Reposition Yourself Reflections
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Reposition Yourself Reflections

Living Life Without Limits

T.D. Jakes

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eBook - ePub

Reposition Yourself Reflections

Living Life Without Limits

T.D. Jakes

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About This Book

T.D. Jakes offers readers of the New York Times bestseller Reposition Yourself: Living Life Without Limits a collection of scripture and quotes that provides the spiritual underpinnings of his message about applying Christian principles to adjust to the many changes that life brings. Reposition Yourself, the narrative book, uses wisdom collected from more than thirty years of Jakes's experience counseling and working with high-profile and everyday people on financial, relational, and spiritual creativity on the path to an enriched life filled with contentment at every stage. Reposition Yourself Reflections collects the words that ground Reposition Yourself solidly in biblical teachings. Reflections is an essential keepsake, to carry with you in moments when inspiration and encouragement are needed.

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PART I
The Sky’s the Limit

INTRODUCTION

Back when I was a boy, if you had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would likely have responded, with a sheepish grin, “fireman” or “actor.” Becoming an entrepreneur with a half-dozen diverse businesses, much less a preacher and pastor to a church of over thirty thousand members, would never have crossed my mind. Appearing on the cover of Time magazine and meeting with presidents, prime ministers, Academy Award–winning actors, and celebrated professional athletes, was outside my imagination as well.
My father, the founder of a large and successful janitorial business, hoped that I’d take over his company. My mother, an entrepreneur in her own right, probably thought that I would become a singer or dramatist. None of us envisioned me ministering to thousands of people around the world—from Africa to Asia, New England to New Zealand—or me publishing books and participating in film projects for the big screen.
My life has constantly changed as I responded to events, people, and opportunities. I have been divinely blessed by my Creator. I’ve also made deliberate attempts to grow, to position myself to receive, and to reposition myself to receive more.
I have failed and tried again, many times, before making significant progress toward my goals. My mistakes were also my lessons. I gained experience and did not allow my past mistakes to bind and gag me. The boundaries established in my own mind for how far I could go were pushed outward. I found the keys to living without limits.
Many of us attribute success or failure to fate or some external force. We believe that we have to be in the right place at the right time in order to achieve, much like winning the lottery. But success is a direct consequence of our wanting a more abundant life and working hard to earn it, like wading through the mud puddles of life toward the beckoning sea.
I believe that we are called by God to be the very best stewards of all the gifts, talents, and opportunities entrusted to us in this lifetime. The result is true prosperity, real success.
My deepest understanding of true prosperity came from an exercise in philanthropy to dig a well to provide water for a village in Kenya. My ministry team and I took a mission trip to see the people we had set out to serve. We escaped the concrete maze of our urban lives and ventured into the economic abyss of East Africa. We traveled by helicopter over the parched ground of the city of Nairobi to the barren terrain of the countryside, beyond the reach of electricity and indoor plumbing, where even such a basic necessity as clean water was a luxury. In an act of appreciation and celebration, a local woman, who had benefited from the work we had accomplished there, invited us to her home.
With her chestnut-brown skin, deep-set dark eyes, and jet-black hair, this woman, whom I’ll call Jahi, displayed the regal poise of a queen and the humble hospitality of a gracious hostess. Her face bore the signs of living unprotected in a climate where harsh sunshine toughens the skin. Her thick body appeared quite strong, likely from carrying wood from miles away back to her home. Challenged to determine her age, I guessed that she might have been in her midsixties or more.
I was struck by the fact that this woman, who was rather short in stature, had built her house with her own hands, and as low-tech and humble as it was, she seemed every bit as proud of it as I am of my home with its many amenities. She invited me in with a sweep of her hand in a way that suggested that I was entering a grand estate—no matter that she had neither a doorbell nor a real door, only a woven drapelike fabric to allow in the breeze.
She described how she had built the home with dry branches gathered on the plains nearby and cow manure that she used as mortar to fill the holes and joints of the walls. All of the homes in her village were held together by cow dung. I detected a faint, earthy odor, likely all that remained from the pungent manure, now dried. Cows are the source and raw material for many of the necessary items in their lives. I sat on her bed made from the hide of a cow. Her dirt floors were swept clean. I could see the faint rake marks in them. She offered me a drink of milk that had been fermented into a yogurt of sorts, not recognizable as Dannon.
