ENCOURAGE YOURSELF

ZIKLAG is the Biblical name of a town that was located in the south of what was known as the Kingdom of Judah. It was in this town that David established his operational base to secure himself from Israel’s King Saul and Philistine opposition.

One day, after being away for a while, David and his men returned to Ziklag only to discover that the town and particularly their base had been raided by the an enemy group. This enemy group took away every valuable property including their wives and children. As if that was not enough, they razed the entire camp to the ground with the aid of fire.

This left David and his men with nothing. Absolutely nothing! What would you do if you found yourself in a situation like that – when you lose everything you consider vital for your existence? It could be being booted out of school for non-payment of school fees, getting ejected by you r landlord, or working for decades in the public service and retiring on a package that is enough only for one meal.

David and his men had a normal human reaction. According to the account, “David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4, NIV).  For David, the experience was more harrowing because “the men were talking of stoning him” (1 Samuel 30:6a, NIV). His allies blamed him for what had happened and wanted to lynch him. Remember his two wives had been captured; and everything he had worked for had been plundered.

David’s conduct at this depressing moment of his life was remarkable. He did not commit suicide. Neither did he wallow in pity. He looked into a mirror and “ENCOURAGED HIMSELF in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6b).

When the odds are against you, where do you look? Where do you go? Who do you talk to? It’s good to go to a different environment to refresh yourself. It’s okay to seek the counsel of people you trust. But what if there is nobody to talk to? What will you do if there is nowhere to go?

At this time, there is one voice that never leaves you. It is the voice of your soul. The voice of your soul is always within reach. When your soul speaks to you, it sounds louder than any external voice you will ever hear. The good thing is that, you can determine what your soul says to you.

We can influence the voice of our souls to encourage us. Don’t allow any external situation to depress you into losing the essence of your life. If you learn to encourage yourself, you can rule over circumstances. You can experience a life of peace. Life is not experienced outside in. It unfolds inside out.

Self-encouragement is your way out of the pitfalls of life. Without self-encouragement, nobody can encourage you. The ability to encourage yourself helps you to connect to the encouragement of others. If my phone cannot pick the GSM signal, there is no way I can receive or make a call. Other people may try to call me but I cannot receive their phone calls because of lack of connectivity.

If you don’t learn to encourage yourself, you cannot receive encouragement from others. If you don’t love yourself, you cannot receive love from others. If you don’t cultivate self-confidence, no one will be able to make you confident.

ENCOURAGE YOURSELF FROM WITHIN

WITHIN YOU are several resources you can unleash to uplift yourself from the wilderness to the forest. Look within you and you will find that God who created heaven and earth lives in you. You can tap into the power of God in you to strengthen yourself.

You have desires in your heart. You desire a better future. You want to be happier. You want to be richer. That can be a source of encouragement. Rely on the power of the desire in you to hold yourself up.

DON’T allow any predicament in your life to press you so bad that you become helpless. There is always help available. Help is within reach. Help is in you. Encourage yourself from within.

© November 2013 Terry Mante

CEO, Personal Development Network

Accra, Ghana

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SIMPLICITY

SIMPLICITY IS NOT SIMPLISTIC

ONE person whose life and work has influenced me greatly is Pastor Mensa Otabil. I first came across him in 1997 when he started the Living Word television broadcast in Ghana. As a clueless teenager then, I wrote him off because I felt he was too boring a preacher. Every time I saw him on TV, I tuned off. I did this for some time until one day, somebody invited me to a church in the Eastern city of Koforidua where I lived then.

It was when we arrived at the church that International Central Gospel Church registered in my mind. That was the name of the church the person invited me to. Then it hit me that it was the same church that sponsored Pastor Otabil’s Living Word television broadcast and that he was the Founder and General Overseer of the church I had attended. At the church on that day, I found the worship and teaching that took place in an orderly setting relevant and inspiring.

