“You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down.” ~ Charlie Chaplin
If anyone had a reason to give up early in life, it would have been Chaplin. Chaplin grew up in London and spent his childhood in severe poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother had a hard time making ends meet. Chaplin was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine. When Chaplin was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Yet, in the midst of all this struggle, Chaplin took to performing in all sorts of venues, eventually writing his own material and his own music as well as directing his many films.
If we focus on the negative things in our lives — and there are many, to be sure — we might be tempted to give up. However, no matter how low we might feel, God has placed something in each and every one of us that has the opportunity to shine. Tapping that gift of God can make all the difference in the world to our lives and our well-being.
There might be many people who point out our faults and failures. We cannot allow them to affect us because there is one — the Lord — who points out all that is good and wholesome in us. He knows it because He is the one who gave it to us. Don’t concentrate on the faults and failures that we have accumulated. Instead, concentrate on the gift given to us by God and develop it as best you can so that you can shine.
Chaplin did not give up. His life was often in disarray. He was even forced out of the United States later in his life and ended up living in Switzerland. But he didn’t allow negativity to bring him down or extinguish his creativity. Don’t let negativity bring you down either.
FAITH ACTION: Let not your past mistakes or failures hinder you from looking to the Lord and striving to do want He wants of you.