Ten Life Lessons to Prosper – Part 1
Recently, Curt Landry taught us ten life lessons he had to learn, and how they allow us to prosper in every circumstance. These lessons not only apply to each of our lives—no matter the season—but are biblically grounded, teaching us not only more about ourselves, but God.
Why are these lessons important?
Many of us strive to better ourselves, to follow not only the internal compass of the Holy Spirit, but all that God ordained in His Word. Yet, so often we struggle to do so. The reasons for our struggles vary, however, and overcoming sometimes may be a simple matter of shifting our perspective.
These ten life lessons Curt Landry shared are all helpful starting places to shift our perspectives to match God’s.
While implementing all of these at once is not always possible, as Curt Landry suggested, just focusing on a few, or even one per year, will slowly shape our character and allow us to follow after God with greater clarity, focus, and energy.
Ten Life Lessons to Prosper:
- Love is more than a feeling. It is a choice.
- There is no shame in not knowing.
- Healthy perspective with long-term ‘grand view’ in focus.
- Don’t take anything for granted.
- It’s not all about you.
- You don’t always get what you want.
- You can’t please everyone.
- Pace yourself.
- Your health is your most valuable asset.
- Money is a tool; it can’t buy happiness or personal peace.
1. Love is more than a feeling. It is a choice.
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”—1 Corinthians 13:13
“…through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”—Galatians 5:13-14
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”—Matthew 5:44-45
Love, in television, books, etc. is depicted as a word steeped with feeling. However, viewing love as ONLY a feeling is dangerous. It allows us to base our behavior toward someone on whether we ‘feel’ love toward them. As Jesus said, “…if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” (see Luke 6:32) Acting in love only if we feel it does not display the Father’s unending love.
Yes, it can be challenging to choose love, yet, the important point here is that IT IS a choice. One that is so much easier when we seek God’s help.
Love is God’s building block. He IS love… and it was that love from which we have found redemption, forgiveness, and even the ability to answer our call. Acting with love not only allows us a glimpse of the Father’s love, but it opens the door for blessings and keeps unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger at bay.
2. There is no shame in not knowing.
“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” —1 Peter 5:5-6
We are meant to be humble and submit ourselves to God. Further, we are also meant to walk in humility with those who have more knowledge or age—as a sign of wisdom. Because, if we are not willing to admit our lack of knowledge to those we interact with on earth, it becomes easy to do the same with God.
It is better to be humble and willing to learn than to let our lack of knowledge be a hindrance to our call.
There is always going to be someone who knows more than we do. Someone who has ‘all the answers.’ Yet, Godly wisdom always comes up ‘trumps,’ and He is more than willing to give us wisdom if we but seek Him first—for when we seek God first, all other things are added unto us.
3. Healthy perspective with long-term ‘grand view’ in focus.
“For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.”—Job 3:25
We all know of a man named Job, and how virtually every horrible thing happened to him. Yet, God, seeing the bigger picture allowed Satan to seemingly ‘destroy’ Job… but, Job was not destroyed. He was restored and made better, becoming the best version of himself.
Job was blessed of God even more than he had been before the trials and tests. Yet, it was not until Job allowed himself to see the bigger picture—that God had everything under control and that doubt would not solve anything—that God restored, renewed, and ‘completed’ Job.
Likewise, we too must learn to, first, allow God to take the wheel, but also keep our focus on His end goal. The bigger picture. This includes being sober about where we are NOW, because, we can easily become stuck in the past, or too far in the future—or our perceived future.
God always knows how things are meant to ‘go down,’ once we realize this and stick to His plans, everything is able to fall into place.
4. Don’t take anything for granted.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”—James 4:13-15
In life it is easy for us to take things for granted—now more than ever. Paychecks are largely automatically deposited, we can use our phones to open or close a garage door from thousands of miles away, fast-food restaurants are everywhere, we can purchase something online and have it at our door the next day…
Yet, more than the little luxuries and conveniences of life, we can take for granted our relationship with God. The price Jesus paid for our redemption. The beauty of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, guiding our steps.
When God gives us another day of life to do His will on earth, we should rejoice. When He allows a flower to grow near our door, we should rejoice. In all things, great or small, we are meant to rejoice in God’s goodness, never taking things for granted. Because all good things come from above.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”—Romans 8:28
This realization of everything good in our lives being from above allows us to live life with greater joy, contentment, and even focus… knowing that everything we need God provides.
5. It’s not all about you.
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”—1 Peter 4:12
For some, this can be one of the hardest lessons. Even more so when life is going extremely well or poorly…
We can become so wrapped up in what we need, or how amazing something is that happened to US, that we forget the greater goal. That of answering God’s will on earth. Saving His children.
God loves each and every one of us. When He blesses one, His love for those around them does not change.
Each of us is walking through a unique season; being tasked with certain things. The realization that it is not all about us—the good and the bad—but instead about God and our fellow man, allows us to not only walk in peace and joy, but to love fully. In that we can act in love, being pleased not only when our blessings come, but the blessings bestowed on all God’s children. We can focus on Him.
In Part 2 of this two-part series, we will continue to unlock the, “Ten Life Lessons to Prosper,” and discover how pacing ourselves, finding our perspective in God, and much more, can change the way we live!