Dancing With Your Past
Dancing With Your Past
If what you did yesterday still looks big to you, then you haven’t done much today.
Copyright © 2018 by Segun Tewogbola
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Introduction
Fear is the offspring of ignorance.
In different ways and methods, people hide away from their fears as Adam and Eve (covered their nakedness and) hid behind the trees.
When a man is lost in the middle of nowhere, he prefers to hide from the fear of the future by embracing his past.
From the secret treasury of success, men have learnt the hidden truth written therein, which says; take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead; if you lose, you can guide - no experience is useless in life!
Risk is the likelihood of a negative outcome. It may go well or it may go wrong. It is a probability theory. However, to take risk in life is better than to withdraw from life. This book is written to inspire and to provoke you so you can move ahead; away from your comfort zone to a higher ground in life; while you are not afraid of the risks involved.
The turkeys and the eagles are both birds with wings to fly; but the eagles will take risk and fly high, while the turkeys are in their comfort zone with no risk – but to fly remains a dream to the turkeys.
God promised Abraham many children before they were born. In the Scriptures; God describes these children like the eagles and the turkeys when He said to Abraham, ‘I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven and as the sand on the seashore.’ – Genesis 22:17 (ISV).
People walk upon the sand of the sea shore, they look down on the sand, and they play with the sand. However, people look up to the stars in the heaven, the stars are far from the reach of men, so the stars are honored by men. Surprisingly, both the sands - like and the stars – like children came out of Abraham.
So what actually makes the difference between the eagles and the turkeys, and also between the stars in the heaven and the sand on the seashore children of Abraham? The answer is fear; or if you like, you may flip it to the other side, and call it faith. Fear is the absence of faith.
Whenever faith appears, fear disappears!
Brace - up yourself, break forth and breakthrough your fear, take the bull by the horns, and stop romancing the ‘good old days’.
In whatever area you are called; it is your exploit that will announce your arrival!
Add passion to your vision now, the whole world is earnestly waiting for your manifestation.
By reading this book over and over again, you will allow and provoke your emotional momentum to build up; and create motivation that will help you accomplish tasks that will make you successful and happier in life.
The wise does at once what the fool does at last.
As a man grows wiser, he talks less and says more.
May God bless you as you receive the words of this book in good faith.
Preparing the Bride,
Segun Tewogbola
January, 2018
CHAPTER 1 Drop it, Leave it, Let it go
‘Letting go those things which are past.’ – Philippians 3:13 (BBE)
The mind quietly produces about 40,000 to 50,000 thoughts per day of which only about 10% is perceived by the average person. More so, about 80% of all hidden thoughts are negative, which are the bases for people’s fears and failures.
It is disturbing to notice how our minds operate if not properly aligned and adjusted to the words of God. The events and memories which bring us gladness and joy do not last long in our minds, but the bitter and sorrowful events and memories last longer in our natural minds.
We remember what we ought to forget, and forget what we ought to remember. This is the very reason you need to renew your mindset, if you are going to make progress in life.
From the bible, Apostle Paul made known to the Philippians, his secret for success in life. The great apostle penned it thus:
‘My friends, I do not think that I have reached that point yet. But this one thing is what I do. I forget past things, which are behind me. And I try very much to reach the things that are in front of me.’
– Philippians 3:13 (EasyEnglish)
From the above verse, there are three solid points or factors which needed to be studied carefully and acted upon in order to activate success in your life:
- Paul was not fully satisfied with his present status.
- Paul forgot his pasts - either bad or good; putting it behind.
- Paul tried to reach the goals set in front of him; leaving his comfort zones.
The starting point for any serious minded person is to deal with the past. Until we all deal with our past and set ourselves free from its dungeon, we cannot be positioned and be prepared to stand for today’s challenges.
But this one thing is what I do. I forget past things, which are behind me. – This was Paul’s manner of moving forward in life and ministry.
The picture of the future that creates a passion within you is the vision. When a life is clouded and blanket with the gory or the glory of the past, then such life is blinded and its vision is blurred.
The past is a nice place to visit, but not a good place to stay. The past is gone; stop reliving in its memory.
God in His wisdom counseled man to forget the past; knowing that man will not move forward in life if he does not forget the past:
‘Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of the old.’ – Isaiah 43:18 (KJV)
‘Don’t remember the former things; don’t dwell on things past.’ – Isaiah 43:18 (ISV)
From the International Standard Version (ISV), God counseled us not to dwell on the past. To dwell is to make habitation, to settle down, to reside in a place. So, God is telling us not to settle down on things past.
