Have you ever been hit in life so hard that you just did not want to get up? The feeling left you feeling that you would be better off on the ground defeated. Can I be honest with you? I have been there, I was actually there before I took the time to write to you. The amazing thing about this particular fight in my life is that I will not wave the white flag and surrender like I did oh so many times in my life before. Before I was able to utter a word to you I was probably one of the biggest quitters you could possibly meet. I quitted as if my quitting came with rewards; when it really came with regrets. It was not until I recognize that my running and my quitting had to stop. I would mask my quitting as “being honest with myself” or “being real.” Let's be honest for a moment, the dream is beautiful but the process is ugly but in the midst of the process we become something beautiful if we do not quit. When we stick with the journey we become what God uniquely designed us to be; we become a better person.
You are not designed to lie down defeated on the mat after life has hit you with a tough blow. What I challenge you to do is get up. No matter what you are going through, always keep the fight in you. I want you to get up.
I know some of you may not even feel like the prize you are fighting for is worth it. You have probably murmured on and on about how you may have given up too many times or you are too old or it is too late. Do you want to know when it is too late? When you are in a casket, in the dirt, that is when it is too late. The best decision you can make in your life is often the toughest. It is tough to get up after you get knocked down. It is tough to apply for job after job when you do not receive a call back. It is tough to keep watering a seed for your dreams that you do not see any harvest from but you have to ask yourself… "what will my life be like if I quit?" If you remain on the mat defeated, nothing will change but when you rise just one more time, you are inching your way to victory. So get up and keep fighting. Do not ask yourself why did I have to get knocked out? Why me? Why now? Just get up and understand that God will not give you a battle that you are not capable of winning. The victory is yours but you have to keep fighting.
If you look around you and study the people who are miserable or those who just seem like something is missing in their life, it is probably due to the fact that they have settled for less in their life and gave up the fight. They have been through so much in their life that they do not want to fight anymore, so they settle. That does not have to be you; that will not be you. Look that dream that use to make you smile, give you a joy inside, gets you up early and remains on your mind is still for you. You are more than a conqueror; conquerors do not settle, they win.
We are not product of our environment or situation; we are product of our decisions. As much as we all would love to blame what we are going through as a reason to why we are down, we cannot let it keep us down. So the challenge for you as well as myself is to get up, if life knocked you down… just get up. Pray, regroup, and keep fighting. When you get up, do me one more favor, LEARN from it! John Maxwell once said “you either win or you learn.” In a boxing match when the round is over, the boxer return to the respective corners. While in their corners, their trainer speaks to them and tells them some adjustments to make so the fighter can do better in the next round. When you get up and regroup, I need you to do what one of my mentors told me to do, ask God what are you trying to tell me right now. God as well as mentors can serve as your trainers in life; sometimes we become distorted from the fight that we do not see the big picture and that is where God and mentors come in. Understand this, there is no situation in this world that God has not seen. The blow may have shocked you but I did not shock God. Talk to Him and He may even speak to you through some of your mentors but pray, learn, and grow from it. So get up, delight in the fact that you are still alive to fight for your dreams. When your hand is lifted up in victory, you will be happy that you never quit. You are designed to live the best life possible, go for it and be intentional about it. See you next week. Love..
Big Bro Mike