2nd Peter 1:5-10
5 “For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),
6 And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),
7 And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
8 For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the full personal knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
9 For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] short-sighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
(Amplified Bible)
“The day you stop learning you start dying, either at the age of 20 or 80.” Those were the words of Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s finest Presidents. I strongly agree with the saying that good is the enemy of the best because there is a tendency to become complacent after you get a good result in one area and forget that life is a series of events that needs a lifetime commitment and not momentary or temporary attention.
The above scripture shows us how to continually access God’s best for our lives. We are required to make additions or improvements on ourselves in order to rise higher and higher. Our paths in life are meant to shine more and more but it is not automatic. Conscious and relevant improvement has to be undertaken. If you plan to move from point A-B (MEDIOCRITY TO EXCELLENCE), then you need to make a sincere personal appraisal and check that what you possess will help you on your journey.
Secondly, you need to check what is in your routine that you have to do away with and thirdly what you need to add to yourself and where to get it?
Please be aware that being in Christ does not exempt you from life’s challenges or responsibilities, you are only guaranteed victory when you engage in battle. The Bible clearly states that you will overcome, that means you will have to rise up to the occasion.
In Daniel 9:2, Daniel said that he ‘understood by books’ so the addition he needed to move to the next level came by reading books containing prophecies concerning himself and his people. Through the books he read he understood the number of years they were to be in captivity and when their freedom was due. This implies that without those books they would have remained in captivity forever. Please note he had to take the responsibility to look for relevant information concerning himself and God’s people. Although they were in captivity he knew that God had better plans and he went on a search to find the plans. The same thing applies to you, God has the best plans for you but you have to find out the detailed information by researching His word and reading relevant literature.
I know from experience that you will remain the same person you are today five years from now except you read relevant self improvement books and meet people relevant to your goals and dreams. You must cultivate the habit of listening and reading for the purpose of learning and not just for pleasure.
You are the best person to improve yourself because you are the best person to know where you want to be in life. You are the custodian of your destiny.
Please know that there will never be another you so make the best of yourself and there will never be another now so make the most of it.
You also need to make sure you have God’s approval so that you will not run in vain because it’s only when you do a thing for the same reason that God wants it done that you become unstoppable.
For further Study
Philippians 3:13-14, 2 Timothy 2:15, Daniel 9:2
Personal declaration for the day
I will invest in my life and improve myself.
Questions for you to reflect on
How much time do you spend on personal development?
What new thing have learnt in the last few days?
Comments & Testimonials