Okay, party people, I was listening to this phenomenal book on YouTube, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph (I keep telling y’all that there are a gaaaaaggle of books for free fifty free on YouTube!)
Anywhosicles, here are some highlights and takeaways that I needed, and where better to put them than on this here, my blog, where it would serve more people than if I simply put it in my journal, ya know?
So here goes nothing and literally er’thing, too!:
What impedes empowers.
Why? Because, as I oftentimes say, the solutions exists within the problem, not outside of it!
Blessings and burdens aren’t mutually exclusive.
How do we know the above is true?? See exhibit A for: adverserial growth and post traumatic growth. Because baaaaaby, if Imma be traumatized, you daggon well better believe Imma learn from it! Lest we forget: “Trauma isn’t our fault, but healing [sho’ nuff] is our responsibility!”
“‘Failure’ is feedback.”
Every time we fail, the world is trying to tell us something. Are we listening?
Anticipate the learning curve. Victory is just down the road!
When we perceive failure as “bad”, we simply don’t learn from it! And continuing to try over and over without doing anything differently (wisdom, ah you?!) is, in fact, insanity: (This is around 2:02:26 if you wanna listen for more!)
People fail in small ways all the time, but they don’t learn. They don’t listen. They don’t see the problems failure exposes. It doesn’t make them better. Thick headed and resistant to change, these are the types who are too self absorbed to realized that the world doesn’t have time to to, argue, and convince them of their own errors. Soft bodied and hard headed, they have too much armor and ego to fail well. It’s time you understand the world is telling you something with each and every failure and action. It’s feedback! Giving you precise instruction on how to improve.
I don’t care if the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.
Sometimes– oftentimes?!– we get caught up in the details that don’t matter today and certainly won’t matter 5 days to 73 years from now. What matters is the result. Revolutionary change is about what works, not what’s perfect. And this week in two way prayer, I (re)learned that work is my responsibility, and the results are God’s. Faith and works, amirite? Hhmm… When I work, I revolutionize. Not because of my work, but because of my faith! When I work, God meets me there. He does exceedingly and abundantly than I could dare dream to ask, think of imagine. And all I had to do to get the revolution/ party started? Be courageous enough to 👏🏾 do 👏🏾 the👏🏾 work!
What does it mean to be revolutionary? (This is around 2:25:50 if you wanna listen for more!)
At some point, you have to compromise. What mattered is you got it done and it works!”
These lessons are about more than pushing through; they’re about transforming through. Whether you’re facing a mountain or just a bump in the road, I hope this post reminds you that you are equipped for this. Let’s learn, grow, and keep moving forward.
Prayer of Transformation: Strengthen Us to Journey Through Obstacles
Heavenly Father,
We come before You with grateful hearts, knowing that You alone are our source of strength in all things. As we face the obstacles in our lives, remind us that what stands in our way is not meant to defeat us, but to empower us. Through trials, You are refining us, shaping us into the people You created us to be. We thank You for the growth that comes from adversity, for the wisdom found in every challenge, and for Your hand, grace, and mercy guiding us through it all.
When we are tempted to give up, remind us of James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” May this truth anchor us in moments of doubt, knowing that endurance through trials is part of Your perfect, pleasing, and good plan for our lives and our growth!
Help us to see failure not as defeat but as feedback, a tool You use to teach and strengthen us. You promise us in Romans 5:3-4, that “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” May we “trust the process”, believing and knowing that every obstacle is a stepping stone to something greater. Help us lean on Your understanding, and not our own.
As we walk this path, help us fix our eyes on You, knowing that You will inevitably provide every single thing we need. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Let this truth be our banner as we persevere, knowing that in You– the One who overcame the world!– you have given us have the power to be in the world, not of if, and to overcome it and everything that exists within it!
God, we surrender the outcome to You, for we know that the results are Yours alone. Our work is to press on, to keep our faith strong, and to trust that You are always working on our behalf. Strengthen us in moments of weakness, and give us endurance to run the race You have set before us, trusting that in due season, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).
In Jesus’ mighty, matchless, holy name, we pray. It is already so! Amen.
