They say that hindsight is 20/20. Anyone can do the analysis after the game & show you where those who drew the game plan missed it & how those who played on the field could have done better. It’s easy to be right when there is no chance of being wrong. But then, second guessing when it’s no longer a guess is still highly rated. That’s why pundits get paid handsomely!
Believe me, it really bites when you are criticized! And especially by arm chair generals & back seat drivers. These men who ‘know it all’ but who have nothing to show for their knowledge except the ability to ‘bad mouth’ those sweating it out on the field, can really get under your skin. It takes a thick skin to survive & thrive in the public arena.
You will find these words from US President Theodore Roosevelt very encouraging;
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Hmmm! Thank you Presido! You try well well! But what of when the analyst is me & this ‘me’ refuses to let ‘I’ & ‘myself’ off the hook? How do I handle me, when I am so hard on myself, for all the slip ups that I have achieved over these many years? How do I handle my personal “had I knowns?” & survive the “what if’s” of all my dissectors? What happens when my chief critic is living in my brain & peeping through my eyes? How do I manage my regrets?
Some nice thoughts;
-a- accept the unconditional love of God
-b- take responsibility for your failings
-c- value the learning & growth in the failure
-d- pinpoint & address your weaknesses
-e- focus on the things you can control
-f- evaluate & restructure your relationships
-g- go in boldness & be ready for more mistakes
And then, this ‘wrap it up’ thought: SURRENDER the regrets to the Lord! Make it an offering! Stop every self judgment! Accept your human limitations & imperfections! Let go of every ego driven depression! Put every past sins under the blood! Trust in the continual goodness of God! Move on boldly into your future!
Hear Apostle Paul;
“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Phil 3:12-14
I see your coming days as your best days! The higher life of God is at work in you! No negative past will define your future! You will fulfill every purpose of God for your life in Jesus Christ name!
Much Love
George Izunwa
Lead Pastor