From then on, I became an ardent listener of Otabil’s Living Word broadcast on TV and radio. I have read almost all the books he has written and I use his Living Word Devotional guide to assist my daily study of the Bible. When I relocated to Accra years later, I became a member of Christ Temple – the flagship assembly of ICGC where he serves as Senior Pastor. Why have I become such an avid fun of Pastor Otabil’s ministry? His simplicity. The simplicity of his ministry and orderly presentation of his sermons facilitates understanding of the scriptures, even for the most under-educated person. His simplicity has also given his brand of ministry a cross-over appeal in corporate and other non-Christian spheres. With his simplicity, he has built a world-class ministry and impacted many lives all over the world.

Simplicity is one asset that is often overlooked by a lot of people. Simplicity could be a powerful tool for success in personal, professional, corporate and national development. In your personal life, you can cultivate elements of simplicity. You can be simple and succeed.

SIMPLICITY IS PLAIN

IN its most ordinary explanation, simplicity means plain. Simple people are plain. They are not complicated. They are transparent. If you live a plain life, you don’t harbour skeletons in your cupboards. This helps you to practice integrity which is your capital for trust and confidence of people. If you simplify your life, you are likely to live an honest life.

It is difficult to trust a person who is not plain. When a people are not plain, they are likely to engage in shady deals. That is why in modern governance, transparency and accountability are seen as key pillars for good governance.

SIMPLICITY IS PRINCIPLED

PRINCIPLES don’t change. A commitment to live a simple life is a commitment to principles. When you devote your life to principles, it reduces uncertainty in your decision-making. Principles are your bases for the decisions you make. So anytime you have to make a critical decision in your life, all you need to do is to give recourse to the principles you subscribe to and there you go. Committing your life to principles reduces stress in decision-making. Simplicity is principled.

SIMPLICITY IS PRAGMATIC

SIMPLICITY makes you pursue things that are practical; things that work. If you want your life to work, pursue simplicity. Pursuing things that work does not mean doing easy things. It means you have the mental discipline to relax and think through complex challenges, break them down into smaller tasks and implement them in phases. That is simplicity.

If you want to reduce stress in your life, adopt simplicity. Be a pragmatist.

SIMPLICITY IS PRAYERFUL

PRAYER is a strategy for simple people. A person who prays connects with God. By connecting with God, you give Him permission to lift your burden so that you can rest in Him. When God carries your burdens, it doesn't mean you will have no responsibility or challenge in life. It just means that no challenge or burden will weaken you. In the weak spots of your life, God will take over. A simple life is one that is not complicated by unnecessary overweight cargo.

SIMPLICITY IS NOT SIMPLISTIC

MAKE no mistake; simplicity is not the same as being simplistic. While a simplistic person avoids complexities, a simple person weaves through complexities. The simplistic person is lazy but the simple is diligent. If you are simple, you face complex challenges, seek understanding and pursue solutions that make the issues clearer.

Simplistic people are naïve. They make decisions without contemplating other options. Simple people make decisions that work after they have considered other options available to them. Surely, simplicity is not simplistic.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction,” E. F. Schumacher points out. And Leonardo da Vinci sums it all up, “Simplicity is ultimate sophistication.” 

© August 2013 Terry Mante

CEO, Personal Development Network (PEDNET)

Accra, Ghana

3 SIGNS OF MENTAL LAZINESS

PHYSICAL laziness has a lot of repercussions but have you ever stopped to consider the suicidal implications of mental laziness? In the Bible, Proverbs 12:27 tells us the difference between physical laziness and mental laziness. The New International Version renders this verse as “The lazy do not roast any game but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.” Hunting is a very engaging activity. It involves going into the bush for several days, running after animals, protecting oneself against predators while perspiring. Yet if you do all that and succeed in catching game but do not roast your booty, the Bible calls you a lazy person.

