It has been said that there are three kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wondered what happened!

Former Australian swimmer, Shane Gould, who won three gold medals in the 1972 Olympics, was considered one of the greatest swimmers of all time. She didn’t sit back and watch things happen. She made them happen.

Early in her career, when she was only 14 years of age, a news reporter asked her how she thought she would do in one of her early swim meets in the U.S. She replied, “I have a feeling there will be a world record today.”

There was!

Shane set a world record in the one-hundred-meter freestyle event and a second in the two-hundred. When asked how she thought she would do in the more punishing four-hundred-meter event she said, “I get stronger every race, and besides … my parents said they’d take me to Disneyland if I win, and we’re leaving tomorrow!”

She went to Disneyland with three world records! By the time she was sixteen she had five world records. It is true, she also had talent but she won not only because of this, but because of her preparation, hard work, and her positive self-expectancy.

Only a few are gifted sufficiently to be able to win a gold medal. However, every one of us is gifted in some area and most of us are gifted in several areas. And while we are not all called of God to be famous, we are all called to be faithful in serving him and our fellow man with the gifts that we have been given—not with those we haven’t been given.

We can all be “gold medal winners” in God’s book if we are well trained in our area of gifting, are adequately prepared for the task we want and feel called to do, have faith in our cause, see and take advantage of every opportunity when it knocks, disallow our fears to control us, believe that with God’s help we can achieve what we set out to do, and are prepared to work hard to make it happen.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the gifts and talents that you have given to me. Help me to know what they are, get well trained to use them to the best of my ability, and use them for your glory and the betterment of the world in which I live. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV).

In his book, Confidence, Alan Loy McGinnis talks about a famous study entitled “Cradles of Eminence” by Victor and Mildred Goertzel, in which the family backgrounds of 300 highly successful people were studied. Many of the names of those in the study were well known to most of us—including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Albert Schweitzer, Gandhi, Einstein, and Freud, all of whom were brilliant in their fields of expertise.

The results of this study are both surprising and encouraging for many of us who came from a less-than-desirable home life. For example: “Three-quarters of the children were troubled either by poverty, by a broken home, or by rejecting, over- possessive or dominating parents.

“Seventy-four of 85 writers of fiction or drama and 16 of the 20 poets came from homes where, as children, they saw tense psychological drama played out by their parents.

“Physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs characterized over one-quarter of the sample.”

These people who had confidence in their abilities and put them to creative use all have had more weaknesses and handicaps than many who have a lack of confidence because of low self-esteem. So, what made the difference? Probably by compensating for their weaknesses they excelled in other areas.

One man reported, “What has influenced my life more than any other single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably have gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French literature.” The speaker who stammered until his death was W. Somerset Maugham, as he looked back on his life at age 86.

“By then he had become a world-renowned author of more than 20 books, 30 plays, and scores of essays and short stories.”

Speaking personally, I too came from a psychologically distraught, dysfunctional family. What made the difference for me was a deep sense of God’s call and my faith in and commitment to Jesus Christ (with a lot of hard work and growth). However, I tremble to think where I would have ended up had it not been for my Christian faith and practice.

It’s not what we have or don’t have that matters in life but what we do with what we have—and what we do about facing and resolving our issues. It is very important that we don’t allow our past to determine our future and that we use what we have to the best of our ability.

As another has wisely said, “I may have been a victim in the past but if I remain a victim, I am now a willing volunteer.” And another, “Hope for the future gives us power in the present!” No matter what our background, when we commit and trust our lives daily to God, we can and do have hope for the future. It’s up to us what we do in the present to resolve our past and to become what God wants us to be in the future.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to see all that you envision for me to become and do and that, with your help, I can become and do. Help me to realize that I don’t have to allow my past to determine my future, and help me to face and resolve every issue in my past that might be holding me back in any way. And above all, I thank you that when I daily commit and trust my life to you, you can help me to turn my weaknesses into strengths. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NIV).

Many years ago, in much younger days, I used to work in construction. On a construction site in which I was in charge I made what to me was a whopping error and was scared to death to tell my boss. Fortunately for me when I did tell him, he simply said, “Dick, the man who never made a mistake never made anything!”

What a relief it was to know my “error” was forgiven! Then we set about to correct my mistake.

I think it was Robert Schuller who said, “A high jumper never knows how high he can jump until he reaches a failure point.” That’s a good point, for we too will never know how high we can reach in fulfilling our personal goals until we also reach a failure point.

