Be A Pest
Some of us, especially we older people, remember the Marx Brothers, Chico, Groucho and Harpo. On a visit to New York, Harpo Marx was bombarded by requests from various charities to appear at their benefits. After one particularly persistent woman had called him a dozen times in two days, Harpo reluctantly agreed to appear at an event for her charity. She offered to personally escort him to the event. As they were leaving Harpo's hotel room, the telephone began to ring. "Don't you want to go back and answer it?" she asked. "Why bother?" Harpo replied wearily. "It's undoubtedly you again."
A Canaanite woman begged Jesus to cure her daughter, who she believed was troubled by a demon. Jesus seems to ignore her plea. But she doesn’t give up. She keeps asking Jesus for his help. Finally, due to her persistence, Jesus cured her daughter.
We should be like the woman who pestered Jesus. We should be like the woman who pestered Harpo Marx. I remember a friend of mine always saying: "Pray like a pest. Give Jesus no rest!”
"Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment" (Matthew 15:28).
Overcoming The Past
Backstage at the circus, motivational speaker Jim Donovan noticed that the elephants were kept in place by nothing stronger than a thin rope that tied one leg to a stake in the ground. Puzzled, Donovan asked one of the trainers what prevented these powerful animals from just snapping the rope and running away.
The answer? Raised in captivity, the animals are held like that from an early age when they're much smaller and weaker. They get so accustomed to the fact that they can't break the rope that they eventually quit trying. When they're full grown, they never attempt to pull themselves free.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging on to a belief that we cannot do something simply because we failed at it before. Have you avoided trying something new because of a limiting belief? Worse, how many of us are being held back by someone else's limiting beliefs?
Don't let yourself be held prisoner by beliefs and expectations that are no longer true—if they ever were.
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead" (Philippians 3:13).
You're Dream's Not Dead
If you feel discouraged, remember the story of Dian Nyad. Here is a 64 year old woman who attempted to swim from Cuba to the US (103 miles) on several occasions, but failed. She first tried when she was 28 but today she conquered this incredible feat after 53 hours and 103 miles. This had never been done before without ...a protective shark cage, and yes she did it at age 64.
Her message to all of is:
1. One should never ever give up. (You have only completely failed if you completley quit)
2. You are never too old to chase your dreams. (Dreams point to a future point in your life. If you're breathing you've still got life)
3. It looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team. (On your journey you may never know the unseen dangers God protected you from along the way.
So whoever you are out there, living with a deferred dream, awake yourself, get busy, fulfill that dream and inspire others.