Some of our past memories are terrible that we fear to move ahead in life, so that such terrible things will not happen to us again. On the other side, some of our past memories are so sweet that we prefer to hang on with it, and we are not willing to move ahead in life again. Whichever one it is; terrible or sweet; God is asking us not to dwell on the past.
The only thing you are permitted to take with you from the past is the lesson learnt. If the experience from the past is bad; then you can study what went wrong, correct it, and be encouraged by it – this is called ‘failing forward’ by the experts. If the past experience is sweet, on the other hand, then you can study it, build on it, improve on it, and be strengthened by it – this is called establishment!
Besides the lesson which you must work upon;
You must drop the past,
Leave it,
And let it go!
In your automobile, the rear – view (inner) mirror and the wing (side) mirror will reflect to you the past distance (objects) which you have already covered. However, the big windscreen is not reflecting to you the distance (objects) ahead, but you are actually seeing the distance and the objects ahead through the windscreen. The windscreen is not a mirror!
The past is the mirror – you can only reflect what happened there.
The present is the windscreen – you can see actual event happening.
To avoid unnecessary accident, the automobile driver must focus on his windscreen through which he can see the distance and the object ahead clearly as it is.
Like driving your automobile;
You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the times.
Moreover,
The longer you live in the past, the less future you have to enjoy.
Instruct your mind that -
You are not defined by your past; you are only prepared by your past.
To put the past behind you, you must accept the fact that you’ve moved ahead it.
Therefore, drop the past, leave the past, and let go of the past.
Chapter 2 Seize The Day
‘Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.’ – 2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV)
Both the poor and the rich receive a – 24 hour gift from God every day; while the poor wastes the gift, the rich makes the best of the gift.
At the dawn of the day, everyone is presented with a new blank cheque (check) of opportunity. The ignorant does not know what to write on his own cheque, but the wise writes his ideas, and cash it through hard work.
With new day comes new thoughts and new strength.
Knowledge comes from two sources namely: Sensual Knowledge, and Revelation Knowledge. The five senses of our body system are the bases or the foundation of the sense knowledge.
Sensual knowledge is what is being taught in our colleges and universities. Eyes, ear, Nose, Mouth, and Skin are the five sense organs wires into the body through which sensual knowledge is taught.
On the other hand, revelation knowledge is from the inner spirit of a man. It is this part of man that receives spiritual things from God. The better the inner spirit is trained, the clearer the revelation it receives from God. Spiritual in this wise does not means religious things. Many Christians that are suffering today are subjected to religion spirit instead of the Holy Spirit.
While sensual knowledge is teachable by man, revelation knowledge is only received from God.
Revelation knowledge is mystery. A mystery is a secret or hidden truth kept until a time of revelation!
Remember that;
The poor and the rich, the LORD God made them both; but He did not make them so – their choices made them so!
The secret –
Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.
‘Elisha said to her, ‘What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?’ She answered, ‘Your servant has nothing in the house except a small jar of olive oil.’ – 2 Kings 4:2 (NET)
Looking inward
The woman in the above story was the wife of a late prophet who owed a lot of people. She ran to Elisha the great prophet for help, and was asked what she had in the house. The woman could not come out with anything until she looked inward; looking inward, she came out with a small jar of olive oil!
Before Jesus would feed the five thousand men, His disciples had to look inward within the crowd, and found a lad with five loaves of bread and two fish:
‘There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes:
but what are they among so many?’ – John 6:9 (KJV)
David and his men were running away from King Saul, they were famished and needed to eat as a matter of urgency. David led his men to Ahimelech the priest and asked for food (bread). The priest looked inward and replied:
‘And the priest, answering David, said, I have no common bread here but there is holy bread.’ – 1 Samuel 21:4 (BBE)
So,
The widow looked inward, the disciples looked inward, Ahimelech the priest looked inward.
Are you looking inward?
1st witness from the Bible:
‘Much food is in the tillage of the poor.’ – Proverbs 13:23 (KJV)
2nd Witness from the Bible:
‘But we, who have this very valuable gift in us, are quite like weak clay pots.’ – 2 Corinthians 4:7 (EasyEnglish).
The subject from the above Scriptures is that abundance and great deposits are within you if only you can look inward and bring it out which the bible called tillage. Think about this!
Great things do not happen by accident, people plan long enough for it. It is no wonder that the most expensive and valuable things in the world are hidden away in the earth. Crude oil, diamond, and gold are hidden in the innermost parts of the earth. Men would have to search for them, dig them out, and process them before they become usable and bring in so much money!
