Tony Robbins got one right!
Posted 07-17-2008 at 06:00 AM by Annie
so i don't usually listen much to so called "life coaches" or self help gurus or anyone that claims to offer solutions to a better life if you just listen to them and buy their books and pay to go to their seminars, etc... because, frankly, they're pretty much full of it 99.99999% of the time and are only after our money.
but the other night while i was flipping through the channels i stopped on The Hour ( a late night talk show here in Canada) and Tony Robbins was a guest and he said something i thought was very interesting. He talked about how it is always possible to find happiness in any given situation, but many times that means doing some very real introspection and self examination. It very well could require us to change our thinking about what happiness means to us or what it would take to make us happy.
One example he gave was of a 60 year old woman he talked to who came to him because she was extremely depressed and couldn't think of how to get better. And after they talked for awhile they pinpointed her reasons for depression. Her entire life she dreamed of getting married, having the perfect marriage, having three beautiful and perfect kids and living happily ever after. Well this woman was divorced twice and had no children, so in her eyes her life was a complete waste and there was no way to bounce back or make her life mean anything. So of course she was majorly depressed because this is something she dwelled on, apparently, pretty consistently to the point where she was struggling with even life itself.
and it hit me, how many of us as Christians even, do this to ourselves? We grow up with a pretty little picture in our minds of how life should be and when reality hits and things don't turn out as *we* planned we let that destroy our entire lives? sometimes even to the point of suicide.
It makes sense for nonbelievers to let something like that ruin their lives because what have they got to hope in but their dreams and personal aspirations? We may have personal dreams, but we also have something greater than that. We have a sovereign God who is holding us in the palm of His hand and no matter what may happen to us in the body we have a hope and a promise in Him. He is our future and our life, everything else is secondary. Or should be if our priorities are right.
Things have gone wrong for me personally since i was about 17. I started playing the piano when i was 14 (one of my dreams since i was a kid) and lo and behold i was actually *good* at it. Good enough that i thought i could go to college and study to be a musician and i started dreaming big about that. But when i was 17 i injured my wrist playing the piano which forced me to give it up, for what i thought was only a temporary situation. but when one sore wrist turned into two. and two sore wrists turned into two sore arms and two sore arms turned into a bad back and eventually a knee that would give out on me without any warning, and on and on it went until it seemed like my whole body was falling apart it became evident to me that i would never be able to follow my dream.
Not only that but the next 3 years of my life *everything* was put on hold. I couldn't work fulltime, i couldn't attend college at all because i was trying to get a diagnosis (i finally did get diagnosed with Fibromyalgia) and sort out my own health problems. You better believe that was a seriously dark and depressing time for me. I still remember one night i went to the Lord in tears begging him to heal me or at least tell me why i was going through that and i can still hear Him, speaking in that still small voice, telling me that He was bringing me through that for a reason. Since then, yes i've been depressed and frustrated at times, but i've found it impossible to be bitter with God for what my life has turned into because I know He is in control and I trust Him when He says:
and though i don't know His ultimate purpose for allowing me to get Fibromyalgia, i can see His hand in it. Without this i wouldn't have become as serious in my faith as i have, I wouldn't have had time to find new loves and passions in my life such as theology, foreign languages, etc... things i believe now i'd be much more suited to in finding a future career with than music ever would have been, no matter how much i love it. I know i wouldn't have met my boyfriend because it was only after i got sick i started spending any real time online (where i eventually met him). I wouldn't have met those wonderful people who were the founding (staff) members of this website which is now such a big part of my life. and those are people i truly love and truly consider to be my online family.
God is blessing me, and i've actually learned to thank God for allowing me to go through everything I have. I could have been like that lady i mentioned earlier and spent my life in a pit of despair without hope for anything good happening in my life because my dream had been taken away from me or i could find my joy in Christ and trust that He has a much better life in store for me than any dream i ever had for myself and instead of looking back in sadness at everything i feel i've lost, i can look forward to a future knowing He is sovereign over my life through good times and bad and know that no matter what i'll spend eternity worshipping at His feet.
The bottom line is, if i'm unhappy with the life i have then there's probably a responsibility on my end to fix that. It *might* mean seeking medical help but maybe it means refocusing my priorities, maybe it means i've got to listen to Scripture when it talks about not looking back (luke 9:62) to the life i used to have or dreamed of having but always move forward even if dreams i've had were taken away from me, permanently or temporarily.
Maybe it means recognizing that I must decrease that He may increase ( John 3:30) and stop thinking of myself as the victim and the one who the world revolves around, one of the biggest lies thriving in the church today is that health wealth and prosperity should be our goal in life and if we don't have that we don't have anything but Christianity is not about US having a better earthly life, its about recognizing God for who HE is and what He's done for us in Christ and so maybe the problem is i need to recognize my relationship with God is the most important one I'll ever have and He is breaking me in order to get me to recognize that and knowing that rebelling against Him in that process will ultimately do nothing, either way i will end up broken; if i rebel and refuse to submit i stay broken but if i submit to Him and allow Him to have His way in me, I will have a loving and Sovereign Lord to put me back together and make me whole and mold me into the person He wanted me to be all along.
