08 Sep Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way (Because Tenacity is a Necessity to Fulfill your Destiny) Part 18

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Have you ever been in a relationship with a “taker”?  I have and it is exhausting!  It is impossible to sustain a long-term relationship with a “taker”.  Please don’t mistake me, I am not saying we shouldn’t be there for a friend going through a season of trouble.  The Bible tells us, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.  A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend” (Prov. 17:17-18).

You can clearly see from these verses that we are “born for adversity”.  In other words, a true friend will stick with you through tough times.  A true friend will slip you that twenty dollar bill for gas when you are out of work.  A true friend will love you through that divorce.  However, if we have been friends for 22 years and I always buy you lunch every week for 22 years, that relationship will be impossible to sustain long-term (actually it would not last 22 years!).   Why?  For a relationship to be sustained long-term, it must be both give and take.  Any relationship that only costs you and never invests in you is unsustainable long-term.

The Bible tells us, “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

Notice in verse 28, Peter focuses solely on the cost of his relationship with the Lord, “…we’ve left all”.  To which Jesus turns around and emphasizes the reward of this relationship.  Jesus in essence is saying, “I am not a taker in our relationship.  It will cost you to walk with Me, but you will gain more than you ever dreamed!”  Why did He emphasize the reward more than the cost?  Because Jesus knew whatever you magnify grows larger in your sight!  If you magnify the cost…eventually you’ll cease to pay it.  If you magnify the reward, you will gladly pay it!  This will give you long-term sustainability in your relationships.  This will give you the tenacity to fulfill your destiny!

Over the last number of months we have given you our key verse from II Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”  Then we began to teach “10 Truths Toward Tenacity”:

  1. Tenacious people don’t’ waste time feeling sorry for themselves (Rom. 8:31).
  2. Tenacious people don’t hand the reigns of their emotional well-being to another (Phil. 4:4)
  3. Tenacious people embrace change (Ps. 55:19)
  4. Tenacious people don’t waste energy on things they can’t control (Phil. 2:14).
  5. Tenacious people are not people pleasers (Prov. 29:25).
  6. Tenacious people are courageous (Joshua 1:6-9).

Last week we shared with you “6 Courage Concepts”:

    1. Anyone can see a problem.  It takes courage to solve a problem.
    2. Courage says publicly what everyone else is whispering privately.
    3. Fear is simply courage’s opportunity.
    4. Courage is not careless!
    5. Courage is contagious!
    6. With courage what could be and what should be…will be!

This week let’s continue….

     7. Tenacious people let go of the past (Phil. 3:13-14)

Please allow me to share one of our “6 Life Lessons to Let Go of the Past”:

          1.  Never let what you did define you.  God hates divorce, but He loves divorcees.  If you have gone through the tragedy of divorce, remember it was an event…not a lifetime.  Don’t let it define your today.

Next week we will continue this series!