the Monday Morning Debrief: the Power to Change

“…what really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out–not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.”

“Never before has man had such capacity to control his own destiny, to end thirst and hunger, to conquer poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and massive human misery. We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world–or make it the last.”

Both comments were spoken by JFK, one of my favorite Presidents (please, if you don’t approve, keep that to yourself).  But as I am speaking on courage, hope and destiny with the youth this coming week, I ran upon these quotes I had of President Kennedy and they really did inspire me.

Here is what I love about them.

• Courage is defined by not a simple act but how long you are able to stand for what you believe.  It is a daily challenge.  
• We have the ability to control our own destiny.

These aren’t new themes at all.  You hear “control your own destiny” over and over again (usually in sporting events).  But, seeing these quotes inspired me (almost 50 years after they were said) because as we hang with students I hear over and over again how because of X or Y they can’t do it.  They can’t stand for Christ.  They can’t give up Porn.  They can’t stand with the “loser” in school.  They have to have sex before marriage because everyone else is doing it.  They can’t do a quiet time or pray on a daily basis.  Even with talking to other ministers, I hear, “I can’t do it”, “my boss makes me crazy”, “I want to quit”.

Sorry, but…no crap.  No one can.  It is hard, especially when we focus on “forever” aspect.  But we were never called to focus on it.  We were called to seek Him first (Matthew 6:33).  To steal a quote from “AA”, “one day at a time”.  Focus on the Lord, win the day and then start over the next day.  It’s the courage we take day in and day out that will determine how successful we will be achieving our goals.  That way, nothing is impossible with God (Philippians 4:13).  The more we are successful that day, the more our confidence become and the long lasting our courage is.  Each day we win for the Lord, our confidence and our ability to stand becomes greater.

And, the great thing about it is that we don’t have to do it alone.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Christ calls us to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  That’s a pretty big task that could cause all sorts of stress   But he promise us that we are not alone, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Christ gives us a challenge to go and make disciples.  But he also promises us that he will be with us, to the end of the age.  Again, this sounds redundant, but when we are gaining the courage to overcome all things, we don’t have to do it alone.  We have Christ with us and surely he will be with us.

As JFK says, “Never before has man had such capacity to control his own destiny”.  We have that ability as ministers in our own setting but also we have the ability to inspire and encourage the students we minister to.  Have the courage to stand up, not just for 1 moment or another, but for a long period of time and see where God leads you because of it.

Here’s reality and the point of this whole post…You and those you are ministering to have the power to change who you are.  Question is do you have the courage to do it?  It take courage to be someone who you know you can be in Christ.  Again, the question is, do you have the courage to do it.

TAKE A MINUTE right now and think through how you are living your life.  Is there something you are lacking courage to change?  If so, what is it and what do you need to do to change that.  Also, who are some students that you need to really challenge to step up, take courage and make some changes in their lives?  What do you need to do to encourage them?

Change is within our grasp.  Let’s go after it and inspire others to as well, as JFK inspired me, and see where God leads us.

Thoughts? Comments? Experiences?  Post them so that we can all be encouraged and learn from each other.