The Secret of Success

From this straightforward example, we can see how God has placed unpleasant things alongside the pleasant things of life. Just as the rose bush, as well as having exquisite flowers, also has sharp thorns, so also is life composed of an amalgam of both pleasing and displeasing things. This is the way God has created the world. There is nothing we can do but fit in with this order of nature as laid down by Him. Much as we may try, it is impossible for us to have things in any other way. If you want to complain, you are sure to find plenty to complain about in life. But constantly complaining about things is surely a fruitless exercise. The intelligent thing to do is to forget the unpleasant things which are a part and parcel of life, bury grudges, and carry on seeking to fulfil your true purpose in life. The Law of Nature Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969) explained a certain fact of life in these words: "No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunnelled. No life ever grows until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined." (Harry Emerson Fosdick, Living Under Tension) There is but one law of nature, which applies to both animate and inanimate objects. It is that there is a price to be paid for every objective aimed at in life: without paying that price, nothing can be achieved. In this world one has to sink before one can rise; one has to resign oneself to loss before one can gain, to backwardness before one can advance; one has to be able to accept defeat before one can claim victory. The world in which man lives has been created by God, not by man himself. This may appear to be a simple fact, but it is one that man usually forgets in his everyday life. Since we are living in God's world, we have no alternative but to