Inspired by Confucius who asserts that "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest", I examined how the events that have unfolded in my life over the past few months, have enhanced my trust and obedience. One absolute revelation for sure is that there is nothing more gratifying than trusting and obeying God. In case you have read up to this point, let me share with you some of my reflections regarding the ingredients for trusting and obeying God.
1. Faith: Imagine walking up to a person, introducing yourself and requesting for guidance and mentroship. Both of you have never met before but this person turns out to be among the kindest people you have ever come across in your life! Doesn't this ring a bell towards the fact that having faith every waking day of our lives inspires us on, no matter the circumstances? Doesn't it encourage us to believe that God is out there watching over us and has faith in our potential to make a positive contribution towards turning the world into a better place? Faith increases our confidence, trust, compels us to obey, and enhances our optimism and calmness.The more your faith, the higher the confidence and trust in yourself and in others.When we portray the faith in us, we stand better chances of being identified by God and mankind to contribute towards doing God's will.
2. Gratitude: Being grateful for whatever small and big, bad and good, positive and negative things in our lives enhances our trust and obedience. Many times our lives are compounded by uncertainties yet if we trust, obey and have faith, all we do is receive! Surprisingly though,upon receiving even those things we doubted would come our away, a few of us remember to express gratitude! Recently while venturing into my passion for inspiring and motivating people, I came into contact with a group of dynamic younger people. A reflection of the events during and after the engagement, all I had to do was to say thank you. It occurred to me that whereas it would be a good platform to nurture the dream, incompatibility would be an issue based on our value systems! Nonetheless, I said thank you for the opportunity. Let us work towards including "thank you" into our vocabulary. Bad and negative things bring with them valuable lessons in our lives whereas the good things contribute towards making us happier and healthier.
3. Integrity- "the bridge between ones thoughts and actions". One of my favourite authors John C Maxwell says that when one has integrity, his/her words match up. He further asserts that “Image is what people think we are; integrity is what we really are.” You and I have at one point in time concluded about some people based on what we see or think about their images. Like wise we have been victims of the same judgments. Postured/acted integrity is less sustainable. However when we are trustworthy and obedient, our integrity will unquestionably be manifested in our thoughts,words and actions.The art of being consistent i.e "I am who i am, no matter where i am or who i am with" greatly enhances our trust and obedience before God and mankind and summarizes the meaning of integrity-"the state of being complete, unified".
As we complete the first quarter of 2012, it is evident that there are plenty of opportunities over the remaining three quarters. Trust and obedience in God with all the ingredients discussed above are required of all those desiring to succeed. Constant reflection on what we are doing, why we are doing it, how and when we are doing it is necessary. I will end with two small quotes one by Tony Robbins and another that I first heard while attending a colleagues' graduation party back in 2004 somewhere in Rakai by Thomas Fuller.
It’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean. –Tony Robbins
"Education begins a gentleman, conversation completes him" Thomas Fuller
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