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Often times we wonder why does certain situations occur. Most of the time we do not have an answer. We have to understand that everything has a purpose. When I was getting ready to enter the draft, I had several lingering injuries, some that required surgery. I received no invite to the combine nor did I have any private visits set up. I began to question everything in life and wonder why was I not receiving the attention I thought I deserved. The reason why that happened was because of the injuries. When you go to the combine you have to get X-rays and MRIs on your entire body. If I would have went to the combine or had visits then the teams would have found out about the injuries and that would have been a red flag for me. At the time I did not understand that. It wasn't until I had finished my first year with the Steelers that I realized what a blessing it was that I did not attend the combine. We will not understand what God is doing while we are in the present but we must have faith and believe that it is in our best interest. Something is happening in your life right now that you do not understand but you have to realize there is a blessing waiting on the other side. Maybe you lost your job, but God has a better job on the horizon. Maybe you and you partner broke up, God has a better person out there waiting for you. Do not get discouraged, everything is in the hands of God.
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The dictionary definition of focus is a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity. I want to ask what is your central point right now in life? Is what you are focused on going to help you in life? We must make sure that the things we spend our time focusing on is worth it. People from the ages of 14-22 are mostly looking to have fun. We say that we are young and must enjoy life, and that is true, but our focus must be placed on our future also. If you apply yourself and remain singularly focused from the ages of 14-17 then you'll be able to get into a good college. If you apply yourself and remain singularly focused from ages 18-22 then you will be able to obtain a great job, or you will have the opportunity to further your education. The harder you work when you are young, the more focused you are, the more opportunities you will have to enjoy life as you get older. For those who are older, it is never too late to reapply yourself. Focus on only the positive things, pay attention to every little detail going on in your life currently and more will be given to you. If God sees you can't handle a little, he surely will not give you a lot. If you are taking care of what God has given you then he will not hesitate to give you more. Block out everything that is trying to distract you, everything that will not help you, everything that is trying to weigh you down. If your friends aren't singularly focused on getting better you have to leave them behind. Diligence is essential! We only have one life to live, we must take advantage of every second we have.
The definition of joy is a feeling of great pleasure or happiness. The question of what makes people happy is hard to answer because everyone is different. When you do find what makes you happy you must never let it go. We must protect our happiness because people will try and steal it. When others aren't happy with their life and they see you are enjoying yours, they will try and steal your joy. We must stay away from those people. Sadly the main people who will try and steal your joy are the people you are more close with. Just as you would shield a young child from the elements of the world we must shield our joy. If your friends call you everyday with some negative news or complaining about something not going right you must not let that effect you. If it's not positive information then be careful about letting it into your life. Also people think that having more money or material things will bring them happiness. That is not always the case. There are multi-millionaires who are miserable and there are people who are living with just enough who are living a great life because they have found their source of joy. The more money you have the more problems you could face. When you have a substantial amount of money you have to worry about so many things. Taxes, making sure people aren't stealing from you, and even if no one is stealing just the thought of it will bring you stress. When you have money and something occurs, people will try and sue you to get anything they can. People will try and get close to you just so they can get a piece of what you have. I know what you are thinking, you'd rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable but it should not be about money. Having money is nice but it should not be the driving force behind you having joy. Having real friends who love and support you should bring you joy. Having a loving, loyal partner who loves you for you should bring you joy. Having excellent health and peace should bring you joy. Find what makes you happy and what will continue to bring you joy and cherish it. And if you are searching for joy, remember that trouble doesn't last always, joy comes in the morning. Ask God to bring real joy into your life and when he does shield it from everyone who will try and steal it away from you.
In life, we all want to be comfortable. One of our worst fears is to be in a situation that brings fear and the feeling of being vulnerable, but that is when you grow the most. Miracles do not happen when we are comfortable. You have to get out of your comfort zone in order to grow. If not then you'll stay stagnant and stunt your growth stop your life from progressing. You may be uncomfortable financially, physically, and/or emotionally and that has you on edge. If you are experiencing any of those then you are on the right path to receiving your miracle. Stay blessed, stay focused.
