GRIT is Your Superpower by ACHUCKallen
John Wayne was one of America’s great actors and great Americans. He somehow seemed bigger than life, and that may have been a result of the fact that he was popular in the age before social media took over!
My two favorite John Wayne quotes are:
# 1 “Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.”
# 2 “Courage is being scared to death…but saddling up anyway.”
John Wayne won his only Oscar in 1969 for the movie “True Grit.” In the movie, 14 year-old Mattie says to Wayne’s character, Marshall Cogburn, ”They tell me you are a man with true grit.”
Angela Duckworth did her research on what seperated successful people in various high stress situations, from those that crumbled. After an extensive study, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn’t social intelligence. It wasn’t good looks, physical health, and it wasn’t IQ. It was grit.”
The best definition I’ve ever heard of grit is: “Grit is doing what you don’t want to do, to be what you want to be.”
If you want to succeed wildly, you need to develop grit. True grit or more properly put God-honoring GRIT is your super-power. And here is how you get that kind of grit.
Guard Your Heart
Proverbs 4:23-27 ”Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. [24] Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. [25] Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. [26] Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. [27] Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. …And just how are we going to do that? Let’s start with our emotions.
Reel in Your Emotions
A person with true grit will never give in to the list of following seven emotions. There is a difference between being attacked by these things and allowing them to take you over. The list includes: “anxiety, fear, doubt, guilt, depression, discouragement and jealousy” It is not mind over matter for the Follower of Christ. It is the continual applying of God’ Word to overcome your negative emotions.
Here are the seven.
Anxiety. Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Doubt. Mark 11:23 says:I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.
Guilt. Isaiah 43:25 “I-yes, I alone-will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
Depression. Psalm 40:1-2 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.
Discouragement. Deuteronomy 31:8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Jealousy. 1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
Tenacity What does the Bible have to say about tenacity? What does the Bible have to say about tenacity? Hebrews 10:36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
Amelia Earhart once said: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”
The strength of a person’s character. . .their grit and drive to success is determined by whether or not they can finish what they started.
Philippians 1:6 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
If God doesn’t change, and He doesn’t. If His word doesn’t change, and it doesn’t. If God’s promises remain the same, and they do. Then it’s pretty obvious: We need to change.
Acts 3:19 in The Living Bible says: “Now change your mind and attitude to God and turn to him so he can cleanse away your sins and send you wonderful times of refreshment from the presence of the Lord.”
But hear this,“faith is a fact, but you’ve got to act.” Life is full of people who talk about what they’re going to do someday. I have a friend who is one of the most creative people that I’ve ever met, but he has a totally unrealistic view of what it takes to make the things in his mind become a reality. Here’s a word of truth: A creation without implementation with never come to fruition.
Do you want to move from where you are to where God wants you to succeed? Then do something instead of talking about it. Take one step and let Him propel you thru the next 30!
When you read or listen to God’s Word, then simply obey and act on His Word. And when you do, God will bless you and reward you! This is True Grit!
This is how we push past pandemics, failures, market crashes and circumstances outside of our control. Go get your grit on!
CHUCK ALLEN Pastor · Speaker · Author · Coach
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