In fact, we probably learn a lot more through our failures than we do through our successes. The important thing when we fail is to get up, learn from our mistake, and go on to achieve better things. As another has said, “Not failure, but low aim is crime.”

I appreciate the words of the poet who said,

I would rather stumble a thousand times

Attempting to reach a goal,

Than to sit in a crowd

In my weather-proof shroud,

A shriveled and self-satisfied soul.

I would rather be doing and daring

All of my error-filled days,

Than watching and waiting, and dying

Snug in my perfect ways.

I would rather wonder and blunder,

Stumbling blindly ahead,

Than for safety’s sake

Lest I make a mistake

Be sure, be safe, be dead.²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to see your plan and purpose for my life, and with your help, make a total commitment to fulfilling it. Help me to learn from my mistakes and never give up. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 24:16 (NIV).

2. Author Unknown

A psychologist once noted three tests of a great character: The capacity for great love; the capacity for great enthusiasm; and the capacity for great indignation. To which I would add a fourth: The capacity for great integrity.

First, the capacity for great love. No matter how successful we might be in the eyes of the world or how rich in material possessions, life—without love—is empty and meaningless and chances are that we will die long before our time. It may not be the most desirable, but we can live without romantic love, but we cannot live meaningfully or healthily without at least one loving relationship. Every person needs to know that they are loved, wanted, and needed by at least one other person.

Second, the capacity for great enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm comes from the prefix, “en” meaning “in” and the Greek root, “theos” meaning “God”. In other words, genuine and lasting enthusiasm is that which has its roots en-theos; that is, in God. It has been said that love makes the world go round; but it really is love with enthusiasm that does this and, in turn, achieves the noblest things in life for the benefit of mankind.

Third, the capacity for great indignation. So many ask or wonder how can a God of love become so indignant and angry? If God didn’t become indignant and angry at sin and evil—which is totally destructive of those whom he loves (us) —he wouldn’t be God. He would be some kind of spineless being at best and some kind of a demon at worst. Also, if you and I don’t get indignant and angry at sin and evil, we don’t really care for or love righteousness. It isn’t possible to have one without the other. There are many things in life that we need to get indignant and angry about. In other words, we need to love the things God loves and hate the things that God hates. While God hates sin he loves the sinner. We need to do the same.

And fourth, the capacity for great integrity. Integrity means that we keep our word and do what we say we are going to do, that we have high moral and ethical values and live by them, that we live in harmony with the laws of God and the laws of the land unless to do the latter would defy the laws of God.

I’ve borrowed today’s title, “Character Counts” from Michael Josephson, of Character Counts. However, the character that really counts for both time and eternity is character that has its roots in God.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to so live that when I come to the end of my journey here on earth it will be said of me, ‘He/she was a man/woman of character whose life reflected the Spirit of Jesus in all that he/she did and said. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Colossians 4:12 (AMP).

The boy’s mother, however, disagreed. She believed that he had a talent to sing. Though very poor, putting her arms around him, she said, “My boy, I am going to make every sacrifice to pay for your voice lessons.”

Her confidence in him and constant encouragement paid off. That boy became one of the world’s greatest singers—Enrico Caruso!

We all need encouragement! We all—including, and especially our children—need someone to believe in us.

As the Bible also teaches, “Encourage one another daily.”² Note that it says daily! So let’s be sure to encourage someone today—and every day for the rest of our lives.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for all the people who, over the years, believed in and encouraged me to achieve something worthwhile with my life. Help me also to be an encourager to all the people you bring into my life—and especially to my loved ones. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV).

2. Hebrews 3:13 (NIV).

“Sir Michael Costa, the celebrated conductor, was holding a rehearsal. As the mighty chorus rang out, accompanied by scores of instruments, the piccolo player—a tiny pint-sized flute—thinking perhaps that his contribution would not be missed amid so much music, stopped playing. Suddenly, the great leader stopped and cried out, ‘Where’s the piccolo?’

“The sound of that one small instrument was necessary to the harmony, and the Master Conductor missed it when it dropped out. The point? To the Conductor there are no insignificant instruments in an orchestra. Sometimes the smallest and seemingly least important one can make the greatest contribution and even if it doesn’t seem to make that big a difference to the audience at large, the conductor knows it right away!

“In the church, in life and in God’s work on earth the players and the instruments are diverse—different sizes, different shapes, different notes, different roles to play. But like the piccolo player in Sir Michael’s orchestra, we often in our own sovereignty decide that our contribution is not significant. Our contribution couldn’t possibly make a difference. And so we quit playing. Stop doing that which we’ve been given to do. We drop out. But the Conductor immediately notices.”²

From our perspective your and my contribution may be small, but from God’s viewpoint it is critical. So, whatever you do, don’t bury your piccolo (talent) but put it to use in service for the Lord remembering that we serve God by serving people and doing it in Jesus’ name.

