Category: Words of Wisdom

“The difference between success and failure is measured by how many times you can try…ONE MORE TIME.” – Rodger Halston

There are times when our dreams are closer than we think they are. But before we can reach them, we need to take a step and open the door that leads there. Only you can open that door. Only you can decide whether it’s time to claim the dreams you have long forgotten or put aside.

You may have been disappointed many times before. You may have been hurt badly. Other people may have also discouraged you and you still remember the words that put you down.

But if you don’t try, how would you know if you could have achieved your heart’s desires? How would you know if the answer to your prayer has been waiting there all along?

Cast aside your past hurts for a while. Listen not to your fears.

Look instead towards the future and everything else that God has instore for you. Listen to that inner voice you have forgotten for so long.

What you have longed for so much could already be there, waiting for you. But you have to open that door. You have to take that step and TRY.

“Don’t get lost. Give it a try. Go find the place that you’re wishing for.” – Natsuki Takaya

Even the youths faint and get weary,
and the young men utterly fall;
But those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength.
They will mount up with wings like eagles.
They will run, and not be weary.
They will walk, and not faint.
-Isaiah 40:30-31, WEB-BE

“… the core of the false self is the belief that my value depends on what I have, what I can do and what others think of me.” –The Gift of Being Yourself

There is no safety in constantly trying to please people. We could do our very best and it still won’t be enough. We could constantly worry about how other people would react and still be misjudged and even condemned. The opinion of others is a constantly changing sea that could turn against you anytime.

Who could possibly know the depths of one’s own soul to judge it? Who could possibly fathom the life of another so fully as to render one’s opinion beyond any question or doubt?

Only God sees us fully and truly for who we really are. Only God knows the depths of our souls, and the inner cries and joys of our hearts.

If we try to please men, we risk losing our very own souls. But if we try to please God, we are assured of the Grace to be able to accomplish our goodwill. In Him only are we safe. In Him is a foundation that could never be taken down.

“It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the Lord, you are safe.” – Proverbs 29:25

The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good. – Psalm 34:10

I’ve realized that however we try to exercise control in our lives, we really hold nothing upon our own hands. We cannot control how other people react. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control the economy or the political climate that affects us so much.

No matter how carefully we plan and try to reach our goals, there are obstacles that come unexpected. There are problems that hinder us from doing the things we wanted to do.

There is only one thing that cannot be hindered. If what we want is aligned with God’s best desires for our lives –if we want to be good, if we want to love and to be loved, to be truly happy, in this we can find assurance in God’s providence, protection and grace.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord, our God. They are bound, and have fallen: but we are risen, and are set upright. – Psalm 20:7-8

Place your hope in Him where your victory is certain and your happiness is assured.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller

There is a door that has been opened for you. A door full of new possibilities. A door that could lead the way to the fulfillment of your dreams.

But such a door has been waiting for some time now, and it may be waiting in vain. It waits in vain for as long as you continue to look at doors that has long been closed for you. Doors that would no longer lead anywhere. Doors that would only bring tears and broken dreams.

When doors are shut, they are shut for a reason. And when they can no longer be opened, we must look elsewhere where there is still a way.

A door has been opened for you somewhere. You can wait in vain looking at that closed door or you can turn around and start looking for that open door where you can enter in.

“…the LORD, who makes a way in the sea,
and a path in the mighty waters says:
…
“Don’t remember the former things,
and don’t consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing.
It springs out now.
Don’t you know it?
I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert. “
-Isaiah 43:16,18-19, WEB-BE

“When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them. Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, ‘Come over into Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.” – Acts 16:6-10, WEB

“We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.” -Madeleine L’Engle

There was a time when I thought that if I could solve all of my problems, I could finally sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of my life. I’ve realized however that even if you get to solve all your problems today, you really have no assurance that you won’t have to face any tomorrow.

Life goes on. And as long as it does go on, problems will continue to appear and we have to continue solving them.

Courage then is not a temporary tool we could use, but a lifetime virtue we need if we want to live a victorious life.

We have to be brave enough to face each and every obstacle that would come our way. And we have to have a motivation strong enough to be able to withstand all the storms that dare to destroy what we love most.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

“But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed…” – 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, WEB