Wednesday, January 01, 2025
Comfort is the enemy of progress
I look back at the years of isolation I faced; the years when all I had was taken away, my career, my finances, my dreams and aspirations. It didn’t feel good, and it wasn’t easy. But if you can endure, push through it, that’s when all blessings are born. For those are the periods when character and strength are developed, elements needed for blessings to sustain in your life.
Isolation is the preparation that God uses to prepare you for the breakthroughs. Now looking back I see that the time of isolation was indeed necessary. A seed cannot grow if it is surrounded by weeds and poor soil. Likewise God had to isolate me from all the distractions, for me to reflect inwards, to recalibrate, to realign, and grow into my potential.
Think of all the leaders, the captain of industries and the trailblazers like Elon Musk. They too faced ridicule, isolation, loneliness and had moments of doubt and setbacks. Nelson Mandela and Anwar even spent decades in jail before becoming prime minister of their countries. They didn’t let it break them. Instead they channeled the pain as fuel for renewal and grew in silence.
I told myself that I am not going to be a person who succumbs to fear and doubts in the midst of uncertainty, and nor should you. I had to trust the process of preparation that isolation brings and come out of it stronger and now I can say “I am ready”. I am going to be unstoppable. I am ready for my blessing. The blessings of God are only for those who can handle it, and now I am ready. Looking back I wasn’t isolated, I was incubating.
The years of pain forces me to grow, forces me to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Comfort never leads to greatness. Comfort is the enemy of progress. Many people want to level up but fear changes and what is unfamiliar to them. It is the difficult moments, the challenges, the struggles that are the genesis of breakthroughs. God is saying “please conquer your inner battles, slay your inner demons and recalibrate your heart” for when you step into your blessings you have to be ready to own it, and not be owned by it. God does not want material things to own me and cause me to fall morally.
Yes you have to earn the ability to own it, to keep it, multiply it and to share it. It is not a gift given to someone who hasn’t earned it. From writing as a hobby, I developed into a writer of many books – on health topics, Christianity and inspirational. From someone who didn’t know why I landed in medical school to a consultant to several health outfits.
I am still progressing. My Chinese language is poor and I can’t quickly read the reports churned out by a health monitoring machine to consult my patients. But I will improve by the hour, by the day. I am currently self-learning Chinese up to 4 hours a day. I am even preparing to emulate my University modules in Chinese and to be able to deliver it in Chinese in 6 months. It is a tough call, but if there is anyone that can evolve in such a short time, I tell myself it must be me. The breakthrough blessings is bestowed to those who are willing to fight, to endure, who persist, and for those who know all that is happening has a higher purpose. I will soon stand tall in all I do. I am willing to sacrifice for the blessing is not in what I get, but in what I become in the process. I will be a multi-lingual, international teacher, lecturer, preacher, businessman and inspirational speaker.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, nor what I went through. I had faced my crisis head on- the banks, the creditors, the legal suits. Pain is the fuel to power me to the next level. What I write is experiential and not theory. I am being prepared not just to change my life but those around me. You too! You are being prepared to build a legacy. Legacies are not built by people who take the easy road, not those who are unwilling to leave their comfort zone. They are built by people who face adversities head on, calls a spade a spade, accepts failure as a failure, and who rise up when the world knocks them down.
I know God is preparing me for more than I can imagine. That’s what the bible says in Ephesians 3:20. He prepares your mind, your heart, your strength and your character to receive the blessings. You will surely need it. The character to handle success, the wisdom to stay grounded, the vision to keep pushing forward and the courage to lead others. If you don’t grow, if you don’t go through the process you won’t be able to handle what is coming. And what is coming is big. God doesn't do things half cooked. His blessings when it comes is huge, as big as you have been prepared to handle them.
Isolation has created a warrior in me. With clarity of purpose, every step I take will be impactful. I have let go of all my fears and my doubts. Imagine a general in the battle field who is double-minded, and unsure. His battalion will lack confidence and the battle is already half lost. When God has prepared you, you will be sure footed and unstoppable. Your enemies will fear you as they know you are prepared and calculated.
I am building a future that I dreamed. Every moment of shame in the past, isolation, setback, every struggle was part of a bigger plan that God used to prepare me. I was not held back, I was being prepared. My dreams are too big to be given to me when I was not ready. But I am ready now.
Every setback is an opportunity to learn.
Every roadblock is an opportunity to innovate
Every moment of doubt is an opportunity to prove that I am stronger than anything that life can throw at me.
I am sure the destination God has for me is amazing, but it’s the journey that transforms me, inspire others and makes me unstoppable.
Happy New Year
Victor Chen.
