Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)
My EagleLaunch-Thought For The Week, “Winners use the past to grow from, the future to grow towards and the present to grow,” came to me this morning as I was preparing for another big week in my “retirement” life. I am as busy and growing more today as I’ve ever been and I’m loving every minute of it.Â
I learned many years ago that life is about growth and if you aren’t growing and improving, you are losing in the game of life.  As indicated in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah, God created us to have hope and a future, to grow and be winners.  Winning has nothing to do with age, health, prestige, reputation, money, looks or “things,” winning is about improving and growing a day at a time.  As we continue to grow we continue to win.  Â
My pains of my past when I lived the life of a loser (dependent upon other people, places and things for my happiness…most notably drugs and alcohol) continue to help me grow today. My goals and plans for tomorrow motivate me to grow today. So in essence, if we choose to learn and grow from our past, while choosing to grow towards our goals for the future; growing and winning in the present becomes a natural “God-given” by-product.  Let me simplify…Growing from past experiences and growing towards future hopes and dreams, gives us no choice but to grow in the here and now. God’s amazing ways continue to amaze me.
Another thing to keep in mind; God gave us a memory and an imagination so we can grow and prosper and become everything he wants us to be (i.e. winners). When our memory of the past and our imagination for the future is paralyzed by fear and manifests itself through guilt, shame, resentments, laziness, procrastination, addictions, gluttony, control issues, etc… we are unable to be everything God wired us to be and this is right where the devil likes us to stay. Â
So what is the magic formula? How do you let the past and future (memory and imagination) shape a “winning” today? It is pretty simple and it all begins by declaring yourself a “loser” to God by surrendering your will to Him the first thing every single day.  If you believe the Bible is God’s word, then why wouldn’t you want to take a chance on it being the truth? Jeremiah 29:11 is proof enough to me that the Father of all of us wants us to prosper. A life fueled by God is a life destined for growth and winning, whereas a life fueled by self is destined for continuous struggles and ongoing losing.Â
…and, oh yeah, a life fueled by God is also a life destined to live eternally…now that is a future worth living for.
(If you are scratching your head and wondering how we can have a God who wants us to win and prosper, also let bad things happen to friends and family, please check out my August 28, 2010 blog “Why Bad Things Happen.”)Â Our finite thinking often takes away our ability to understand a God with infinite, wisdom, mercy and strength.
P.E.A.C.E.
