Little Blue Inspirational Series Vol. 3

Table of ContentsChapter1. The Road to Success: Leaning and Trusting in God 2. To Impress or Impact: Being the Salt of the World 3. Why do we Compromise our Future and Standards for a Bowl of Soup4. A Purpose Driven Life 5. Slavery or Freedom: Why we often look back to slavery 6. Between a Rock and a Very Hard Place: do you need a contract with God or Man? 7. Infatuation, A societal Opioid: Is it a matter of Religious Moral Ethics, Pure Human Weakness or Psychology 8. Christ and Culture: The discipline required to overcome it and be God’s best The road to Success: Leaning and Trusting in GodThe road to success is not very well defined in life. Solomon rightfully put it this way: chance can happen to anyone, regardless of how unconventional his disposition is to success. Many people set off on that imaginary road in life, and sometimes get very disillusioned. What, then, is success? Most people attribute it to wealth, and material things, and how much of it you accumulate. Others relatively deem themselves successful, if they enjoy some levels of comforts in life. Some yet relate success to all kinds of achievements in life. Some may be academic and others, discoveries of new knowledge that contributes favorably to their discipline, which ultimately benefit mankind. In my humble opinion, a successful person is anyone who leads a purpose driven life, which falls within the will of God for his life. God has a purpose and a duty for all men. Mother Theresa did not have much material wealth to her name, yet was one of the most successful and well respected individuals in recent times. In all spheres of life, God plants people in diverse places to play different roles to His Glory. He often chooses who He pleases regardless of their worthiness. The road to the will of God for our lives, however, often beats our imagination and understanding. That is why the Bible clearly says that we should not lean on our own understanding, but trust in God. This is one of the most profound statements and Biblical principles I have learned to accept. The story of Joseph makes clear why our minds are too small to understand the precepts of God without the help of the Holy Spirit. In the traditional Jewish families of his time, the first born of every family became the most favored person when it came to hereditary, and other family blessings. God’s favor however was on Joseph, the last born of Jacob. This defiled the traditions and conventional wisdom at the time. He did not only find favor with God, but also with his earthly father. As a result of that his brothers became jealous of him, and hated him so much. Genesis 37:4 states“…..they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.” In spite of the possible verbal and emotional abuse inflicted on him by his brothers, he remained pure and demonstrated a kind disposition. He even told them his dream, through which God revealed his purpose for his life. This aroused so much more hatred and jealousy in his brothers that he really felt ostracized in his own home. His second dream even got his father to camp with the critics. I believe that he was really lonely in his own household. That however did not change him or his relationship with his critics and adversaries. Nor did it change his trust in God, and His vision for him. One important tipping point that set Joseph on the road to success was when he was in the cistern, uncertain about his life, future and dreams. I believe that he was very terrified in the pit. We all face such uncertainties at such junctures in our lives,and I believe we may have some level of empathy for Joseph.........