More than these details, I recall her sense of inner peace, how she bragged about God’s ability to provide. She smiled brightly—revealing teeth that clearly had never been touched by a dentist—as she acknowledged how much prosperity she enjoyed. Had she been listening to the latest Tony Robbins tape? Or did she have riches that no accountant can measure that comforted her in a way that I knew nothing about?
Some are surprised that I comfortably sat in a house made of cow dung with my feet on a dirt floor. Many only know me by the sound bites they’ve heard about my success. You may see my life like someone who comes to the last few scenes of a movie, not having seen the beginning.
Jahi’s little shack didn’t look much different from the homes of some of my older relatives—for whom slavery was a recent memory and who swept and raked their dirt yards like the Kenyan woman did her floor.
I remember entering their homes on rickety steps beneath which canned preserves were stored. I recall that newspaper filled the holes of walls, blocking wind and even daylight from reaching inside. We did not have indoor plumbing either. We went down to the creek for water and to an outhouse rather than a bathroom. I know the humbling feeling of that experience in my own life.
It didn’t stop there. I know also what it is to have my car repossessed, my children drinking milk provided by WIC, to make a game with my boys out of feeling our way through the house when the electricity had been cut off for nonpayment. I know what it is to count someone else’s discards as my blessing and to do without altogether.
My visit with Jahi in a world where a goat is a luxury compelled me to revise my own definition of success and prosperity. I understood more than ever that prosperity is more than the trinkets of excess we use as icons of accomplishment and self-worth in our culture.
Prosperity is built upon progress, and progress is measured from the point at which we started. Many times in our culture we assume that we all compete on an equal playing field. That is simply not true.
As we were departing from Jahi’s house, just as we lifted into the air, the clouds broke and released thin sheets of rain. Clapping, dancing, and smiling was the response from the village below. Our pilot explained that the rains are a sign of prosperity and great blessing. I smiled to myself, considering how often in my world the rain is viewed as an inconvenience, something that deters people from traveling.
Too often the term prosperity gets hijacked to mean nothing more than an elusive state of temporary bliss and positive karma. Certain extremists in the faith-based community teach that faith is only a matter of dollars and cents. They quote scriptures that promise great wealth. They don’t emphasize the importance of a practical, pragmatic plan of a faith-with-works ethic, education, and economic empowerment.
Some among us manipulate Scripture to fit their own purposes and achieve personal gain. Others teach piety and asceticism and promote the idea that poverty should be worn as a badge of superiority, that it is somehow more godly to barely be able to feed your children than to be wealthy. This was and is the norm in some church communities.
My mother said that she studied by kerosene light, reading classroom assignments at the foot of a bed that she shared with five or six other children, all of whom walked miles each morning to attend school. Listen to her contemporaries reminisce and you’ll hear one trying to outdo the other telling how poor they were.
I was raised in West Virginia, the second-most-impoverished state in the nation. I’ve gone up in the hills and seen poor people who were just as arrogant as their counterparts in other places who owned the latest Lexus. I’ve preached in churches where men who wore ties were disregarded while those who wore coveralls were welcomed. And I’ve preached to congregations where the opposite attitude prevailed. The healthy state of mind is somewhere in between.
Reposition Yourself: Living Life Without Limits is meant to give you the tools to help you succeed and be prosperous.
Success equals good grades if you’re a student taking a mid-term exam. It is closing a deal if you’re a CEO. It is the purchase of a home if you’re a single mom now renting. It could also be a Mercedes to park in front of your condo or a donkey to ride to an open-air market.
I hope to also give you some tools for coping with people—and their numbers are great in our society—who have contempt for your success. America is one of the richest nations in the world and yet so many of its people feel disdain for the wealthy. Some also feel disdain for the poor. We think of ourselves as middle class and entitled to look down our noses both at someone we think is a welfare mother, and at someone we think is a designer-clad lady living in luxury. Neither attitude is justifiable.
God blesses His people—all of us. Faith is the substance of whatever it is that we hope for. The important thing is that we teach that faith is connected to good works and responsibility. Otherwise, when we teach that faith is all that is necessary, we teach a belief in magic. Isn’t it time for you to direct your hope toward building your dreams instead of waiting on your dreams to build themselves? As we look at various areas of your life, if you’re willing to reposition yourself, then truly the sky’s the limit!

