ideas and outreaches - Rhema

Land Mines to Expect . . .and OvercomeIf you expect life and ministry to be easy and smooth, you’re going tobe surprised—or become angry, hurt, bewildered, or fearful. John Maxwell, in hisbook The Difference Maker, says: “Successful people expect to face hurdles. Theyknow that overcoming obstacles is a normal part of life, and they plan accordingly.They face their challenges instead of fearing them.”Here are four challenges you can expect to run across—and how to overcome them.“If you have a jobwithoutaggravation,you don’t have a job.”—Malcolm Forbes1) Discouragement2) Problems3) Fear4) FailureEveryone gets discouraged atsome point. The question is, willyou give up or get up? Here aresome tips:D See discouragement astemporary. This too shall pass.You can bounce back.D Be willing to move on. Letnegative things go. Onceyou’ve asked, “Why?” thenmove beyond it. Change yourfocus from the problem to thesolution.D Study success. The mostsuccessful people have usuallyovercome the greatestobstacles through persistence.Why not be one of them?D Talk yourself up. There’s nofaster way to discouragementthan negative self-talk. Startcalling things that be not asthough they were (Romans 4:17).Perfect conditions are rare.Problems are everywhere, andeveryone has them. That meanswe’ll usually be living and workingfor the Kingdom of God inthe midst of some kind of storm.Recognize problems for what theyare—temporary tests of yourresolve and ability. Here are somekeys for solving problems:D Ask—is it a problem? A problemis solvable; a predicamentis something that must beendured. Know the difference,and don’t waste energy ontrying to solve a predicament.D Be ready. Don’t treat problemsas special—treat them asnormal. Expect them and planaccordingly.D Face it. The first step to solvinga problem is to begin.D Take stock. Thoroughlyevaluate the problem. It maynot be solved instantly. Keeppatiently implementing thesolution.Even the most successful peopleexperience fear. It’s part ofhuman nature. It’s what you dowhen you’re afraid that matters.Steps for overcoming fear:D Admit it. Acknowledge thatfear exists. Don’t hide from itor deny it.D Look beyond. The feelingsare real, but what is the realreason for your fear? JamesThurber said, “All men shouldstrive to learn before they die,what they are running from,and to, and why.”D Focus. Stop worrying aboutthings you can’t control andfocus on things you can. Startwith attitude.D Feed your faith and starveyour doubt. What are youthinking about? If you focuson your fears, they will dominateyou. If you focus on God’spower and love, guess what?None of us can avoid failure. Butfailure doesn’t mean you won’tsucceed—it just means successmight take longer. Make failurework for you. Here are some tips:D Be persistent. The best way toovercome failure is to developan attitude of tenacity. Refuseto quit. What matters is nothow many times you fall downbut how many times you getback up (Micah 7:8).D Aim high. Don’t sell yourselfshort! Every person who’sever achieved anything had toovercome the odds.D Keep laughing. Taking yourmistakes too seriously makeslife hard. Learn to laugh atfailures.D Learn. When people say theygot their education at “theschool of hard knocks,” theymean they failed and learnedfrom it. There’s great value inlearning from your mistakes.D See the opportunity. Veryoften, adversity paves the wayfor success. Problems can bea wake-up call for creativity.D Make a list. Write down allthe potential ways to solve aproblem. There’s a solutionout there.“Sometimes you win,and sometimes you learn.”Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dadrhema.org | 11