Encouragement

---

DETERMINATION

“And see, now I go bound in the sprit unto Jerusalem, not know the things that will happen to me there, expect that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these move me :nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God ( Acts 20: 22-25).

The Webster’s New Encyclopedia Dictionary defines determination as firm or fixed purpose someone said it is “a deliberate and conscious you exert to brings about the change you have always desired, and to overcome the challenges around you, it is a beckon to pay a price to achieve your life’s goal.

In the text, Paul’s statement “…none of these things move me” implies that his eyes were firmly fixed on his goal even in the midst of his doubts and the confirmations that trouble lay head. He was too consumed by the determination to accomplish his purpose to allow the fear of pain and unpleasant circumstances sway him.

During the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, there was one incident that got the cheers of the whole world. It occurred in the gymnastics events. One of the men from the Japanese team broke his legs during one of his routine exercises. As it turned out, the last day brought his team against Russian team to determine the best overall performers. Despite the fact that his leg was broken, the gymnast mounted the rings for a final performance. His routine was sparkling. It was magnificent, and he had a look of pride on his face as he ran through the exercise.

There was anguish on his face as he completed his exercise and from ten feet in the air came hurling to the floor for his dismount landing on his broken leg. But he did not give up: he remained indomitable because of a fighting spirit.

According to Admiral Rickover, nothing worthwhile can be achieved without determination. And in the words of Green Keliser “people who have worked and attained thing worth celebrating in this world have worked while other idled, have determined when others gave up in despair.

No man is immune against adversity or challenges; the fact that you have a good idea or that you are on the right course does not mean that you will not come against ominous circumstances. The beauty of life consists partly in confronting and conquering adversity.

In the words of Charles Swindoll, “some have merged into greatness despite adversity. They refuse to listen to their fears, nothing anyone says or does holds them back. Disabilities and disappointments need not disqualify”.

I believe Ted Engstrom had the power of determination in mind when he insightfully wrote: “cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes the Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors says he will never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham – the man who set the world’s one – mile record in 1934.

Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker. T Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver…Call him a slow leaner, “retarded” and write him off as uneducable and you have Albert Einstein. The truth is, for every door of destiny open before you there is always a measure of opposition. Paul said in I Corinthians 16: 9 “for a great and effective door has open to me, and there are many adversaries” you just have to develop a dogged determination to follow through your plans no matter the prevailing circumstances. Do not sit in limbo and expect every good thing to drop on your laps; you have to go for it.

And do you know the battle starts in your mind? Do not give the devil the opportunity to shortchange you through defeatist thinking.

Now, there is a way Maker who loved you so much that He gave up His life for you and I, of Him it is stated in the Bible that “He opens and no man can shut, and shuts and no man can open!. He is your only guarantor of an open and effective door to your destiny.

Would you like to meet Him? His name is Jesus. The Bible says no man comes to the father except through Him. I believe you should surrender your life to Him. May the Lord help us to face every challenge on our paths with renewed determination in Jesus name I pray. Amen

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE