NOW is the best moment of your life! Let that sink in for a moment. There is no better time than right now to make your dreams a reality. There is no better time than now to make good on your promises and fulfill your potential. You are more poised for greatness right now than you have ever been in your entire life. In fact, there has been no greater time to do something great in history than right now. Through the power of technology and social media, one tweet, one post, one YouTube video can make you an “overnight” sensation – and this could happen right now! Don’t miss your NOW moment! Most of us miss our NOW moment because we are unaware that opportunities often come disguised as obstacles. We get so discouraged by the obstacle that we fail to see the opportunity. We have been sold the line that “opportunity knocks” so we wait cautiously by our door hoping for the right knock. We miss our right NOW waiting on the right KNOCK. However, contrary to popular opinion, opportunity rarely knocks. In fact, opportunity rarely even shows up at your door. Opportunity roams the streets and finds those who are already out trying to make something happen. And when the opportunity finds you, it doesn’t come gift-wrapped with a bow. In fact, it probably doesn’t resemble a gift at all. Opportunities usually look more like giants. This is exactly what happened in perhaps the greatest underdog story ever told – the story of David and Goliath (I Samuel 17). In this story, David’s country, Israel, was at war with the Philistines. David’s 3 oldest brothers were soldiers in the army, and David’s father sent him to the battlefront to check on his brothers and take them some food. Once David arrived at the battlefield, much to his dismay, he found that his brothers, along with the rest of the army, were cowering in fear at the challenge of a Philistine giant named, Goliath. Now, I really can’t blame them because if a 9 1/2 feet tall behemoth challenged me to a fight, I’d probably be a little hesitant too! For 40 days, Goliath challenged the army of Israel and for 40 days no one dared volunteer…until David showed up. The enemy doesn’t have to fight you to defeat you. Every day that you are afraid to face the giants in your life is a victory for the enemy. Every day you are too afraid to pursue your dream is a victory for the enemy. It may look like a giant obstacle, but it’s also a giant opportunity. David had the courage to stand up and fight the giant, and his courage granted him an audience with the king (v. 31). Courage opens doors. While everyone is too afraid to start the business, write the book, or pursue their dream, the people who show courage will gain access to people and places that the fearful could only dream of. It’s through David’s example in facing his giant obstacle that we learn 4 ways to face the giants in our lives and maximize our NOW moment. 1. IMAGINE your future. When David arrived at the battle, the first thing he did was to ask questions. He asked the men what was the reward for the person who killed the giant. They told him that the king would give him riches, his daughter’s hand in marriage, and tax-exemption for his entire family. David asked several groups of people this same question and received the same response. I believe that David was trying to develop a picture in his mind of what his future would look like AFTER he defeated the giant. While everyone else was focused on the giant, David was focused on the future beyond the giant. In his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Steven Covey says that effective people begin with the end in mind. In other words, they look at the finish line before they even start. David was focusing on the finish because if you focus on the finish, it will motivate you to overcome the obstacles that stand in your way. Focusing on the finish also helps us determine whether or not the fight is worth it. Some people are busy fighting battles where there are no spoils. It makes no sense to fight for a relationship that has no future. The future has got to be bigger than the fight. Otherwise, the fight is just not worth it! This leads to the second thing David did to maximize his NOW moment. 2. IGNORE the naysayers. The moment David made up his mind to fight Goliath, King Saul was there to tell him that he couldn’t do it and why he couldn’t do it (v. 33). There will ALWAYS be naysayers on the path to greatness, but you cannot be swayed by the naysayers. Naysayers have a limited view of you. They can only judge you based upon what they can see. They haven’t taken the time to take a glimpse at your future, and if you have skipped step 1 and didn’t imagine your future, you may fall prey to those who say nay. We must be especially careful here because not every naysayer is a “hater”. We are often too quick to label every naysayer as a hater. The problem is that there are many well-meaning naysayers. I truly believe that Saul was genuinely concerned for David’s well-being and didn’t want him to get hurt or even killed by the giant, but David understood that some people can give you bad advice with good intentions. It’s easy to dismiss the naysayers who clearly mean you harm, but it’s harder to ignore those who love you but whose advice will take you away from your assignment. Regardless of their intentions, you have to learn to ignore the naysayers. Naysayers will cause you to miss your NOW because they are always judging you based upon your THEN. You can’t afford to be a prisoner to your THEN. Your future is too bright to be aborted by your past. IMAGINE your bright future and IGNORE your naysayers, and you’ll be well on your way to maximizing your NOW moment.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 14:34:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015