On the other hand, the person who is able to process and enjoy the benefits of the hunt is labelled diligent. No matter how hard you work to get something, you are lazy if you stop midway. This kind of laziness is mental laziness. It is when you give up because you are tired or you feel you have done enough. Mental laziness is when you stop pushing through because something is not easy.

Let’s look at three signs of mental laziness.

1. REFUSING TO THINK

Henry Ford (1863-1947), the industrialist who founded the Ford Motor Company posited that “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.” Although thinking does not require permission or payment, many people find it hard to think. And because it is considered hard, many people do not engage in it. But for people who are not lazy, thinking is a tool for creating their own world, explaining the enigmas of their lives and confronting the perplexities that frustrate them.

Lazy people refuse to break the barrier to thinking. They send their minds on vacation. For any area of your life where your mind is on vacation, you will not be able to exercise dominion in that area. Thinking is an original activity. It is something you train yourself to do. Thinkers lead the world.

     2. HIDING BEHIND GOD

MENTAL laziness is when a person who has been duly elected by citizens as head of state declares that “God is the president of this country.” Mental laziness is when an unemployed graduate who has not taken time to learn how to present a resumé or conduct oneself at an interview hops across several prayer camps trusting that God will intervene. Mental laziness is when an entrepreneur who has not learnt the art of reinvesting their earnings into their business regularly fasts and attends prayer meetings to seek growth in their business.

Very often, when we have to rise to the occasion, we go to sleep and “leave things in the hands of God” sending our minds on vacation. But the fact of the matter is that if you don’t train your mind, you cannot experience God’s goodness. During the period of Jesus’ earthly ministry, everything He preached was premised on the admonition that we should “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17, NKJV). In clearer terms, Jesus meant that God’s favour, goodness and salvation are within our reach but to benefit fully, we must radically change the way we think.

If you are mentally lazy, no amount of divine intervention will catapult you to the next level of your life. Yes, divine intervention is crucial but it does not replace hard work and smart thinking. Prayer is good but if you really want to transform your life, you must engage your mind. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Don’t be lazy. Think. Think. Think.

     3. MAKING EXCUSES

“THE lazy person claims, ‘There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!’” (Proverbs 26:13, NLT). This biblical image presents the image of a person who needs to step out of their comfort zone to get something done. Then they imagine that if they get out there, something will go wrong so they won’t go. It’s like an athlete who says that “If I go to the field to train, I could be inflicted with injury so I’ll stay home and watch TV.” Such suppositions are mere excuses. Excuses are false justifications for doing what we want to do or for not doing what we ought to do.

Sometimes, instead of taking time to thoughtfully ponder over a matter, we invent a reason and lay the matter aside. Some of the lines we use to give excuses are “It’s not my job,” “This is difficult, I can’t do it,” “This has never been done before,” “It will not work,” “This is how it’s always been done,” and “There is no other option.” If you find yourself giving these reasons for doing or not doing certain things, then you have some traits of laziness.

YOU are what you think. Don’t be mentally lazy. If you like the current condition of your life, keep thinking. If you don’t like where you are, start thinking. By all means, trust God but think smart too. Don’t surrender to obstacles. Don’t bow to excuses. Think through. Exercise your mind.

© 2013 Terry Mante

CEO, Personal Development Network (PEDNET)

Accra, Ghana

 

BELIEVE

Terry Mante

BELIEVE. "If you can BELIEVE, all things are POSSIBLE to him who believes" (Mark 9:23, NKJV). BELIEVE in God. He makes all things possible. BELIEVE in yourself. Nothing will happen in your life without your permission. BELIEVE in your abilities. They are your equipment for success. BELIEVE in your dreams. They are the attraction of your future. BELIEVE! BELIEVE!! BELIEVE!!!

HOW TO TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND

MANY times, when we look around us we don’t like what we see. We see our scarcity and limitations. We see relationships that are causing us distress. We look at our wayward children and we feel overwhelmed. We check our bank balance and we feel hopeless. We see our problems and we wish that a miracle will happen.