Maybe it just means i need to stop trying to stand on my own strength and recognize any trials that come along as God's way of drawing me closer to Himself. Only in submitting to His guiding hand during those hard times can we learn how to truly be at peace and content in Christ even during the blackest times of our lives. It doesn't mean life will automatically get easier but there's is a strength through the Lord available to any and all of His children who will humble themselves enough to turn to Him and lean upon Him (1 Peter 5:6-7, Phillippians 4).
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. - James 2
i hope that made sense
but the other night while i was flipping through the channels i stopped on The Hour ( a late night talk show here in Canada) and Tony Robbins was a guest and he said something i thought was very interesting. He talked about how it is always possible to find happiness in any given situation, but many times that means doing some very real introspection and self examination. It very well could require us to change our thinking about what happiness means to us or what it would take to make us happy.
One example he gave was of a 60 year old woman he talked to who came to him because she was extremely depressed and couldn't think of how to get better. And after they talked for awhile they pinpointed her reasons for depression. Her entire life she dreamed of getting married, having the perfect marriage, having three beautiful and perfect kids and living happily ever after. Well this woman was divorced twice and had no children, so in her eyes her life was a complete waste and there was no way to bounce back or make her life mean anything. So of course she was majorly depressed because this is something she dwelled on, apparently, pretty consistently to the point where she was struggling with even life itself.
and it hit me, how many of us as Christians even, do this to ourselves? We grow up with a pretty little picture in our minds of how life should be and when reality hits and things don't turn out as *we* planned we let that destroy our entire lives? sometimes even to the point of suicide.
It makes sense for nonbelievers to let something like that ruin their lives because what have they got to hope in but their dreams and personal aspirations? We may have personal dreams, but we also have something greater than that. We have a sovereign God who is holding us in the palm of His hand and no matter what may happen to us in the body we have a hope and a promise in Him. He is our future and our life, everything else is secondary. Or should be if our priorities are right.
Things have gone wrong for me personally since i was about 17. I started playing the piano when i was 14 (one of my dreams since i was a kid) and lo and behold i was actually *good* at it. Good enough that i thought i could go to college and study to be a musician and i started dreaming big about that. But when i was 17 i injured my wrist playing the piano which forced me to give it up, for what i thought was only a temporary situation. but when one sore wrist turned into two. and two sore wrists turned into two sore arms and two sore arms turned into a bad back and eventually a knee that would give out on me without any warning, and on and on it went until it seemed like my whole body was falling apart it became evident to me that i would never be able to follow my dream.
Not only that but the next 3 years of my life *everything* was put on hold. I couldn't work fulltime, i couldn't attend college at all because i was trying to get a diagnosis (i finally did get diagnosed with Fibromyalgia) and sort out my own health problems. You better believe that was a seriously dark and depressing time for me. I still remember one night i went to the Lord in tears begging him to heal me or at least tell me why i was going through that and i can still hear Him, speaking in that still small voice, telling me that He was bringing me through that for a reason. Since then, yes i've been depressed and frustrated at times, but i've found it impossible to be bitter with God for what my life has turned into because I know He is in control and I trust Him when He says:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Romans 8
<table style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 100%; font-size: 100%; font-family: sans-serif;" border="0"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td class="t_verse" valign="top">28</td><td class="t_text" style="width: 100%;" valign="top">And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.</td></tr></tbody></table>
</td><td class="t_verse" valign="top">28</td><td class="t_text" style="width: 100%;" valign="top">And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.</td></tr></tbody></table>
God is blessing me, and i've actually learned to thank God for allowing me to go through everything I have. I could have been like that lady i mentioned earlier and spent my life in a pit of despair without hope for anything good happening in my life because my dream had been taken away from me or i could find my joy in Christ and trust that He has a much better life in store for me than any dream i ever had for myself and instead of looking back in sadness at everything i feel i've lost, i can look forward to a future knowing He is sovereign over my life through good times and bad and know that no matter what i'll spend eternity worshipping at His feet.
The bottom line is, if i'm unhappy with the life i have then there's probably a responsibility on my end to fix that. It *might* mean seeking medical help but maybe it means refocusing my priorities, maybe it means i've got to listen to Scripture when it talks about not looking back (luke 9:62) to the life i used to have or dreamed of having but always move forward even if dreams i've had were taken away from me, permanently or temporarily.
