Lack Of Advantage Should Not Be An Excuse
For Lack Of Performance

by Pastor Vincent Imwensi

So many people mourn their lack of advantage and blame their inability to excel on it. But lack of advantage needn’t result in lack of performance and achievement.

Some of the world’s greatest achievers have suffered from severe lack of advantage in one way or the other.
Their lack of advantage became the reason they succeeded. Becoming aware that they had obstacles and problems others didn’t have, they doubled, tripled or even quadrupled their efforts. They became more creative with the little at their disposal and went the extra mile.

They treasured every little help along the way, paid close attention to instructions and took advantage of the opportunities which others took for granted. They made so much out of so little.
Thus many of them ended up as the heroes and great achievers for whom the world now reserves the prime places in the halls of fame.

The will to succeed and excel is a necessary ingredient
It is amazing how this phenomena plays out itself again and again before our very eyes. You see people that have so little doing so much and those who have so much at their disposal doing so little in comparison. It is an irony.

The other day, my son was questioning me about my father – he wanted to write a biography about him as an assignment from school.
One of the things I told him was that my Dad did so well at school that he was awarded scholarship even in those days (and that is true).

Then he asked me “what was the name of the nursery school that he attended?” I laughed.
There was not a single nursery school in the village where my Dad grew up talk less of attending one.
In fact, I am not too sure whether the concept of nursery school had even been heard of in that part of the world at that time.
And yet, that did not stop him from doing so well and rising so high – excelling above many of those who had all the advantages.

It is not a question of brilliance – it had everything to do with the will to succeed and excel. After all, there are many brilliant people who end up as mere average.

Stop crying that others have the advantages that you don’t have and stop blaming that for where you are. Instead, let it become your driving force, not your crippling excuse.

If you are the type who is determined to achieve and make a remarkable impact in your life, your lack of advantage will soon become your secret driving force.
It will become the reason why you choose to face your challenges with dogged determination; why you are prepared to go the extra mile and pay the price that others need not pay; why no mountain is too high to climb and no valley is too deep to cross ......
Of course you know it will not always be easy but you will end up a celebrated success in life like many others.

Look around the church – the same thing applies
Those who have done the most for the furtherance of God’s kingdom on earth have been the seeming “nobodies” full of disadvantages. By a dint of wholehearted commitment and surrender to God, they have now become the heroes that we all talk about.

Even when you look at the various local churches, the same truth comes to the fore. The commitments and sacrifices needed to cause God’s work to prosper, are for the most part, not made by people who are supposedly well placed and graced with many advantages.
It is largely the “disadvantaged”- yes, the same committed few who in spite of their limitations continue to spend and be spent for the kingdom of God. The seriousness of this will be seen on the day when God will reward every one of us for how we served Him on earth.

Like someone rightly said, the situation in the church has almost become like that of a football match – where thousands sit idly to watch only twenty two men sweating it out in the field of play. Just think about that!

And yet we have so many excuses or reasons why we cannot. Why we cannot do much for God; why we cannot have time to be committed to the work of God; why we cannot be part of any activity group in the church; why we cannot pay our tithes; why we cannot attend prayer meetings, Bible studies or even Sunday worship services – not to talk of evangelism!

What would you say to the fact that many believers with lack of education and money in the third world countries are doing so much more for the advancement of God’s kingdom than many of those in the so called “developed” countries whose living conditions are far better?
Yes indeed, “ ... the lame take the prey” (Isaiah 33:23)

If you are ready to give it what it takes, help is available
Sometimes, you come across people who have tried so hard and yet without success.
That often is what happens when you try to do it in your own   strength. As humans, there are things that are impossible with us no matter how hard we try and that is the more reason why we need to depend on God.

God knows how to turn negative situations around for those who trust Him and walk in obedience to His word. To such people, there is no such thing as a permanent disadvantage. Every disadvantage is a potential raw material waiting to be harnessed through the grace and the wisdom of God.
The scripture says “ .. all things work together for good, to them that love God and to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). That means God has what it takes to turn our negative situations around.

If you are prepared to trust and follow God while making the effort required of you to succeed, there is help for you in God. He will turn your problems to promotion, your stumbling blocks to building blocks, your messes to miracles, your pains to gains, your tests to testimonies and your poverty to prosperity.

So drop the excuses. Your limitations and disadvantages notwithstanding, you also can end up a celebrated success in life. With God on your side, your story is sure to change. It may take time but you can count on His unfailing grace and help.

But do you know Him?
This is a key question – do you know God? Here I am not talking of dogmatic religiosity. Rather, I am talking of a relationship with God that is real, lively and exciting where you know God for yourself and can relate with Him like your own very father.
Is that possible? You may ask. Yes it is! All you need to do to enter into this wonderful relationship is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as your personal Lord and Saviour.
He tells us plainly "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” – (John 14:6)

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