You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
That old cliche is used by people who do nothing, and don’t expect you to do anything. What they don’t realize is that you CAN teach an old dog, new tricks! It just takes a little patience and skill.
Wait a minute! I’m certainly much better than an old dog. I am a person, made in the image of God. Therefore, I’m learning something new — the French language. Better yet, YOU’RE certainly better than an old dog, and you can learn or do something new too, and be good at it.
Genesis 1:27-28
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
I’ve begun by watching a movie in French. My first inpression? What in the world are they saying? It really sounds like baby-talk. My brain seems to be scrambling. But, I’ll stick with it until I begin to recognize the words, because I expect to succeed at this goal.
One thing I must remember if I expect to succeed, I have to stick with it. I can’t sit around expecting to learn something without applying myself to the task. A person that thinks he’s going to learn a new language and then never applies himself to the learning of that language, is deceiving himself.
It’s like hope and faith. I can hope to learn the language all I want. But until I activate faith by watching the recording of a movie in French, or reading about the language, or in some way making an effort to start, I’ll never learn the language.
Now, the only reason I have for activating my faith is that I expect to succeed. I never enter a challenge that I don’t believe I can win. It may seem impossible, but that is what makes it a challenge. It is that thing that I can’t possibly do on my own. When I know that the only way it will get done is with God’s help, then it is a challenge. The great thing about it is that I can just do what I know to do, and let God do the rest, while I expect the best.
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