By Ora Cook
The above is one of my favorite quotes. A modest statement that speaks volumes of truth. It simply states that your success or failure depends on whether you believe in your ability.
We have allowed society, circumstance, friends, and family, even our own negative self-talk to cause us not to believe in ourselves. All our gifts and skills come from our creator. He designed each of us with the talents He felt best suits His purpose for our lives.
Your capability to be a great manger, an excellent cook, or a choir director all come from God. He says He made us wonderfully and marvelously. If our creator says we are wonderful and marvelous why would we dare believe someone else when they say we are not? Man’s opinion will never supersede God’s truth.
What happened to you or what others say about you will never outweigh your capabilities. Those are outside factors. Your ability to believe in yourself is an inside factor. Faith develops from within. Does our belief in ourselves mean that we will not be criticized, ostracized, lose friends or have family turn against us…of course not. But we must realize none of these things can affect our faith in our ability.
I challenge you regardless of your age, economic status, nationally, or experiences to learn to believe in yourself and your ability. Start with little steps. Take some quite time and sincerely think and pray about your strengths, skills, gifting, and talents. Ask God to reveal them to you. He will tell you because He wants His children to be whole and prosperous. He will not withhold any good thing from us.
You might have to revert to a childhood story…the little engine that could to motivate and inspire you. You remember how he had to build up his confidence and faith by simply repeating the statement “I think I can.” Initially he did not believe it, but the more he stated it the more factual it became until finally he had enough faith and confidence to complete the task at hand.
Stop allowing the nay sayers, including yourself, to hold you back from your destiny. What steps can you take today that will cause you to believe that you can do all things through Christ?