2. Adapted from Richard Love, Sermon: “Blowing Your Horn,” Memphis: Sermon Illustrations, 1999. Cited on www.eSermons.com.

Julian Aldridge, Jr., tells how “Some years ago, Hollywood produced an exciting film titled, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The setting was during the Second World War in a Japanese Concentration Camp for prisoners of war. One of the prisoners, the Senior British Officer, talked the Japanese into letting the prisoners build a bridge over the River Kwai. The officer realized that it would boost morale, give life some purpose, and engender hope if the men had something to which they were committed each day.

“The work proceeded to the point of conclusion with a bridge that was a substantial piece of engineering skill; in fact, it was such a logistical benefit to the Japanese that the Allies had to send in an expedition force to blow it up. In the movie, there is a dramatic scene when the Senior British Officer, himself a prisoner of the Japanese, suddenly confronts with stark realism the fact that the other prisoners and he had spent all their time and energies building a bridge for the enemy!”²

As Aldridge pointed out, “There is, in the story, a lesson for all time. We, too, often spend our time and energies in pursuit of, or to perfect, the wrong things. This was the situation with those invited to the wedding banquet in the story Jesus told. They had an invitation to the party of a lifetime, and yet, they were diverted by lesser things.”²

May God help you and me not to be diverted by lesser things and thereby dissipate our energies and resources in non-essentials. Keeping eternal values in mind, let us make the most important things the most important things—both in the church and in our personal lives. And above all, whatever you do, don’t miss Christ’s invitation to you—his invitation to attend his “banquet in heaven” to be with him forever. For help see the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/articles

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me always to live with eternal values in mind—not in a legalist manner—but with a sense of freedom doing what I do because I love you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 22:1-3 (NIV).

2. Rev. Dr. Julian M. Aldridge, Jr., Sermon: “Amazing Grace.”

I have read how William Wilberforce (who became an evangelical Christian) was a diminutive man and never enjoyed good health. For twenty years he was under doctor’s orders and had to take drugs to keep body and soul together. Yet he stopped the British slave trade. Boswell once went to hear him speak and said afterward: “I saw what seemed a mere shrimp mounted upon the platform, but as I listened, he grew and grew till the shrimp became a whale.”

The interesting thing is that so many successes in history have been achieved by people who have either been limited by some kind of handicap or have suffered a major setback or failure of one kind or another.

It’s one’s attitude in life that makes the difference. No matter what happens to us, with a positive attitude we can rise above our difficulties and achieve notable things with our life.

By having a positive attitude I don’t mean the denial of reality, but rather to be a positive realist. For instance, if I have been hit by a truck, all the positive thinking in the world won’t take away the pain. To be a positive realist means that I admit that I have been hit and hurt real bad—but with God’s help, and that of the medical profession and the support of loving friends, I will recover to the fullest possible extent and turn this experience into another blessing.

As another has said, “Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst … a spark that creates extraordinary results.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, whatever it is that I can do, regardless of my circumstances’ please help me to see what it is and do it with all my might. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NKJV).

A legend tells the story of a fisherman called Aaron who lived on the banks of a river. Walking home with his eyes half-closed one evening after a hard day’s work, he was dreaming of what he could do if he were rich. As he walked his foot struck a leather pouch filled with what seemed to him to be small stones. Absentmindedly he picked up the pouch and began throwing the pebbles into the water.

“When I am a rich man,” he said to himself, “I’ll have a large house”. And he threw another pebble into the river. He threw another one and thought, “My wife and I will have servants and rich food, and many fine things.” And this went on until just one stone was left. As Aaron held it in his hand, a ray of light caught it and made it sparkle. He was not throwing ordinary stones but valuable gems, throwing away the real riches in his hand, while he dreamed of unreal riches in the future.”²

Don’t wait until tomorrow because “what-ifs” rarely, if ever, come. Be thankful for the blessings you have today for today is the only day we ever have. Live in the present for yesterdays are gone forever and tomorrows are only a hope and always a day away!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please open my eyes that I may see the countless blessings you have already provided for and given to me. Help me to feel the wonder of it all and give me a thankful heart for all you have done and are doing for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 136:1-3 (NKJV).

2. Brett Blair www.eSermons.com. Adapted from a sermon by Rev. Richard J. Fairchild: “The Man Without Wedding Clothes.”