When we need a blessing or a miracle we try and figure out the source in which it will come from. We try to understand how and when our blessing will come. Instead we should just have faith and know that God is working for us. You can't make God bless you the way you want him to. We like to think we are in control of our lives but we are not and once we understand that truth our blessings will be released. Most of the time your blessing will come from the most unexpected source. The way God wants to bless you is so much bigger than what you had planned. Do not get discouraged because you have to wait and things seem like they are standing still. God is testing your faith. He wants you to be ready to receive everything he has in store for you.
No one knows what you have done to achieve what you have achieved. The battles you fought, the struggle you had to endure, the sacrifices you made. All they see is the outcome. God rewards his children. The job you have, the house you live in, the partner you're with, that is the fruit of your labor. Do not downplay what God has done for you. Do not let anyone make you feel guilty for being blessed. Do not apologize for receiving your blessings from God. There are people who will be jealous and wonder why is it you being blessed and not them. They did not make the sacrifices you made. This is your opportunity to let them know how to be blessed and how good God is. Do not brag and boast as if you received all you have on your own. That is the quickest way to have God humble you and take it all away. Instead brag on God and be a shining light so that others can see and will know what the favor of the Lord looks like. What is the point of being blessed if you're not trying to bless others.
When you are cooking bread you want to use the smallest amount of yeast, just enough to make the bread rise, if you put too much yeast in the dough then it grows too large and ultimately blows up. That is what pride and arrogance will do to your life. You should have just enough pride that you are confident in what you are doing but not too much that it will have you coming off as arrogant. God loves when we are humble. He wants to build us up himself but if we try and do it on our own he will humble us to teach us a lesson. Have confidence in everything that you do. Believe that you can and will achieve everything you set out to do but make sure your confidence isn't arrogance.
Wanting nice things is a humanly desire. We all have them. The bible says the if we seek God and live by him he will give us the desires of out heart. We all want a massive mansion to live in, a expensive luxurious car, a beautiful spouse to come home to, a cushy high paying job, but sometimes we aren't ready for those things, yet. God will give us something small and see how we respond to it. Being faithful with the lesser will show God you can handle the bigger blessings. Doing so takes much patience. The longer the wait, the bigger the blessing. You may get a small bump in pay at your job and that is a test. God wants to see how you handle having a little bit more money. Are you going to blow it on things you do not need or will the money be managed correctly. This is a test because what if God allows you to receive a several hundred thousand dollar raise. If you can't manage a extra couple hundred dollars there is no way you will be able to manage thousands. You may not think anything of it but It can be seen as a season of planting. When you first plant a flower, you won't see anything growing out of the soil for a while, but you still must water it. The same goes for your life. You might not see the fruits of your labor but you must continue to push forward and remain faithful. God wants to make sure you are ready for the blessings he is about to give to you.
Time is one of the most important things to cherish because you can't get it back. Every second that goes by is a second lost. What did you do with that second? We have to make sure we are using our time wisely. Make sure we are doing things that will help ourselves and others. Make sure nothing and no-one is wasting our own time or pulling us down. If our friends do not want to grow then we have to leave them behind, bad company ruins good character, there is no time to waste. Every second wasted is an opportunity we missed that could have been spent trying to achieve a dream or accomplish a goal. Even with our daily thoughts, do not waste time thinking about negative things. Do not waste time talking about things that will not uplift others. Do not waste time on things that is not progressing our life forward. Focus on the positive with every second we have, because we do not know how many seconds we have left on this earth. Some times that means having to miss out on "fun" or a good time with your friends but we must make sacrifices in order to achieve great things. Investing your time wisely is a sacrifice that will certainly pay off in the end.
Whatever situation you are going through right now you must realize that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. You may not know why something is happening and things may seem bleak and dark but you will come out on the other side. If you could not handle it then God would not put you through it. The suffering you are going through is making you stronger. The blessing on the other end of this is so much bigger than the problems you are facing. All you have to do is stay hopeful and know that your blessing is coming. Once you receive your blessing you will then see that what you went through wasn't as bad as you thought while you were in it and that nothing is ever as bad as it seems. With your blessing you can now bless others and give them your story as they go through their own dark time. God wants us to spread the gospel and share our stories to others in the hopes that we can bring him into the lives of everyone who doesn't know him. It starts with remaining hopeful during your own tough time. Hope is very powerful. Flood your mind with hope and watch how strong and blessed you are when you come out on the other side.
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