“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, his greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is the moment when he ahs worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious.”
Vince Lombardi
Showing posts with label Perseverance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Perseverance. Show all posts
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Saturday, January 13, 2007
The Pursuit of Happyness
Will Smith and his son put on an excellent performance dramatizing the life of Chris Gardner who fought against all odds to become a broker. After failing as a salesman, Chris seeks the position of an apprentice in a brokerage firm, fighting disappointment after disappointment just to make it into the non-salaried position with the hope of being the one selected to become a stock broker. Not only does Chris have his wife walk out on him, he gets evicted from his apartment and has to live on the street with his five-year-old son. Struggling to provide for himself and his son while competing for the brokerage position, Chris has to constantly find the courage and the will to go on each day as life beats him down.
After watching this movie, all of my problems seemed to be very insignificant, leaving me with no excuse for giving up. Everyone should watch this movie and pray that God would endow them with the same courage and perseverance that Chris Gardner exhibited. Without these qualities you will not be able to accomplish anything of value in your life. Knowing that this was a true story made the message all the more powerful: don’t give up no matter what life throws at you; do whatever you have to in order to fulfill your life’s purpose.
After watching this movie, all of my problems seemed to be very insignificant, leaving me with no excuse for giving up. Everyone should watch this movie and pray that God would endow them with the same courage and perseverance that Chris Gardner exhibited. Without these qualities you will not be able to accomplish anything of value in your life. Knowing that this was a true story made the message all the more powerful: don’t give up no matter what life throws at you; do whatever you have to in order to fulfill your life’s purpose.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Beaten down by the world
Don't laugh, but I just saw Rocky Balboa. I laughed when I saw the trailer and expected the movie to be corny. As far as movies, go, it wasn't excellent, nor was it bad. I enjoyed it because of the motivational factor more than the asthetic factor. There were several inspiring moments in the movie that I appreciated and I thought were well done.
At one point Rocky is speaking with his son who has just complained that his life has been made difficult by Rocky being his father. Rocky turns to his son and basically tells him that winners don't blame other things or people for their failures. Winners take responsibility for their current situation and work to improve it.
Rocky then makes a powerful analogy (I can't quote him exactly): "Life is cruel and will keep on beating you down. What really matters is not how hard you can hit back but how hard you can get hit and still get back up."
I hear echoes of the apostle Paul in these words in 2 Corinthians 4:7-12:
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”
Paul adds in Romans 8:35-37:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
Paul suffered incredible afflictions, persecutions and setbacks yet he never gave up. After each blow he got back up and kept on serving God. Life is cruel, people are cruel, situations are unfair, but that does not have to stop us from serving God and doing what is right.
So, life will beat you down. Expect it. But when you are down, look up to Christ and you will find the strength to get back up. You can be victorious over any circumstance you find yourself in. Christ lives in you so you do not have to be a victim but He will empower you to be a victor. Get back up and go toe-to-toe with the world confident that Christ will enable you to stand firm to the end.
At one point Rocky is speaking with his son who has just complained that his life has been made difficult by Rocky being his father. Rocky turns to his son and basically tells him that winners don't blame other things or people for their failures. Winners take responsibility for their current situation and work to improve it.
Rocky then makes a powerful analogy (I can't quote him exactly): "Life is cruel and will keep on beating you down. What really matters is not how hard you can hit back but how hard you can get hit and still get back up."
I hear echoes of the apostle Paul in these words in 2 Corinthians 4:7-12:
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”
Paul adds in Romans 8:35-37:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
Paul suffered incredible afflictions, persecutions and setbacks yet he never gave up. After each blow he got back up and kept on serving God. Life is cruel, people are cruel, situations are unfair, but that does not have to stop us from serving God and doing what is right.
So, life will beat you down. Expect it. But when you are down, look up to Christ and you will find the strength to get back up. You can be victorious over any circumstance you find yourself in. Christ lives in you so you do not have to be a victim but He will empower you to be a victor. Get back up and go toe-to-toe with the world confident that Christ will enable you to stand firm to the end.
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