Miracles happen. But sometimes, you are the miracle that must happen to turn around your situation. Sometimes, the miracle you look out for can be found in you.

In the ancient Palestine city of Capernaum, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field’” (Matthew 9:35-38, NIV).

THE PARADOX OF LIFE

CAPERNAUM was regarded as Jesus’ own town because it was from this city that He operated His public ministry. The city was wealthy due to fishing and trade. The city also hosted a customs duty and the Roman garrison that protected the entire region of Galilee. Its culture was heavily influenced by Greek and Roman manners, dress, architecture and politics. Capernaum by all indications had the marks of a prosperous, well-organised and secure city. Yet, the people were harassed and helpless like sheep without shepherd. In other words, they were weary, confused and scattered with no sense of direction.

My wonder is this: How can you live in such a city and be disillusioned? Is it possible to live in a place of opportunity and still be overwhelmed by your problems? The Congo River regarded as the world’s deepest river (220m), the third largest river in the world by volume of water discharged and ninth longest river (4700km). River Congo has enormous potential to boost agriculture, aquaculture, transportation and energy. In fact, it is the most powerful river in Africa. It is estimated that during the rainy season, over 50,000 cubic metres of water flows into the Atlantic Ocean each second. Consequently, there is massive opportunity to generate hydro-electric power sufficient for all of sub-Saharan Africa’s energy requirements. Did you see that? River Congo alone can defeat Africa’s energy challenge.

A substantial part of this region lies right in the Tropical Zone, implying abundant sunlight which could also be tapped to produce electricity. If we consider the huge reserve of crude oil and uranium, the challenge of energy should not be a Goliath for Africa. Yet for many Africans, darkness is as real as the sun is. The condition of the indigenes of Capernaum is similar to the condition of the people of Africa. We are harassed and helpless.

THE WAY OUT

1.     Compassion. Jesus had compassion on the people. He was concerned about the misfortunes of the people. This concern moved Him to preach, teach and heal all over the city. He did not remain apathetic. He identified the needs of the people and felt that something should be done about them. He put Himself in the shoes of the people and decided to help them.

2.  Leadership. The people looked like sheep without shepherd. That was the root of their problem. They had no sense of leadership and direction. Definitely, the city’s economy, culture and civilization portrayed that the political leadership was somewhat up and doing but the people themselves had no sense of initiative. Because of that, they could not tap into the opportunities that surrounded them. The only way we can deal with the issues in our lives is to exercise initiative; to lead ourselves out of our frustrations. Jesus modeled this through His preaching, teaching and healing ministry.

3.  Interpretation. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus remarked that, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” He looked at these harassed people and called them the “harvest.” What is a harvest? Jesus used “harvest” as a metaphor to refer to a people who are ready, available and willing to make their lives meaningful. These same people were the “harvest” Jesus referred to. How can a harassed and helpless people be referred to as a harvest? Jesus was speaking to the potential of those people. He looked beyond their hopelessness and focused on what could come out of them. When you look at your problems, do you imagine how the solution would look like? That must become your mental reality. Don’t make what you see with your eyes your stark reality. You can create a new reality with your mind. The pictures you form in your mind become your actual reality.

 

4.    Commissioning. Jesus recommended that what these harassed and helpless people needed to realize their potential was for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into His field. Every problem is a potential opportunity but you need to be commissioned to be able to tackle the problem. Commissioning means being empowered to address a particular issue. This empowerment comes when you pray to God to reveal to you the talent and ideas He has equipped you with. You also need to pray for divine enablement. Divine enablement is what we normally refer to in Christian circles as anointing. Then get to work. You can’t fail.

YOUR turnaround moment is here. What are you compassionate about? Exercise leadership and see the potential. Then seek to be commissioned by the Almighty. Don’t be overwhelmed. You will make it.

© 2013 Terry Mante

Personal Development Network (PEDNET)

Accra, Ghana