk: ‘Die een helfte van weet wat jy wil hê, is om te weet wat jy moet opgee om dit te kan kry.’

2) Wees gewillig om klein te begin. Aan die begin sal jou wins min wees, maar dit sal groei. Die verskil tussen die wenner van die goue medalje en die res, is dikwels net ‘n honderdste van ‘n sekonde.

3) Kies die regte omgewing. Omdat verbetering altyd ‘n graad van risiko en mislukking verg, kies ‘n plek waar groei en eksperimentasie aangemoedig word.

4) Glo dat jy dit altyd beter kan doen. Enigiets wat jy op ‘n spesifieke manier vir ‘n gegewe tydperk gedoen het, kan altyd beter gedoen word. Jy kan dus, met God se hulp, aanhou verbeter.

Sielskos: Jes 42-44; Matt 11:10-19; Ps 107:17-22; Spr 3:21-24

What’s your vision?

2021-01-29
Ezekiel 8:4 NIV

When God gives you a vision it will change your life. John Sculley, former president of PepsiCo and Apple computer said, “The future belongs to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious.” The Bible tells us God “calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17 NKJV). Vision paints the target, lights a fire within you, and draws you forward. If what you’re pursuing in life doesn’t come from a burning desire within you – from the very depths of who you are and what you believe – you will not be able to accomplish it. Why is that? Because along the way you will have to overcome obstacles, opposition, roadblocks, and resistance.

Esther’s vision meant putting her life on the line to save the Jewish people from annihilation. She said, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). Did she perish? No, but she had to be willing to. Are you? To fulfill your vision you must do two things:

(1) Measure yourself. If you’ve previously thought about your life’s vision and articulated it clearly, measure how well you are carrying it out. Talk to those you trust and ask them to tell you what they think your vision is. And if they can articulate it, then you are probably living it.

(2) Write it down. “Write the vision and make it plain…that he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV). Writing clarifies your thinking. Once your vision is in writing, it becomes the roadmap to your destination. Consult it often, and pursue it with all that lies within you. If you do, chances are you will live to see it fulfilled.

Soul food: Isa 38-41; Matt 11:1-9; Ps 107:10-16; Prov 3:19-20

What’s your vision?


Ezekiel 8:4 NIV

When God gives us a vision for our future, it can change our lives. The Bible tells us God ‘creates new things out of nothing’ (Romans 4:17 NLT). Vision shows us the target we need to aim for, sparks a fire within us, and draws us forwards. If what we’re pursuing in life doesn’t come from a burning desire within us – from the very depths of who we are and what we believe – we won’t be able to accomplish it. That’s because along the way we’ll have to overcome obstacles, opposition, barriers, and resistance. Unless we’re totally committed to our vision, and full of passion for it, we’ll become discouraged and struggle to see it through.

Our vision often involves us having to step away from what we’re comfortable with and take risks. For many of us, that can be a scary experience, so we need a strategy to help us refocus on our vision and move forwards. Here are a couple of ideas:

1) Write it down. God told Habakkuk to ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets’ (Habakkuk 2:2 NIV). Writing it down help us clarify our thinking. Once our vision is in writing, it becomes a map to our destination. We should look at it often to:

2) Check our course. If we’ve previously thought about our vision and expressed it clearly, we should check how well we’re carrying it out. We could even talk to someone we trust and ask them to tell us what they think our vision is. If they can describe it clearly, we’re probably on the right track.

Isa 38-41; Matt 11:1-9; Ps 107:10-16; Prov 3:19-20

Wat is jou visie?


Esegiël 8:4 NLV

Wanneer God vir jou ‘n visie gee, sal dit jou lewe verander. John Sculley, die voormalige president van PepsiCo en Apple rekenaars, het gesê: ‘Die toekoms behoort aan diegene wat die moontlikhede sien, voordat dit ooglopend raak.’ Die Bybel sê vir ons dat God: ‘…dinge wat nog nie bestaan nie, aanspreek asof hulle reeds werklikheid is’ (Romeine 4:17 NLV).

Visie steek die vuur binne-in jou aan die brand en dryf jou vorentoe. As dit wat jy in die lewe najaag nie vanuit ‘n brandende begeerte in jou kom nie, sal jy dit nie kan bereik nie. Hoekom nie? Omdat jy langs die pad struikelblokke, teenstand, padblokkades en weerstand sal moet oorkom.

Ester se visie het beteken dat sy haar lewe in gevaar moes stel om die Joodse volk van uitwissing te red. Sy het gesê: ‘…As ek dan daarvoor moet sterf, moet ek maar sterf’ (Ester 4:16 NLV). Het sy gesterf? Nee, maar sy was gewillig om te sterf. Is jy? Om jou visie te vervul, moet jy twee dinge doen:

1) Jouself meet. As jy voorheen oor jou lewensvisie gedink het en dit duidelik geartikuleer het, meet hoe goed jy dit uitdra. Praat met diegene wat jy vertrou en vra hulle wat hulle dink jou visie is. As hulle dit kan artikuleer, dan is jy heel waarskynlik besig om dit te leef.

2) Dit neerskryf. ‘…Skryf… die visioen in groot, duidelike letters… sodat iemand wat verbyhardloop, dit kan lees’ (Habakuk 2:2 NLV). Deur dit neer te skryf, kry jy klarigheid in jou gedagtes. Wanneer jou visie neergeskryf is, word dit ‘n padkaart na jou bestemming toe. Raadpleeg dit dikwels en jaag dit met alles binne-in jou na. As jy dit doen, is die kans goed dat jy die vervulling daarvan in jou lewe sal sien.

Sielskos: Jes 38-41; Matt 11:1-9; Ps 107:10-16; Spr 3:19-20

Think realistically (2)

2021-01-28
Proverbs 22:3 NLT

Here are three things realistic thinking will do for you:

(1) It will give you a sense of security. When you have thought through the worst that can happen and developed contingency plans to meet it, you become more confident and secure. It’s reassuring to know that you are unlikely to be surprised. Disappointment is the difference between expectations and reality. Thinking realistically minimizes the difference between the two.

(2) It will give you credibility. Leaders who are continually surprised by the unexpected soon lose credibility in the eyes of their followers. On the other hand, leaders who think realistically and plan accordingly position themselves to win. That gives their followers confidence in them. So before you invite anyone else to be part of your vision or your project, ask yourself: (a) Is it possible? (b) Have I identified and explained the pros and cons of achieving it? (c) Do I have a solid foundation to build on? Thomas Edison observed, “The value of a good idea is in using it.”

(3) It will help you to make an idea useable by taking away the “wish factor.” Most ideas and efforts don’t accomplish their intended results because they rely too much on what we wish, rather than what is. You can’t build a house in mid air; it needs a solid foundation. Ideas and plans are the same. They need something concrete on which to build, and thinking realistically provides that solid foundation.

Solomon put it this way: “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” So the word for you today is – think realistically.

Soul food: Isa 34-37; Matt 10:32-42; Ps 107:1-9; Prov 3:13-18