Happy New Year! It’s that time of year again. We make our commitments to do better, to be better. But then the new wears off and then what?

Building a legacy of faith is about consistently becoming the person God made us to be. This is not a temporary fix. Temporary fixes are useless. We need sustainability which produces progress. We will never get to where God wants us to be if we keep falling off the wagon.

In the Bible, in the book of Exodus the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years when it should have only taken 11 years! What was the hold-up? Their lack of belief. The fact that they kept “falling off the wagon.” To complete our mission we must keep traveling forward.

We must get a vision. Then commit to never giving up. I must say I’ve had plenty of opportunities to give up. Like every time I didn’t get my way (which was a lot). I say that because what we perceive as failure is really an opportunity.

I really wanted to be a model or an actress. Seems crazy to me now. But I was so determined. Now, maybe your dream as a child went through changes or maybe it is like your dream today. In any case, the point is not so much as what you do as who you become.

 It’s not good to acquire riches as the President of your company if you’re going to be a nasty, mean person who spews hatred. You will influence more people if you’re in that position, but you are giving, kind, compassionate, and a servant leader. Then you inspire others for positive change. So, your best bet is to become that Christian influencer then see where that takes you.

Did I fail? I got one modeling job. And hey, I have a YouTube Channel, does that count. Here’s the deal. Just like now it was all part of my journey. What’s the roadmap to your life look like? Have you been tempted to give up?

We need to quit looking for quick fixes and focus on a long-term vision. To become someone greater than you are right now you must commit to working on your character. God cares about your character. And if you are stealing, lying, jealous, consistently disobedient then how are these things going to be changed? Our character will be worked like a muscle. We’ll have to learn to have compassion and not talk about people behind their backs. So maybe the way you will learn to be better is that someone you love talks behind your back and as a result the pain of this then causes you to have compassion.

¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. ¹² So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:11-13

Here’s the question you must ask yourself, “If you give up now, will you regret your decision? I don’t regret giving up drinking or smoking. If I gave up on writing when I didn’t get my first book deal, I would not be here now on this podcast.

Some things are worth giving up. I didn’t mind giving up on modeling and acting because as I grow so do my wants and desires.

If our mission is to make a year of progress the one thing we must not do is give up.

Make the commitment to never give up.  This year make it a year of progress.

Progress not perfection.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17

Building a legacy means we follow through with our commitments even through the hard times because we are not like the Israelites who wandered aimlessly in the desert for 40 years. We don’t have that much time! We don’t wonder, we believe. Our lack of belief will only hold us back.

Commit now to making progress. I’m here to encourage you every step of the way.

Thank you for joining me today. I’ll be praying for you to have a year of progress.  I believe in you that you can make the changes necessary to live in your best year yet.

Join me next on a weekly dose of inspiration to get you motivated for positive change

If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to hear more, you can hop on over to alisamassey.com! I’ll see you on the next episode! And remember the best is yet to come.

 

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