Published On: Mon, Nov 24th, 2014

You Can Do Better!

Don’t look at things as they are and be satisfied. Rather, look at them as they can become and do your part to bring that into reality! The same also applies to persons with whom you interact. Who they are now should not be viewed with any finality! They need your encouragement to become all they can be, to excel in all their pursuits, to maximize all their current doings!

I once read of an artist that set up a studio on the first floor of a downtown building of some city. One of the first things he noticed, looking out of his window, was a disheveled town vagabond who daily sat on the street across from his studio, as a beggar. The artist made that man his first painting project. He actually drew him not as he then looked but as he, the artist, imagined him to be. Upon its completion, he invited the man into his studio and showed him what he had done. Not knowing who the subject was, the homeless man inquired of the artist, and was most surprised when he was told that it was he, himself. His reaction was significant, for he responded by saying, “If that’s the man you see, that’s the man I’ll be!”

Much that is given to us is not for immediate, personal consumption; most is provided for us to improve: sometimes, for the betterment of the tool or of the situation. Most often, however, it is for our own, personal betterment.

Making excellence your personal goal already empowers you to go after what will bring it to pass! Thus, be a greater critic of yourself rather than of others. Realize the areas where you can improve and proceed to take the necessary steps to make it so. You need to try and keep on trying whatever will enable you to be who you can be, and do what you are capable of doing! The very idea that you can accomplish it must become an inward belief and attitude with tangible efforts and visible outcomes, even if it may take time to complete, besides some barriers to overcome. As Samuel Johnson declared in his day, “the business of life is to go forward.”

Preparation for life is a daily, moment by moment activity. New challenges come all the time and we need to know how best to respond to them! As Rich de Vos recommends, “You never will discover how far you can go if you don’t start ‘doing it’.” You can confidently leave the results up to God as long as you faithfully do your part!

Ultimately, it is only in the path of obedience that you will understand where you are to go, and to go next! The right doors will open for you when you find yourself in the road God designed for you to traverse under His leading and personal care!

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