TAKE CHARGE
The single, most critical, far-reaching lesson of my life was learning to “take charge” of my own life. Many people live their lives under the false assumption that other forces beyond their control keep them down, obstructing their ability to progress and succeed. They believe their family upbringing, or their genetics, or other things hold them back and keep them down, making it impossible for them to find success in their lives. They believe nothing they do can possibly change their situation. This pernicious belief is a destructive force, keeping them from the life they could have. Beliefs. Have. Consequences!
It is imperative that you recognize your God given ability to take charge of your life and achieve good things with it. Yes, there will be obstacles, some very difficult. Injustices will occur. Unforeseen circumstances will emerge. Some will be agonizing and excruciating. Destructive government policies may work against us. But with faith and reliance on God, clinging to His promises, by His power and wisdom, we can overcome. We may at times feel utterly powerless and hopeless, but at that very time, we can take charge of our prayer life, crying out to God night and day for His deliverance, His help and intervention! God does answer prayer! We must practice our faith, not merely talk about our faith.
Let me give you a simple illustration of this truth—take charge of your life. As a young boy, I loved baseball. I played in a little league and loved the sport. I knew intuitively that the only way I would get better was to take charge of my own progress and practice myself. I would sit as I watched television with my baseball glove on my hand, and a baseball in the other hand, throwing the ball into my glove over and over again. I got a tennis ball and spent hours throwing it against our brick-walled basement outside, practicing my reaction time, fielding grounders, scooping them up in my glove. I talked one of my buddies into coming with me to the baseball field in the summer, and for hours we would hit fly balls and ground balls to each other, over and over again. I was a fanatic to improve my skills. I spent hours running bases so when game time came I could steal bases and help my team win. I played catch as often as I could to improve my hand-eye coordination. I nailed a bucket to a tree and practiced over and over again throwing the ball into the center of that bucket to improve my aim and the strength of my throwing arm. I was determined to become a skilled baseball player. I knew no one could stop me from improving but me. All that hard work paid off and I became a very skilled left fielder, catcher, and second baseman.
When I gave my life to Christ, this take charge mindset permeated every facet of my life. I knew it was up to me to take charge of everything in my life. It was up to me to take charge of my character, to become the husband and leader God wanted me to be. It was up to me to take charge of my children and raise them well. It was up to me to take charge of my spiritual life, train myself to be godly, to walk with God, and to fervently seek the Lord and navigate by faith the trials God brought into my life. It was up to me to take charge of my health and finances. It was up to me to take charge of my self improvement and make myself a valuable asset at work, and in ministry life. I knew God could help me succeed in each critically important area of my life. If I took charge and worked hard, with diligence and wisdom, wonderful things would happen.
It is amazing to me looking back on the last 50 years, having applied this take charge mentality, what God has done in my life.
As a young father, my wife and I wanted to raise kind, obedient children who loved Christ. We simply took charge of their training and with wise, diligent effort, wonderful results were achieved.
As a young father, I wanted to achieve and maintain better health. I took charge of myself, made a plan, and with wise, diligent effort changed what I ate and began to exercise every day. I have maintained it for the last 38 years, all because I keep taking charge of my own life.
I started life as a young husband and father completely broke financially. Literally driving a $400 car, making just $3900 the year my first child arrived. To illustrate just how low that is, the median income for a family that same year was $21,000!! Life was incredibly difficult and there were so many obstacles to overcome. But, I took charge of my situation, faithfully crying out to God in prayer, taking job after job trying to improve our situation. I learned to budget our money. I learned to be content with little. I learned to say no to wants and greedy desires. I learned to save a little tiny bit at a time. When the opportunity came, I learned to invest a little bit at a time. I diligently applied Biblical principles and I learned to cry out to God in prayer, asking Him to bless us, to multiply our finances. Over these past 50 years God has answered in astounding ways. None of this would have happened if I did not take charge of my situation.
Throughout my life, I’ve sought out wisdom and knowledge. I’ve educated myself, taking charge of my life, my growth, and my progress. Over and over again, I applied and implemented what I learned.
God says He’s given us everything we need for life and godliness! So, take charge of your life and use it!
God says choose instruction rather than silver and knowledge over pure gold, for wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. So, take charge of your life, educate yourself, and diligently apply that wisdom, knowledge and instruction to your life in all things!
One of the primary purposes of my ministry is to pass on to you all the wisdom, insight, understanding, knowledge, instruction, and practical advice God has given to me. My entire Strongdisciple.com website is devoted to passing it all on to you through every message available there and every article I write. All of it is archived there for your benefit, for you to use. Take charge of your life, use those messages. Educate yourself through them. Empower yourself through them. Put their contents into practice in your life and wonderful things will happen to you and for you.
Just scroll through the messages available here and see for yourself:
https://strongdisciple.com/
Ecclesiastes 12:11 LB
The wise man’s words are like goads that spur to action. They nail down important truths. Students are wise who master what their teachers tell them. —God
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