Maybe it means recognizing that I must decrease that He may increase ( John 3:30) and stop thinking of myself as the victim and the one who the world revolves around, one of the biggest lies thriving in the church today is that health wealth and prosperity should be our goal in life and if we don't have that we don't have anything but Christianity is not about US having a better earthly life, its about recognizing God for who HE is and what He's done for us in Christ and so maybe the problem is i need to recognize my relationship with God is the most important one I'll ever have and He is breaking me in order to get me to recognize that and knowing that rebelling against Him in that process will ultimately do nothing, either way i will end up broken; if i rebel and refuse to submit i stay broken but if i submit to Him and allow Him to have His way in me, I will have a loving and Sovereign Lord to put me back together and make me whole and mold me into the person He wanted me to be all along.
Maybe it just means i need to stop trying to stand on my own strength and recognize any trials that come along as God's way of drawing me closer to Himself. Only in submitting to His guiding hand during those hard times can we learn how to truly be at peace and content in Christ even during the blackest times of our lives. It doesn't mean life will automatically get easier but there's is a strength through the Lord available to any and all of His children who will humble themselves enough to turn to Him and lean upon Him (1 Peter 5:6-7, Phillippians 4).
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. - James 2
i hope that made sense
Total Comments 3
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Yes, sometimes the things he allows us to go through and the things he does we cannot really explain. You are correct, we should not expect in any way shape or form to be blessed materially here on earth. When I look in the old testament though, I see him materially bless his followers above and beyond their basic needs. I see new testament Christians here and in other countries barely having two pennies to rub together, what gives? But wait... it is written that God is the same God then, now, and forever.
What is the major difference between old and new? Well in the old the idea was to establish an earthly kingdom, so it would make sense that they would obtain material blessing through obedience. In the new testament though the idea was that Christ himself would establish the new kingdom. Ever since he went with the father we've been on imminent standby waiting for him to come back to establish that kingdom. If he chooses to bless someone materially here on earth it is from his will and his good purpose. HOWEVER, I do believe that he is still the same God as in the old testament, and will bless us abundantly in heaven and in the new heaven and new earth. I believe in the God who said, Luke 12:32-"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves moneybags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. as well as, Matthew 19:29- And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. I do believe that the God that blessed above and beyond in the old testament is the same God in the new testament. If you look at earth, it is not a place of comfort. It's a warzone. There is death and suffering everywhere. It would make as much sense to try to make a happy comfortable living here as it would be to try to build a house in the middle of a firefight and be worried about how to be more comfortable, your obvious reaction to being in the middle of combat would be to survive and try to find somewhere safe! And yet that's what so many are doing, they're worried about blessings here on earth when they should be worried about serving the kingdom of heaven, as well as providing themselves incorruptible treasure! Earth is our boot camp, not our six flags. Any blessing that God bestows upon us is a measure of his own mercy and goodness. Do I feel upset when someone has more blessings than me? No! I trust in the God who says provide yourselves treasure in heaven that never fades away. You can call me a blatant materialist, and I'm going to be honest with you, I am. But I am so confident in his promises that it makes me willing to surrender many of my rights and material things here on earth to obtain a far better treasure in heaven. Of course you could always say that, oh the blessing will be spiritual. You could of course say that, and that is understandable, but that leaves something out. First off, we're going to be resurrected, not a brand new body or a body made of spirit, if you read in Luke 24 about the Lord Jesus about how his new body could eat as well as be touched. Second of all, we're coming back to a new heaven and a new earth. We're not going to stay permanently in heaven as it's so widely believed. If there is no material to the blessings, why are we being resurrected? I would have been just as happy to have stayed in heaven as I would have coming back down to earth. And then why a new heavens and a new earth since heaven is infinitely better than the current earth? Just my thoughts, may the the Lord Jesus richly bless you. |
 
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thanks Pete
 i have no doubt God can and will richly bless us in the next life in Heaven with Him, during the thousand year reign here, and on the new Heaven and Earth. I think we'll all be blown away by what He has in store and i really can't imagine what that would be aside from what the Bible talks about, (and even then i have trouble wrapping my head around it  ) but personally i think the minute i find myself in Heaven and am actually able to go and fall down at the feet of my Lord and King and just worship Him, i doubt i'd ever want for anything more |
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And you're absolutely right, sometimes in my loot lust I completely forget that the greatest gift we could have is his presence and to worship him completely. If I went to heaven and I had the choice between having stuff or worshiping him I would obviously choose him. He is far worthy to be praised, the best thing I could ever deserve is the fiery pit. The fact that he saves us and on top of that lavishes us with his grace not counting everything he has in store for us because he loves us so much is just incredible... I feel so overwhelmed right now, I could honestly just see myself just sitting in front of his throne worshiping for all eternity... but even the bible says that is not the only thing we'll be doing, but still... if that was all we could have... just amazing isn't it?
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Recent Blog Entries by Annie
- abortion in Canada & the US (11-15-2008)
- Tony Robbins got one right! (07-17-2008)
- first blog post! (06-18-2008)