Amazingly, this is the same with you; the talent and gift deposited in you are worth millions of dollars when they are inspired, transformed, presented and marketed to the world!
By design and functions, the brains of men are not different from each other, but successful men have reprogrammed their minds to a desired outcome according to God’s higher intelligence of creation.
This was Paul’s counsel to us through his epistle to the Romans:
‘Do not be conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by renewing of your minds.’ – Romans 12:2 (ISV)
From the verse, two words stand out which are ‘Continuously’ and ‘Renewing’ – these two should be activated in our lives, so we can move from good to better, and from better to best.
With time, the best of yester years may be obsolete in this present time.
Laugh at this!
‘For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.’
– 2 Timothy 4:10 (KJV)
What were the things in that world which Paul called the present world? I am sure the world of Paul’s days did not enjoy the technological privileges and pleasures we have today. What Demas ran away with was less than mere shadow when compare to today’s world.
So we must be continuously renewing our minds to stay relevant!
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
To look inward is the beginning of getting started.
Life is stingy, and the day is slippery; so be determined.
It is either you run the day or the day runs you. Seize the day; make the best use of its hours.
The wristwatch on your hand or the clock on your phone is telling you how much time left in a day.
The Calendar on the wall or the one in your gadget is telling you how much days left in a year.
Every time we say to ourselves, ‘Happy New Year’, we are encouraging ourselves by asking, how much years left in a life!
I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today! What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.
Well done is better than well said.
Do something tangible; do not allow a day to go with all its opportunities.
Seize the day!
Chapter 3
The Future Is Now
‘Watch! I’m about to carry out something new! And now it’s springing up.’ - Isaiah 43:19 (ISV)
If you are not doing anything now, you have no right to wait for the future. If you are not planting today, don’t expect harvest tomorrow.
God said that He is about to carry out something new – from the pilot Scripture, which means He is referring to the future (about to).
However, in His wisdom, God is starting it now; the very reason He said, ‘now it’s springing up.’
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.
Among the three major timeline of life, the present is the most important of them all. While the present may not depend on the past, the future depends on the present. The present may stands on its own, but the future relies on the present.
The Mind . . . . Again?
The greatest hindrance to your success is the ways and the manners you think.
Even, the Devil is not your problem; it is what you think about the Devil.
The way you think about a certain thing will determine what you say, and what you say determines what you eventually do about it, and what you do speaks of who you are!
‘For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.’ – Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)
Limits? . . . No way!
In the Dictionary of Success, the word ‘impossible’ is not found!
Do not limit God by the way you think!!
With God all things are possible!!!
Be Resolutely Prepared:
A task may be difficult, but not impossible.
‘Indeed, if you run with others on foot, and they tire you out, how can you compete with horses? You are secure in a land of peace, but how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?’ – Jeremiah 12:5 (ISV)
From the above verse of the Scripture, God was telling Prophet
Jeremiah to brace up for the task ahead. God chastised the prophet and prepared him for the future with the above questions.
To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.
The best time to prepare for the future is now.
Procrastination is the enemy of the future – watch out!
Do not be deceived, the future is not in a distance time, it is just the next second!
An ignorant man always adores what he cannot understand. Be informed; you are not going to the future; rather, the future is coming to you. It is what you are doing when the future comes that determine your success in life.
At the end of the year; on the 31st of December by 23:59:59 hours, people who had gathered in churches, mosques, parks, etc. will all be waiting for that one second which ushers in the New Year. The moment that second comes, the shouts of H-a-p-p-y N-e-w Y-e-a-r will rend the air with a lot of fireworks! This is the picture of the future – it is just a second away! You are not going to the future; the future is coming to get you.
Tradition taught us that there are 24 hours in a day, but Jesus Christ said there are 12 hours in a day (and 12 hours in the night).
‘Jesus answered, are there not twelve hours in a day?’ – John 11:9 (KJV)
In the same manner, we were made to believe that the future is far away, therefore, a lot of people display a lackadaisical attitude towards their future which houses their destiny.
The gospel truth is that the future is one second away.
The future is here.
The future is now!
Stop crying, start thinking;
Challenges and problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.
In this world people will always throw stones on the path of your success. It depends on what you make out of them – a wall or a bridge.
The best time to start planning for the future is now.
Remember these:
The best way to predict the future is to invest in it.
And,
If you don’t build your dreams, someone else will hire you to build their.
CONCLUSION
‘And though your start was small, your end will be very great.’
