A Global Coaching Study in 2012 found that the estimated global revenue from coaching people how to become successful amounted to be almost $2 billion annually. That money is two times bigger than the whole GDP of the nation of India.
Imagine what kind of money people spend to become successful. This only shows just how much we want to win! Everyone wants to be a winner.
But truth be told, not everyone feels like a winner. In fact, very contrary to that, many people think they are failures.
Only 30% of professionals in this country will get to work a job they love. Only two out of ten will achieve the financial goal that they would want to. We all want to be successful, but somehow, success seems to be a hard thing to achieve. And many times, many of us feel like failures.
There was a man by the name of Joshua, who knew what it was like to be told by God first-hand that he was going to be a winner. “For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
But after hearing that from God, the first opponent he faces is a fortified mega-city known as Jericho. Who feels like a winner now?
Often we find ourselves in the same situation Joshua was in. We are given a shot at a job promotion, a venture to start, a school organization to lead. Then the first thing we face is our own Jericho. When faced with a “Jericho” situation, how can we come out winners? Here are three things we can learn from what Joshua did.
1. He trusted in God’s strategy, not His own
Joshua 6:15 says, “On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times.”
Now two things are wrong with this picture: First, the worst time to go to war is in the day where the enemy can see you coming, and secondly, the worst place to be in a war is right next to the enemy’s wall where you are at the mercy of their archers.
Wasn’t Joshua supposed to be a successful General? Who’s idea was this? It was God’s. Even when God’s strategy didn’t make sense, Joshua trusted it was the right way to go.
2. He stuck with the same old boring strokes
There’s something else off about Joshua 6:15: “On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times.”
We’re all familiar with the saying, “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is insanity.” There’s actually an exemption to this rule.
We often find God’s direction for us to be boring. Read the Bible, pray, make disciples, over and over and over again. But truth be told, the same old boring strokes is always what God will ask us to do. That way we build character and perseverance when the victory comes.
3. He obeyed God even if it was a bad idea
God’s award-winning idea?“And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city.”
can imagine Joshua saying, ‘so Lord, you want us to shout at 70-foot high, 20-foot thick walls?’. Sounds like a bad idea. But that bad idea worked. Often God might give you ideas that sound awful- when in lack, be generous; when you’re sick; pray for others; when you’re about to lose your job, be still and know He is God.
God seems to be a bad idea kind of God because God’s wisdom is often foolishness to the world, but one thing’s for sure- God is always the one that comes out with the right ideas.
Here are some questions to help you digest these ideas:
- When things get tough, where does your trust fall on by default?
- What difficult situation are you facing? Are you sticking with the ‘same old boring strokes’?
