The Bible is clear in what God expects of us by having given us an example through the life of Christ. We see things from our perspective but God wants us to see them as He sees them. For many years I have heard: “There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful you need to be a person who makes things happen.” I believe God’s plan for each of our lives it to make things happen. But God wants to direct us in “how” we make those things happen.

II Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” Paul encourages us to see if we are really Christians. We should see evidence of the Holy Spirit doing “God Things” on a consistent basis. If we cannot detect the Holy Spirit in our lives we may have failed the test. We will then know whether we are truly Christians or imposters. We will never truly live the Christian life Christ set as our example unless we have the Holy Spirit.

Life always presents crisis’. Do we see life’s crisis as problems or opportunities? God has shown us problems are necessary and can be solved by simple ways. When David confronted Goliath He saw him as God saw him. He was a giant that could be defeated by a small slingshot. What if David had negative thoughts in facing the giant and didn’t act? He would never have become a king or the leader of the Israeli army. How often have we refused to accept a challenge and miss a fantastic opportunity?

Many years ago I was offered a transfer to Los Angeles and turned it down. I was told by our regional manager I would never be offered another transfer. I did not feel it was what God wanted me to do. Eighteen months later, my regional boss, left the company. Within months, I was transferred to Las Vegas and tremendous opportunities were available both in business and in God’s ministry.

We are told we must be a person of prayer. Christ spent much of His time in prayer. We should pray that God allows us to see life as He sees it. We need to seek wisdom and understanding. The amount of time we spend in prayer builds our relationship with God. No matter what situation we face, the more time we have spent in prayer, the more faith we will have and will realize that no matter what happens; He will be with us to solve the problem.
It is so important to daily, read and study Scripture. Chances of our faith growing or we becoming stronger spiritually, without reading the Bible daily, doesn’t normally happen. The Bible teaches that faith often grows through adversity. I have found that the more I read and studied my Bible, the more faith I had and the more confidence developed. When I started my present business, I used up all of our savings before the business became profitable. At no time was I ever discouraged for I believed the Holy Spirit would open doors. The growing of the business was not a gift, it had to be earned, but God gave me the inspiration, passion, discipline and determination to make it happen.

God wants us to develop our potential and our abilities. The more knowledge we have, the better prepared we become and the more opportunities will present themselves. Our environment tells a lot about who we will become. Who are our friends? How much time do we spend in ministry? If we are surrounded by negative people that will affect how we think. Do we realize how much the people we associate with affect our potential and abilities?

Are we enjoying life like Christ intended? As Christians shouldn’t we be living an extra-ordinary lifestyle? God created an ugly old worm, called a caterpillar, that crawls along the ground with all kinds of obstacles blocking its way. After a time, this worm is instantaneously transformed into an insect called a butterfly, which is one of the most graceful and beautiful of all insects. What kind of life are we living, like the caterpillar or the butterfly? As a result of sin and our self-centered nature, we were born ‘caterpillar-like’. But Christ came to offer us a ‘butterfly-like’ life. If God can transform a caterpillar into a butterfly, can’t He transform a sinner into one of His children? The Bible says God will bring our life into a new dimension. (“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17). As a caterpillar, I faced spiritual death. As a butterfly, the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

Do you believe God can transform you into a different person with tremendous possibilities? The Bible says we can live life using Godly wisdom or we can live the life of a fool. We learn that Godly wisdom is when we see things from Christ’s viewpoint or through His eyes. The Bible is very clear that we can have the mind of Christ and if we do, we will see the world quite differently. Godly wisdom is knowing what choices to make and what the consequences of our choices might be.

Do we see ourselves as God sees us? If most did we would see Christians with more positive, trusting attitudes. Doesn’t God want what is best for each of His children? Then why are we not more confident unless we really do not trust God? Develop a vision as to what you think God would want you to be or do. Then allow the Holy Spirit to take away all fear that would prohibit you from succeeding.