There are times when preference has to take a back seat to conviction. These are the times when what you choose is not necessarily your preferred choice, but it is the best choice for you. A person cannot continue to live their life in the shadow of maturity or else their future will be crammed with ineffective decisions and vacant dreams. When you sleep at night, is it your heart or your brain renting space in your dreams? Are your dreams overflowing with personal desires because you lacked things as a child or are they inundated with the mandate in your heart to accomplish a purpose that involves others as well as yourself?
The Art of Conviction
Parents should learn to master the art of conviction. All too well, should parents know this principle because when a child is born, the child’s needs takes precedence over the parents wants. Unfortunately, many parents have yet to adopt this principle as a standard; therefore, their children are left in the hands of a cruel world.
Wisdom Vs Irresponsibility
There are things you want to do and things you have to do! This is the difference between wisdom and irresponsibility. Wisdom will balance out your choices instead of your efforts leaning more towards the choices you make. For instance, a man believes that working long hours to provide for his family is his passion and conviction. However, his conviction may be a matter of the heart, but it is without equilibrium. While his heart is to provide for his family, he misses quality time with his wife and children.
Resolving the Dilemma
Wisdom will cause a person to weigh the two options and resolve their dilemma. Both the need to fulfill purpose and raising your children are equally as important. How do you do both when you cannot be in two places at one time? This is a valid consideration. However, the solution is time management. Loving your family enough to provide for them is very noble because this is a quality missing in the American culture, but it is not to be considered as a substitute for being absent from them. Quality time is more important than the quantity of time.
Conviction Will Manifest Your Dreams
Conviction over preference drives a person to overcome their fears and inhibitions to extract the substance of their dream to fashion it in the reality of the present. You may not be intimate with knowing every detail on how your dream business, financial situation, or life circumstances is going to turn out, you just believe that they will materialized just as you envisioned. You are fully aware that the prelude to accomplishment will be marked by days when you go without your Starbucks coffee, you miss your favorite television program or you press harder to get through discouragement. Being convinced of what is in your heart to do is demonstrative of what is being done. Conviction will see your dreams through, but preference will keep them in a holding pattern.
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback" Living By Your Convictions "
Wow! This is an awsome post Dr. Brown. You have simply put to words what I believe has been ministered to my heart for 2010. Conviction over preference is the key.
How can I reach a dream I am unwilling to sacrifice for? God gave His son in order for this nation of kings and priests to exist. He gave His Son in order to obtain His dream. I must be willing to live by my conviction. This is a post that I will refer to time and again to keep me focused.
Thank you sir for your words.
R.E. Times
That sounds like where I am. I know that I have to do some things that I really do not want to do but this week I have to make some strong choices for my mother. There are things that need to proceed right now, then also, I have to continue on with the plan of God. My sister is getting married this year, but since I will be here after she is gone, everything is being thrust on me, so now it is all on me and the Lord. I know that He will direct through the Holy Spirit but sometimes I feel overwhelmed. I have lost more weight and I am always tired but I also know that it must be done. I stay in the word and pray and I also know that this is what is sustaining me. I have not forgotten about what I am doing for the Lord, but it is not moving as fast as I would like for it to move. Sometimes my mind is so full of what is before me (my mother) until, yes I do get lost. Talking about it helps me a lot.
Thank you and I will finish all the other replies sometime to day. Thank you again, Dr Brown.
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