Doug Creamer: Keys to success

Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 2, 2025

By Doug Creamer

I love my part-time job helping students earn their high school equivalency. We have students from all kinds of different backgrounds who are finding success in our program. My boss believes in a teamwork approach to accomplish our goals. Most days after we finish teaching, my colleague and boss will discuss our students and how they are doing. We will share ideas on how to help our students move along and discover success.

One of the most important keys is being committed. Students who engage in class and at home will find success. Simple things like reviewing notes, doing some homework, practicing skills and reading on their own helps them find success. Commitment means you will be present in class and engaged with the lesson. Success comes when students apply themselves.

Don’t think there won’t be any bumps, falls or failures along the way. Failing does not mean you are a failure. Using the data from a failed attempt can guide a student to success. It is hard when a student hits a hiccup along the way. We are there to help them up, help brush them off, and then help them discover what they need to succeed. Students can’t taste the sweetness of success if they stay on the ground. Success requires getting up and moving forward. I know because I have seen it.

Success is available to everyone. I told my students the other day that a brick wall is not meant to stop them, it is there to determine how bad they want it. Success costs you something. Some students make a decision: I am going to be done by this date. I have seen over and over again most students are done by that date or very soon afterwards. There is nothing like the joy we feel when students cross the finish line…both students and teachers. Success also breeds success. When one student crosses the line, others want to join them in their success.

The same keys can apply to our spiritual lives. Spiritual growth requires effort. You can’t grow muscles if you don’t lift weights. You have to do the work if you want to find success. If all you do is go to church on Sunday and never say a prayer or read your Bible from one Sunday until the next, how can you expect to grow? Growth and change in your spiritual life requires effort. The question becomes, how devoted are you to seeing spiritual growth in your life?

If you want to taste success, you are going to have to work at it. The first step is to realize that you are in a relationship with the living God. Any good relationship requires time and effort. If you never speak to your spouse, you won’t be married for long. Connecting with God requires the effort of prayer and listening. Listening requires finding a quiet place where you can hear Him because He speaks to you in a whisper.

Did you exchange love letters when you were dating? I remember getting letters from my sweetheart and reading them over and over again. If we applied that enthusiasm to reading God’s Word, His love letter to us, imagine the growth and success we would achieve in our spiritual lives. How are you going to learn about God if you don’t read the Good Book? It’s filled with His promises to you. He expressed His love for you. He has solutions for your problems hidden in His Word. The only way to grow your faith and your relationship with God is by being in His Word.

I think another important key is being in fellowship with other believers. The Christian walk is difficult and we need each other to make it to the end. We will all fall down and even fail in our walks at times. That’s when it is critical to lean on each other to lift each other up when we fall or even fail. Giving comfort, grace, and love to each other is a vital role we all play.

I want to encourage you to take the steps to grow your faith in God. Connect with one another so you can encourage each other. Read and even memorize God’s Word so you will know His promises to you and learn to depend on them and Him. Have a conversation with God, which means you pray and listen. God really does talk with us if we will listen. Taking these steps will help you build your faith and trust in God and lead you to a successful Christian walk.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com.

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