one
The Courage to Confront—Facing Your Own Indifference

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
—John 8:32 (NIV)
In just a short time I will have been on Earth one half century. I’ve already started celebrating this benchmark. So many memories. When this milestone birthday came up recently in conversation, a friend asked me, “What words of wisdom have you garnered? What would you do differently and what would you say to those who feel that they only go around once and feel powerless to correct what may be perceived as less than glowing results?”
I thought before I answered and then said, “There is nothing worse than reaching the end of your life and wondering what could have happened, or should’ve happened, but somehow didn’t happen.” The sad memories of a lost opportunity have made many people bitter the rest of their lives. Often it is not the fatigue of the Olympic competitor that is debilitating as much as it is the feeling that if he had lunged farther, or pushed harder, he might have been holding the golden cup of victory as opposed to the bottled water of defeat.
None of us welcomes regret. We want to live to the fullest, spiritually, financially, and even relationally. Yet we often settle for less than the best life we could live. Lulled into sleep by a sense of apathetic compliance, we accept as limitations situations that could be transcended. Are you tired of living from paycheck to paycheck? Do you feel like you’re stuck in a job while wishing you had a career? Hold your breath while credit cards clear? Do you grow weary of those closest to you feeling as if they cannot get in touch with who you really are? No one knows but you the extent to which your public success masks private failures. Do you want more out of this next phase of life than what you have now?
Most of us do not want to wander aimlessly, taking life as it comes. We want to take charge of our destiny and see goals accomplished progressively, according to a plan. There are things in our lives that limit us.
You can only correct what you are willing to confront. Now, I have to admit, confrontation isn’t always something that I enjoy. But I have learned over the years to say what has to be said and face what has to be faced.
Many choose to live in a perpetual state of denial rather than do the hard work that is needed to confront issues, weaknesses, and inconsistencies in themselves and others.
Do you have the courage to face the dark, silently sinister enemy that may be lurking inside of you? Do you have the courage to confront yourself? Don’t worry, I am here with you. For the purpose of healing and not hiding, take a heart-to-heart look at some issues that may be stopping you from reaching your goals and living your life to the fullest. Things can turn out the way you want, if you’re willing to hear the truth.

Stop the Madness

Perhaps you’re familiar with the process known as intervention. Frequently used for cases of abuse of alcohol and drugs as well as for addictions to unhealthy behaviors, intervention is a valuable tool for helping the person who has destructive behavior see the patterns of his life and their effect on those around him. While an individual will deny the problem and resist assistance from friends and family who attempt to aid him one-on-one, the intervention brings the entire circle of key relationships abruptly into the addict’s presence, often using the element of surprise. Surrounded by those who know her best, the person is forced to look at her addictive or compulsive behavior and examine her life, perhaps facing the truth of it for the first time. As each person shares what she sees and feels about the deterioration of her relationships, it becomes next to impossible for her to deny the problem. Here are the people who love her the most, all sharing similar observations, concerns, and solutions for the problem that has taken over her life.
Interventions can be extremely effective in helping addicts accept help. When conducted in a spirit of love and encouragement, the intervention can save the life of the addict and reawaken her to a world filled with opportunities for health and wellness. It is simply amazing how love can win out over obsessions, addictions, and adversities. Love can be a tremendous deterrent to destructive behavior; it gives the individual the support she needs to change her life. Though the Bible says that love is as strong as death, it is stronger than debt, divorce, depression, or any obstacle.
This intervention will not consist of a normal group of teary-eyed, emotionally charged individuals. You’re likely not addicted to drugs, and not overtly destructive, but there has been an erosion of growth and wholesome abundance in your life. Today we are staging an intervention to get you out of this rut!
Who is joining us? We could certainly have your spouse or partner testify; they have witnessed the consequences of your apathy. Your kids could speak up as well. Perhaps your best friend. Your siblings. Your parents. Coworkers. Your pastor. Your apathy has affected each of them, dulling the edges of your talent and ambition and hiding the best parts of yourself from them. Many people in your immediate circle may be watching you live your life in ways that are far beneath your potential and character. Ask those people in your immediate circle what they’ve noticed and witnessed in your life.
But for now, imagine you just got home from work, and as you walk into the house, you unexpectedly find, sitting around the table, your friends who cared enough to come to this intervention to get your life out of the dismal realm of the ordinary and into the spectacular realm of extraordinary possibility thinking. Supposedly to support you, but more accurately, as we are about to see, silently enabling you. These friends today are confronting you. Are you ready?

The Distant Dreamer

Beads of perspiration appear on her forehead as Dee opens her mouth to speak. You know Dee. She is the dreamer who always stayed near you in the early years. She is like the voice in your car’s navigational system, the one who used to navigate your decisions. Lately, she has been quiet, silent, as you make wrong turn after wrong turn, delaying your arrivals and hindering your progress. But now, with a nervous edge, hating that she has been selected to be the icebreaker, with a parched throat and a crack in her voice, she begins the process:
“It’s been so painful to watch you settle for less and less in your life, working a job beneath your talents and capabilities, accepting the roles that others assign to you, giving up the creative pursuits that once fueled your ambition. I’m the part of you that longs to be all that you were created to be, the dreamer inside you who loves to look ahead and aim for the top.
“I remember so many big plans we had back in the beginning. We knew there would be obstacles, but we were young and had set our eyes on the stars. We were going to go beyond what you had growing up, to have a fuller, richer, more liberated existence. You had so much imagination and such a vision for where you were going and how you were going to get there. You could see yourself in your mind’s eye, growing, reaching, and attaining a life of satisfaction, contentment, and joy.”
It is obvious to the others waiting to speak that your walls of defense are as high and formidable as the walls of Jericho! Dee knows it, too. But with a strength that only comes when we finally share the truth, she releases her concerns. She now realizes that she should have said this to you years ago instead of silently letting you go this far off course.
“Do you know how hard it has been for me? I mean, I love you, and I hate to watch your life get harder and your ability to see the pinnacle that was once your destination and motivation seem to disappear in the daily fog of working, living, and then working some more.” Looking you in the eye for the first time, she continues: “I watched as your circumstances got tighter and choked the wind out of your lungs. Disappointments set in, followed by losses and realities that threatened your hopes for ever experiencing a different, better life that would allow you to be who you really are and live out your God-given purpose. Those around you did not encourage you. I tried to come around to nurture and support you, but you pushed me away, becoming more and more distant and detached.
“Instead of fighting to keep the fire inside you alive, you let the embers die by becoming addicted to a life without dreams, without hope.” Almost venting she continues, “After all I did for you. I brought you through the hard times. Don’t you remember? I was there when life was bad. Did you just forget all of that? You locked me up in the cellar of your soul and placed me on a starvation diet. All I hear from you is complaints about who ‘wasn’t there for you’ and who didn’t treat you right. But I was there,” Dee Dreamer continues.
“Or I would have been if you had let me! Over time you’ve become cynical and negative, subtly bitter and internally angry, looking for targets to blame—your parents, your lack of opportunities, your family. People don’t know it because you are masterful at covering up your true feelings. I know this is not the life we dreamed of for you when you were younger. This is not the love you wanted, the house and career you wanted. I know better than anyone sitting at this table how you dreamed of more than this. You were meant to be a high achiever. My God, you have gifts you aren’t even touching, much less using. This ordinariness doesn’t become you, and I had to say something today! It is beneath you and what you were created to be. Your answers, your power, is in your dreams!”
Reaching out to you with a...

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