In our personal development, we need to be aware of the 7 key aspects for living successfully.
Psalms 84:11 (NIV)
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
To understand the 7 key aspects, we need to look at their relevance in our daily life.
Key #1 – We must… view God as the only true source of everything good in our lives. In James 1:17 (NIV) we read:
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
Key #2 – We must… see ourselves as stewards over God’s property. We really own nothing. According to Kingdom Principles – the King owns everything! We learn in Romans 14:12 (NIV) that,”So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” It is obvious that it is to our best interest to have faithfulness as our primary goal. This is a strict principle of personal development. Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven… When we do this and our primary focus in on being faithful to our Creator and good stewards of all that He has given us, we will be successful both in personal development and our daily lives.
God will reward us. 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV) tells us “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” And likewise in 1 Peter 4:10 we are instructed, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
We are “overseers”, “foremen”, “managers”, we must be good stewards.
Key #3 – We must… allow others to be accountable in their own affairs. Often, especially for those whom we love and care about, we try to be the solution to all of their problems. We must pick our battles. We do our love ones a disservice when we constantly step in and use all of our resources to bail them out of trouble.
Even though it’s hard to do, some times it best for us to do nothing. When we become the problem solver, we do not allow others to grow by learning from their own mistakes. When they fail, they learn. When we take away the struggles, we do not allow the others to grow in strength.
Key #4 – We must… understand natural and divine process. The divinely inspired natural process is to till, sow, nurture and harvest. When we look at Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) we learn,
“But those who wait on the LORD
shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Waiting exemplifies trust. Strength come from waiting, patiently waiting. This is the Law of Process and it requires seasons and cycles. Mark 4:28 explains that,
“For the earth yields crops by itself:
first the blade, then the head,
after that the full grain in the head.”
The Law of the Harvest is best expressed in Galatians 6:9 :
“And let us not grow weary while doing good,
for in due season we shall reap
if we do not lose heart.
Key #5 – We must…realize a passion for frugality. This, as part of our personal development plan, goes with the idea of stewardship. Often we try to “show” success by extravagant behavior. Please don’t mistake frugality with stinginess. Frugality simply means to watch how we use the resources that have been given to us. Most rich people are extremely price conscientious. They watch were and how they use their resources.
Proverbs 21:17
He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
Key #6 – We must… stay in constant obedience to the Holy Spirit. Be careful to learn to listen to the voice of God. Sometimes God’s voice is a quiet stillness deep within our spirit.
To be in constant obedience to the Holy Spirit, simply means to practice the tenants of your faith. Be mindful of God’s Holy Moral Law (the Ten Commandments). These commandments are written on the hearts of men. Follow that gentle nudging (conviction) when situations arise that make it easy to lie or cheat or steal.
Acts 5:29 “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Key #7 – We must… cultivate self-confidence by recognizing our limitations. Personal development culminates in developing a sense of self-confidence. This is an extremely important point for a Christian to ponder. We learn to never rely on “self”. To only trust God and His indications to us via the Holy Spirit. These are one and the same. The only way for you to be self-confident is to know that your “self” is in constant communication with the Holy Spirit and is under the constant guidance of the Holy Creator. “Let this mind which was in Christ be in you”. A fully surrendered “self” is only limited by our inability to accept the following facts.
Recognize your Creator only wants good for you.
Make sure that your dreams are not against God’s Law
Fill every conversation about your dreams with positive “faith” talk.
Associate with those who are “on fire” (spiritually, not physically)
Make sure your dreams are seeds sown in other’s hearts
Recognize that your dreams may intimidate others.
Fuel your own FIRE!
