UCB Word For Today

• Go when the light is green

  In his book Deep Thoughts, Jack Handey writes: ‘As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.’ Many of us are waiting for the green light we have already been given. Jesus said, ‘He who follows Me shall…have the light of life.’ When do insight, illumination, and direction come? When you take the first steps of faith. We are not advocating a thoughtless or prayerless approach to decision-making. You need to know that God is calling you. But you can be so afraid of doing the wrong thing that you never do the right thing. It’s wise to think and rethink, but not overthink. Over analysis results in spiritual paralysis. A pastor explains: ‘If you try to logically figure out the will of God, you’ll never take a step of faith. Why? Because the will of God is not logical. It’s theological.’ The word ‘theos’ means ‘God’. So, ‘theological’ denotes adding God into the equation. The pastor continues: ‘That’s why it doesn’t always add up on our human calculators. The promptings of the Holy Spirit won’t always make sense to your logical left brain. In fact, God ideas often seem like bad ideas. But that is when you need to allow the Holy Spirit to override your intellect.’ The disciples Jesus called did two things. They worked miracles, and they made mistakes. Had they been unwilling to make a mistake they would never have experienced the joy of working a miracle. So, go when the light is green.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Try. Try harder. Try longer.

  One of the greatest predictors of success in any endeavour is persistence. It’s not only how hard you try; it’s how long you try. We tend to overestimate how much we can accomplish in the short term. And according to an American pastor and author, we also ‘underestimate how much we can accomplish over the long haul. Why? Because energy is exponential. The harder you work and the longer you work, the more it pays off. In a study involving Japanese and American first graders, kids were given a difficult puzzle to solve while researchers measured how long they would try before giving up. On average, the American children lasted 9.47 minutes. The Japanese children lasted 13.93 minutes. That is a 47 per cent difference. Want to guess who scores higher on standardised maths tests? Success in any endeavour is a by-product of trying harder and trying longer. There are no substitutes. There are no shortcuts. It doesn’t matter whether it’s athletics or academics, music, or maths [or ministry]. Study after study has shown that it takes about ten years or ten thousand hours to become great at anything. You need to work hard and work long. In the words of Malcolm Gladwell, “Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” Are there any God ideas you’ve given up on? Any God-ordained passions that you have stopped fighting for? Any God-sized dreams gathering the dust of disobedience? Don’t give up on them. You need to try. Then you need to try harder. And then you need to try longer.’© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Why can’t we work together? (4)

  A lady told her friend, ‘My husband and I have a very happy marriage. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for me. And that’s the way we go through life – doing nothing for each other!’ We smile, but that’s not so funny when it’s true. That attitude paves the road to disaster in marriage, business, church, personal relationships, and everywhere else. Often people join a team for their own advantage – they want supporting players so they can receive all the accolades. But ultimately, that attitude not only hurts them, it also hurts the people they work with and hinders the results they otherwise could have had. President Woodrow Wilson asserted: ‘You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and to impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.’ Here is a true statement, if ever there was one: when you use people, exploit them, and take advantage of them, you inevitably fail in life. Is it easy to work with others and always get along? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. That’s why Paul writes, ‘Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.’ You have to work at it. When someone criticises, offset it with a compliment. When someone complains, find something to be thankful for. When someone comes across as self-centred, remind them that the collective goal you’re striving for is greater than any one individual.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Why can’t we work together? (3)

  Reason three: temperament. Some people aren’t naturally outgoing. When they face challenges, it never occurs to them to enlist other people’s help in order to accomplish their goal. When you operate alone, you will achieve a certain amount of success, but when you cooperate with the right people, you will achieve things you never dreamed possible. When you do everything alone and never partner with others, you produce huge hurdles to your own potential. Dr Allan Fromme quipped, ‘People have been known to achieve more as a result of working with others than against them.’ That’s certainly an understatement! Like Chuck Swindoll says: ‘Nobody is a whole team…We need each other. You need someone and someone needs you. Isolated islands we’re not. To make this thing called life work, we gotta lean and support. And relate and respond. And give and take. And confess and forgive. And reach out and embrace and rely on [others]. Since none of us is a whole, independent, self-sufficient, super-capable, all-powerful hotshot, let’s quit acting like we are. Life’s lonely enough without our playing that silly role. The game is over. Let’s link up.’ If you desire to accomplish something big, you have to join with others. One is too small a number to greatly succeed. The Bible says, ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!…For there the Lord commanded the blessing’ (vv. 1, 3 NKJV). Did you get that? When we work together, God commands His blessing to be upon our efforts. And without the blessing of God, there is no true and lasting success.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Why can’t we work together? (2)

  Reason two: naivety. An old Chinese proverb says, ‘Behind every able man there are always other able men.’ Even if you can do the job yourself, isn’t it wise to stop and ask, ‘Who do I know who could help me to do it better?’ That question defines the difference between mediocrity and excellence. Business consultant John Ghegan keeps a sign on his desk that reads, ‘If I had it to do all over again, I’d get help.’ We all need that sign! When you have a few victories under your belt, you’re at an increased risk of thinking you can do anything and everything by yourself. But when your dream is from God, it will always be greater than your individual capacity and gifts, which means you will have to reach for others. Two men, Jonathan and his armour-bearer, wiped out an entire Philistine garrison. How? ‘Jonathan said to his young armour-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” “Do all that you have in mind,” his armour-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul”’ (vv. 6-7 NIVUK). Jonathan, the leader, needed the encouragement and support of his armour-bearer. And his armour-bearer needed the courage and leadership of Jonathan. Together they accomplished amazing things for God. The truth is teamwork is at the heart of all impressive triumphs. The question isn’t whether teams have value; it’s whether you are humble enough to acknowledge that fact and become a better team player.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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