David was originally an ordinary shepherd who, unlike others, had courage. The Israelite army, in which his two brothers were enlisted, was at one time seized with the fear of a giant called Goliath whom none in the army dared to face in battle. When David was sent by his father with food to give to his brothers at the war front, he encountered fear gripping the whole army such that he then took it upon himself to challenge the giant. He could easily have been influenced by the same fear as that of the soldiers, but chose instead to face the Philistine giant. With just a sling, a stone and nothing else, he challenged and killed the giant. This was despite the fact that Goliath had a huge sword plus full body armour covering both the head and the full body (1 Samuel 17).
sundayword BY PROSPER TINGINI
Faced with what looks like an astronomical challenge in our lives, how many of us would dare face such challenges like what David did? With God by our side, nothing is impossible. The Lord will most often come to the aid of those with the courage to face whatever stern tests are ahead of them, no matter how big they may look. Enlist God’s help to overcome challenges and you will end up the victor, not the victim. In Joshua 1: 6, God assured Joshua after the death of Moses: “I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their father to give them.” If you make the Lord our God your torch-bearer, you will succeed where no other would dare to go. You will climb all the heights and cross all the things placed as obstacles in your way and will achieve levels of success you only dreamt of. Chase away all your fears first and foremost.
Fear for the unknown or of failure can prevent us from moving forward. Fear tends to paralyse our actions. We become our own victims. In the scriptures we also have the often quoted story of how the people of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness fearing to cross over into the Promised Land. Spies sent out by Moses had reported back to say, “we came to the land to which you sent us, it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit (good, rich and big), yet the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Arak (tall and huge) there”. Despite God’s promise to lead them to the land of milk and honey, as they had indeed witnessed through the fruits brought back by the spies, the fearful description of the then inhabitants of the land froze all further progress. Even though Moses their leader was very close to God, even speaking to Him directly, he lost his faith through fear just because his attention was focused on the obstacle ahead. They became victims of fear.
Such is our life today. We depend too much on hearsay and theories that prevent us from going forward. We then live as captives of gossip. Moses never accomplished his given mission because he allowed what he had heard to take over. What we see on the surface as impediments may not translate to definite obstacles. It had to take a new generation of courageous people and a new leader for the Israelites to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land and they easily conquered the fearsome inhabitants. By removing the fear away from themselves, they then became the victors.
Sometimes situations beyond our control can limit our capabilities. Some people might not have received the desired education because their parents failed to raise the fees needed. Others might not have achieved business success due to lack of capital. Incapacitation could also have come as a result of an illness or many other factors. The important thing is not to hold on to the defects, but to explore possible opportunities using the available resources. God gave us different talents that do not necessarily require one to be either highly-educated, or needing much financial resources to succeed. Each of us has a God-given talent which most of us do not utilise. Let’s make use of the little that is at our disposal in the same manner as the little David defeated the giant Goliath with just a little sling and a small stone in hand. Let’s be victors from the little we have rather than stay grounded waiting to acquire what we think are adequate tools for success, that which may never come.
We should not focus on our disadvantages or dwell on the inadequacies upon us. If your mind tells you that you can’t succeed, then you won’t succeed. Likewise, if it tells you that you are a failure, then you will surely end up as one. If you live in fear of something, then you will perpetually be a victim of that fear. Again if you conclude you can’t be cured of any dreaded disease through lack of faith, then you will most probably die of that disease. Nothing is unconquerable before God. If you keep your faith in the Lord, you will be a victor of things and not a victim.
In the literal sense, a victor is a winner, a conqueror of all sorts of things presented as challenges. Whatever brings triumph makes one a victor. On the other hand, a victim is often the opposite. As a victim, you become the vanquished. Failure, surrender, weakness and defeat are the hallmarks of victims.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Most often we become who we are because of what we feed into our own minds. We channel thoughts into our own mental faculties to shape our own destinies. Whether it’s fear or courage, failure or success, strength or weakness and a host of other things, most of us mould ourselves around who we think of ourselves or who we want to be. We end up living like the mirror-images of our own states of mind.
As children, we always build up inner ambitions based on what we see around us. From those visions, we measure and prepare ourselves on how we can fit into society. In a given class of children, some will dream of being doctors, lawyers, pilots etc, yet others in the same class would want to be bus conductors, cleaners, touts or many other varied professions they would have grown up seeing. Nothing really wrong in having varied thinking, but already the winners and losers are beginning to take shape at that level. Children can easily become victims of society. The environment one grows up in can limit or expand our scope of thinking. This can cascade down into the family units where children born into poverty are likely to take it as normal to be poor. Children born in more organised environments tend to perform better.
Some attributes are attained through copying what others do or emulating those whom we think are our heroes. There is a common saying that we are all born equal, yet we all end up different from each other with varying levels of fortunes, strengths and weaknesses. Some of us are shaped into who we are through the influences we get from the society around us. Those who take charge of themselves to vigorously determine who they want to be are more likely to excel ahead of the others.
Your future should be in your own hands. If you take hold of your own destiny, you can become whom you want to be and be a victor in any sphere of life. Don’t let what you see around you also become your own pattern, so that you just end up fitting within what you think is the norm. Think bigger and outside the box. Distinguish yourself from the rest. Move out of the victim zones. Chase away the poverty, the sickness, the fear and the failure zones.
Prosper Tingini would like to invite interested individuals, well-wishers, church organisations, donors and people from all walks of life to assist or form partnerships in establishing training centres across the country for pastors and priests. These training centres would be interdenominational (non-aligned). Those interested can phone or WhatsApp on 0771 260 195 or email: [email protected]
