Dare to Believe Again

A few days ago, I listened to a sermon on how to make your life count and one of my take-home was that the best of life is often (if not always) created out of constraints.

The more I pondered those words, the more they rang true. We can produce our best work and virtues when life squeezes us. And life does squeeze us ever so often, doesn’t it?

The struggles are part of your story

My desire to gain higher education wasn’t conceived when life was rosy. Instead, it came when I was boxed into a corner, when life was beyond bearable for me.

Between living in a slum, sharing a bedsit with rats and cockroaches, I dared to dream of university education, a first among my siblings.

But I set the bar much higher; I dared to dream of travelling overseas to realise the dream.

You may never realise the abundance of strength God has invested in you until life knocks you over a few times. But even that is part of the journey; your journey.

Never give in or give up; the struggles are part of your story.

Look for opportunities

Whatever your situation, there are opportunities out there. They may not be what you’re looking for, but they serve a purpose in your journey.

I didn’t think anyone would care to support my ambition, but it didn’t stop me from sharing my story with anyone who cared to listen. A few did.

But beyond sharing my story, I ‘grafted’. With no sponsorship in sight (local or international), I worked as an office clerk for 3 years for my adopted family during my waiting season. By choice? No. Necessity.

Those 3 years proved to be one of my best investments in terms of personal and character development.

While you wait for your opportunity, look for opportunities. Don't sit back and wallow in self-pity. Make the most of available resources in your environment and invest in yourself. Click To Tweet

Part of making a success of your life is accepting ‘the necessary’ (albeit boring and unadventurous), trusting God those too are part of your great story. In the end, life adds up — Romans 8:28.

Dare to believe again

If you’re reading this post and struggling to make sense of your personal sufferings, I want to encourage you to remember the One who holds all the aces. Not your circumstance, but God.

I clearly remember pacing forth and back one late night about 17 years ago through the neighbourhood in pitch darkness. I was in tears, praying with a broken heart, pleading, asking God to change my story. I was desperate. I was frustrated. I was emotionally and physically tired.

But in the midst of those high emotions and frustrations, I found strength (with tears running down my cheeks on a dusty, dark Lagos street) to believe God could change my story. I can never forget that night, that moment.

Dare to believe again; He is faithful that promised, He will do it — Hebrews 10:23.

Photo credit by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash.