Today I experience something incredible. A large majority of my squad attended a gathering in Budapest, Hungary, to watch the Euro Cup 2016 Hungary verses Portugal futbol match (I’m not in the US, so it’s not soccer). I didn’t go with them. Being my own breed, I went to a local pub and had dinner by myself while watching the game. This is my idea of debrief relaxing.
First off, it was a draw 3-3. With Austria’s victory over Iceland, Hungary and Portugal advanced to the round of 16, Hungary to play Belgium and Portugal to play Croatia.
In the process of the game, Hungary had 10 chances on goal, and Portugal had 19 chances. That means Hungary made more out of their chances than Portugal did, even though they tied.
Here is the thought I had: It’s not about the number of chances, it’s about how you use them. If you only get one shot at scoring, you better make good use of it. The same applies to life. There is no guarantee of a second chance. You better make good use of the one chance you know you have. After that it’s up to God what he does with what you gave him. If you only give him 20% and he multiplies that effort by 10, only 200% impact is made. However, if you give full effort, God can make that into 1000% effort.
The excuses are also a part of the equation. Many of the attempts Portugal had were not close to the net. At least 90% of the time after the attempt was made, the Portuguese player would be on the ground “pretending” an injury, acting like he wasn’t offside, or blaming it on another person. Not once did a Hungarian player do any of these. They simply shook their heads, turned around, and got ready for the next play. They just seemed much more disciplined and willing to fight for a spot in the knockout round.
Life is just like that. When we make excuses, others around us start to see us differently. They see us as people who whine, complain, and don’t really want to make a difference. When we really work for something and it fails, we should simply pick up our heads, figure out what we did wrong, and try to fix it.
No matter what the situation is, our excuses only serve to turn people away from God, not toward him. Admitting we made mistakes and working to remedy the situations will show that we really do care to make a difference.
Make use of your chances. Don’t make excuses. Do all things for God.
#GodIsInControl #redefiningdisciple
#THIRD
