Twenty Eight Lessons I Learned From Being Alive For Twenty Eight Years

This post is not about me. It is about God and His glory. It is about what the Creator of this universe has been doing through His Son Jesus Christ, specifically in my life.

I love the way the psalmist lays out the purpose and plan of our life. He says that God leads us to green pastures. He leads us to still waters. He restores our soul. He leads us onto paths of righteousness. He does all of this for a very specific reason. All these things are accomplished exclusively for His glory to be displayed to the watching world. Here are twenty-eight lessons that I have learned from being alive for twenty-eight years:

1. The gospel of Jesus Christ is absolutely the most important news that you have to preach to yourself every single waking moment of your life.
2. Every single situation, season, issue, problem or conflict that I have ever dealt with or will deal with — has already found its solution and resolution at the foot of Jesus’ cross.
3. The relationship that I have with my wife is my most important relationship and my most enjoyable gift from God.
4. Having a relationship with your immediate family members is infinitely valuable and should be worked on at all times.
5. The greatest impact that can be positively made upon your character and growth will come from your parents. Treasure this and take their sound advice and counsel as much as possible.
6. Never ever take your parents for granted. I would do anything now just to have some tea or coffee with my father who is already with the Lord.
7. There is much more impact to be made when striving to make a difference rather than aspiring to make a point.
8. There are some hills that are absolutely not worth dying on. Avoid them at all costs and move on to things that actually matter.
9. The best thing that you can do for other people is to love them. People usually figure out pretty quickly how you feel about them – regardless of whether you told them or not.
10. The deepest spiritual valleys that you will go through will inevitably be those seasons that catapult your relationship with Jesus to a level you never even thought possible.
11. There is hardly a spiritual discipline more neglected that needs to be more prominently and vigorously practiced than prayer. Without a vital prayer life, it is impossible to lead a life of victory over sin and temptation. Fight for time you can spend in prayer, having close communion with Jesus.
12. Few things in life compare to the euphoric feeling of doing exactly what God has called you to do – in the specific place He would like for you to be at.
13. Most of the time, people do not really care how much you know until they know how much you care.
14. True friendships transcend personality defects and character flaws. True friends stick with you because they love you unconditionally.
15. It is absolutely foolish for people or systems to change expediently. This all takes an enormous amount of time and patience.
16. It is much wiser to listen more and to speak less.
17. Remaining teachable will always win more respect from people around you.
18. There is absolutely no reason you need to prove something to someone else when preferential and secondary matters are being discussed.
19. Some things in life are so confusing that you just have to trust a big God who will take care of it all in the end.
20. Sometimes, you do not need to know everything or have all the answers clearly bullet-pointed for you.
21. God is able to do for you infinitely more than you have every dreamed of.
22. God will shatter your dream so that He can replace it with His own. Let me tell you – it is much bigger, greater and monumentally advantageous for you in all respects.
23. The seminary experience was by far the most formative process that a young guy could ever go through. I never have regretted even for a single moment going through it. I wholeheartedly recommend this for every young guy out there — regardless of whether you will be involved in local church ministry or not.
24. If you want to grow exponentially in every single sphere of your life, you must have a mentor in your life that loves you, cares for you and will lay his life down for you. If you do not have someone like this in your life right now — pray that God would send someone to you — or better yet – go find a Godly mentor who would care for and watch out for your soul.
25. Do not ever take yourself too seriously. You are a mere human. Your every breath is controlled by God. Every time you feel your pulse, you need to be reminded of your mortality. This is both humbling and sobering at the same time.
26. It is much better to be known by what you are for, rather than be know what you are against.
27. Do not just dream about your life but strategically think about the legacy you would like to leave behind. When you die, do you want to fade away quickly or be someone who belongs in the hall of faith.
28. Failures are a part of your life but they in no way define your life. Your identity is firmly rooted in and found upon the solid rock, the cornerstone, the Chief Shepherd — Jesus the Christ.

I hope you were able to take some nuggets for yourself personally from my limited experience.

Question: What life lessons have you learned as of today that you could add to this list?