– Job 8:7 (BBE)
No matter how dirty your past is, your future is spotless!
To try and fail is not a failure, but to refuse to try is the real failure. It does not matter how many times a man falls, it is how many times he rises that determines his success in life.
The Psalmist describes a man that sows in tears; things were so difficult for him that he was crying, but he knew he must sow into the future despite all odds. Hear the Psalmist:
‘He that goeth forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.’
- Psalm 126:6 (KJV)
‘Someone will go out crying, but with a basket of seeds. He will come home laughing, with a lot of food.’ – Psalm 126:6 (EasyEnglish).
Observations from the above Scripture:
▪ There was a situation perhaps difficult one which causes the man to cry (men do not easily cry).
▪ The man was not held down with the situation, he decided to move forward, and forge ahead despite the situation.
▪ He had with him his thinking cap which Psalmist called a basket of seeds. Inspirations from God became viable ideas for man.
▪ He invested into his near future by planting his seeds now in the present.
▪ He returned home and ended up laughing with a lot of food
(Blessings)!
Whatever makes you to cry should not be allowed to take the seeds of ideas away from your head.
Even if you fall on your face, you are still moving forward.
The Professor!
A man once told me how his university certificate (B.Ed.) got burnt in a house, together with other important documents. He was devastated and discouraged to continue with life. However, with time he summoned courage and started all over again. Today, he is a Professor of Education in a Federal University! The Professor had also encouraged his wife, who was a high school drop - out to bag her Doctorate (PhD) degree in Special Education!!
It is not what happens to you, but how you react to what happens to you that determine your failure or success in life.
Divided between two opinions!
You cannot be crying and be laughing at the same time.
People do not start a fire with water.
To move forward in life, you must do away with the past.
THE ROLE OF PRAYER
Prayer is the communication between the creatures and their Creator, between man and God. Prayer is not mere talking to God; it is actually a conversation with God.
A balanced prayer consists of your request or petition to God, together with God’s answer or reply to you. Once we are sure that God hears our prayer, we should be expecting His answer to our request in prayer.
‘You are the One that hears Prayer. To You every man and woman should come.’ – Psalm 65:2 (Easy English).
Why The Name Of Jesus?
The simple reason why we start and finish our prayer with ‘IN JESUS NAME’ is:
Until Jesus Christ died for our sins and lives now for our righteousness, we had no relationship with God the Father. Therefore, we declare our relationship to Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, before and after our prayer to God. Since, relationship is the currency of the
Spirit.
Jesus Himself stated it clearer in the Bible, hear Him:
‘. . . No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ – John 14:6 (KJV)
‘Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.’
– John 15:16 (ISV)
‘On that day, you will ask in my name (because you are mine). I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.’
- John 16:26 (EasyEnglish)
With the above Scriptures and many more, we can say on a good authority and upon the integrity of the Bible that our relationship with Jesus is important in presenting our requests and petitions to God in prayer.
Jacob wrestled himself with prayer out from a life of supplanting people, Hannah prayed herself out from her gloomy past of barrenness, Jabez prayed himself out from his sorrowful memories, and blind Bartimaeus (son of the honorable) cried out to Jesus for a new beginning!
The tallest man in the world is the man on his knees in prayer!
And,
The most confident man around is the man that puts his trust in God through prayer.
Until you disengage from the past, you have no engagement with the future.
Dancing with your past will deny you the opportunity of stepping into the future.
Wise up and turn your mind away from the past. There is nothing for you to go back and pick in the past. The past is gone for good.
The terrible past, and the good past are both in the past.
Do not allow the terrible past to bully you, and do not give in to the sweet past to seduce you into a corner of life.
Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen, make it happen. Make your own future, make your own hope.
Dancing With Your Past
A fool may have his coat embroidered with gold,
But it is still a fool’s coat.
Cry or laugh at the past, it is still the past, it is gone.
Don’t change the truth; allow the truth to change you.
Even the gods can do nothing about your past.
Dancing with your past is living in the graveyard of time!
It is hard to free fools from the chains they adore.
The heaven shouts, the earth quakes;
Yet the deaf and dumb are not moved.
A man that focuses on the past,
Does not know what the future holds for him.
Dancing with your past is disarming your present!
The fool says tomorrow will be like today.
Things don’t turn up in this world until somebody turns them up.
Before every victory, there was a battle.
Do not back your future while facing your past
The past is a mirage; its rhythm is vain.
Dancing with your past is divorcing your future!
© 2019 Segun Tewogbola
