What is it that God has given to you and how are you using it for His glory?  Many times in life, we look at what we have or don’t have and start to make excuses about what we can or can’t do.

Real servants don’t make excuses.  Real servants get the job done, because God’s glory is more important than anything else.  Real servants don’t procrastinate.  Real servants jump in and take the risk, because risk grows our faith.  Real servants don’t wait for ideal circumstances.  Real servants take what they’ve got, where they are to do whatever needs to be done, because people need the amazing grace of an awesome and loving God.  Real servants do what needs to be done, just because it needs to be done and because God is worthy.

I Peter 4:10 says:  “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

Our service may not be perfect, but it is better than intentions that never get us anywhere. Serving God is not for perfect people who always get it right.  Serving God is for everyone that was created by Him.  Our prayer does not need to be for perfect service, but for blessed service.

God created you and He created you for the purpose of service.  The kind of service that blesses others and brings glory to Him.  Open you heart, soul and mind to Him and the opportunities He has given you and jump in – you will be glad you did!

There are times in life, when no matter how hard you try, things just don’t work out the way you had planned.  Sometimes life throws you a curve and we find it impossible to be happy when things are no good.  Disappointment, adversity, challenge and frustration will come into each of our lives.  The real challenge is not what comes into our lives, but how we handle it.

Life is struggle for a lot of us, but that does not mean that we give up, throw in the towel and quit.  Whenever we have expectations that are not realized, then we are going to face the big ugly monster called disappointment.  We cannot change what has happened, but we can make a choice about how we will respond and it is this choice that makes all the difference.

You are responsible for your feelings and your feelings are responsible for how you respond to the situations and circumstances of life.  In the negative situations of life you have to make a choice about what you are going to focus on.  Make the wrong choice and you are doomed for even more negative situations.  Make the right choice and you can use the disappointments of life to move you to a more positive, better and productive place of living.

Here are some steps that you can take to get on and stay on the right track:

1.  Realize That You Are Responsible For Your Own Feelings!  The easy path is to blame others, but there is nothing to gain here.  Be responsible for your feelings.  We waste too much time and energy playing the blame game and that is exactly what it is – a game.  Disappointments come and go, but their power to impact you in a negative or positive way are up to you and your willingness to be responsible what you feel.  Own your feelings and you have the power to change them!

2.  Ask Yourself The Important Questions!  If you will ask the right questions and answer them in the right way, then you are own your way to a turn-around!  Here are a few to get you started:  What opportunity is there in this situation to make a change in my life for the better?  What blessings has God blessed me with that can help me through this?  What will I do to change things?  Ask and answer these questions and you are on your way to putting together a plan that will take you to some amazing places.

3.  Believe In Purpose!  You were not an accident, your life is not an accident and the things that happen to you are not an accident.  Everything has a purpose, and it does not matter if you want it to or not.  The only choice you have is this:  Will that purpose be negative or positive?  Understand and believe that whatever happens in your life – good or bad, is for the purpose of helping you accomplish what you were created for.  Believe this and you are heading in a very positive and powerful direction.

4.  Live With Higher Power!  We try to do life on our own.  We know that there is a Creator, but we try to live life without any real connection.  The connection to our Creator is vital to our experiencing victory and success.  Take time to meditate, pray, read and think about and grow this relationship, because we are nothing without it!

5.  Help Others And Let Them Help You!  Not everyone is out to use you or burn you.  There really are people in this world that want to help you and they are not looking for anything in return.  People love and care, because that is the way they were created.  Make sure that you are loving and caring for others and allowing others to love and care for you.  Pretend does you no good here, so work hard at getting this right!

Life may not be working out the way you had hoped or planned, but hang in there and keep taking the steps and before you know it, you will have walked out of your negative situation, into a positive one and claimed one of the greatest gifts of all – the gift of positive victory, regardless of life’s circumstances.  And by the way – this is what you were created for!