Overcoming Life's Challenges with Relentless Resourcefulness
Like it or not, we face many challenges in life. That’s why you need a trait that can help you overcome them. The trait is being resourceful.

I learned about it when I read an essay by Paul Graham, the co-founder of Y Combinator, a startup incubator. In the essay, he wrote about the trait you need to succeed as a startup founder. He summed it up in just two words: relentlessly resourceful. You must become relentlessly resourceful to succeed as a startup founder.

Thinking about it, I believe that the trait is important not just for startup founders, but for everybody. We all face challenges in life, and being resourceful can help you overcome them.

What does it mean to be resourceful?

The dictionary defines resourceful as “having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties.” Based on that definition, there are two characteristics of being resourceful:

Quick. You quickly grasp the situation and make a decision. You are responsive to changing situations.
Clever. You find a clever way to overcome challenges. You find a creative solution instead of just doing what everyone else is doing.
So, how can we have these qualities?

I’m sure there are other ways, but here are some:

1. Keep an idea journal.

Keeping an idea journal is one of the most important things you can do to become resourceful. There are at least two benefits of doing this:

It helps you recall your ideas.
You can easily find the ideas you got months or even years ago. You won’t lose any of them.
It helps you get more ideas.
Why? Because by having a habit of recording ideas, you will become more attentive to ideas. You will spot ideas better than before.
Use the journal to record all your ideas, not just the ones related to your current challenge. An idea that might not seem useful now might become invaluable later.

2. Brainstorm.

When you are looking for a way to overcome a challenge, don’t try to come up with a perfect solution. Doing so might hinder you from coming up with anything at all.

Instead, just write down all the possible solutions you can think of. After you are done with that, then you can start evaluating the ideas to find the best one.

3. Take risks.

To do something creative, you may need to experiment with new things. That requires taking risks. Yes, you might fail. But there is a good chance that you will find a clever way to overcome your difficulties.

The willingness to take risks also helps you become quick. If you wait until everything is certain, then the opportunity might disappear.

4. Read diversely.

A good way to get creative ideas is to combine ideas from different fields. By reading diversely, you will have a cross-pollination of ideas going on in your mind. A new connection could form that gives you a novel solution to your challenge.

5. Meet different kinds of people.

The people you know can give you either the ideas or the resources you need. The more kinds of people you know, the higher the chance that you will find the right person.

6. Set constraints.

One way to push yourself to get clever ideas is to set constraints. For example: try giving yourself just three days to finish a task that normally would take a week. The constraint will push you to be creative.

***

I’m sure there are other ways to become resourceful. So I’d like to ask you:

What tips do you have for becoming resourceful?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

As seen on Lifeoptimizer.org

5 Reasons God allows Problems Comes our way even after Salvation


While old things had passed away and all things have become new, we must develop capacity to withstand in the evil day. The moment you became a Christian, you are set apart for God and the devil had sworn to keep pitching his tent against God and all that belongs to Him.

These are some of the reasons for the problems you are facing as a Christian. These 5 points are coined from Daddy Adeboye's book titled "Joseph - A study of Divine Faithfulness"

1. To test you faith - Your faith must be tested by problems. According to 1 Peter 1:6-7

New International Version

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

God wants to find out how solid your faith is. Nobody appreciate you in your crude form. We are all sent in crude form, we need to be refined over time to become useful in the hand of the Lord.

The above scripture talks about the refinement of gold which has to go through the heat of the furnace in order to start shining.

The house built on the sand and the house on the rock both seemingly looks solid until there comes a storm. It's storm that will show the difference. Just like gold, your faith in the heart will be refined to shine.

2. God may be preparing you for a blessing - Without examination, there can not be promotion. The trials or test of your faith is what birth your testimonies (test precedes testimonies).

God will not give you something pleasant until He found out you are reliable. No one uses any iron to build a bridge that trailers carrying many tonnes of good will move on. In the book of 1 Peter 3:14

New International Version

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[a]; do not be frightened

The main reason God placed you in Time is to become a problem solver. Do not be afraid of challenges, develop capacity to quench them. 1+1 can be a problem for the pupil of crenche, but not for someone already in secondary school.

3. To teach you Obedience - As Bishop David Oyedepo always says, obedience may be costly but the end result is priceless. As soon as God knows that you will obey Him, He will replace your suffering with blessings.

For example, a Christian with a weak prayer life can begin to pray when troubles looms. I am not advocating for this kind of attitude. We should always pray without ceasing. In order to solve problems that the world throws at us, we are sometimes compel to pray or to work hard. The Hebrew boys in Daniel chapter 2 prayed to solve the king's problem and they were promoted.

4. To make us Perfect - We are always striving towards perfection. When we are relaxed or comfortable in a present situation, we might not develop our full potentials. The book of Hebrews 2:10

21st Century King James Version

10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Hebrews 5:8-9

21st Century King James Version

8 though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.

9 And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all those who obey Him,

5. To bring out the diligence in us - Challenges can compel you to become diligence and diligent makes you to be richer and become a ruler. In Proverbs 10:4

21st Century King James Version

4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

Proverbs 12:24

21st Century King James Version

24 The hand of the diligent shall exercise rule, but the slothful shall be under tribute.

Proverbs 22:29

21st Century King James Version

29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before men of low estate.

All the above scripture shows us the power of diligence. Small money is okay for the poor man, but not quite for the rich man.

We need to pray for change in mindset so that we can see the giants in our promise land as breads for us.

OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026

OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026 MONDAY: BANISH UNBELIEF

OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026 MEMORISE: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, It ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done." Matthew 21:21

OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026 READ: Matthew 17:19-20

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EZRA 1-4

OPEN HEAVENS 18 MAY 2026 MESSAGE:
Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is living, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. Also, John 1:1-3 tells us that all things were created by the word of God. As powerful as God’s word is, however, when it is spoken in unbelief, it cannot be expected to produce results. In 1 John 4:4, it is written that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

God lives within you, and He is greater than every problem or challenge that
the world can throw your way. This is the absolute truth about you; you are above poverty and destruction because God’s power resides in you, and you can leverage it to subdue negative situations.

Despite this, unbelief can hinder the power of God from flowing through His word in your mouth. It is possible to be a Christian and be tormented by the
spirit of doubt and unbelief. What this spirit does is that it undermines the power of God’s word in your heart and makes you feel that the word of God is ordinary.

It also makes you begin to think that God’s word is not true, thereby filling your heart with uncertainty. If the spirit of doubt and unbelief is tormenting you, I pray that it will leave you right now, in Jesus’ name.

Jesus raised Jairus daughter in Mark 5:35-43 with His word. When He got to his house, He drove out those who were weeping and commanded the dead girl to arise. Peter followed the same pattern when God used him to raise Dorcas in Acts 9:36-42; he sent the mourners out of the house and commanded the dead woman to arise.

Beloved, there is no limit to what you can achieve when you proclaim God’s word in faith. As Jesus said in today’s Bible reading, nothing shall be impossible to you if you speak the word of God in faith without any doubt or unbelief. God wants you to believe His word and act upon it. He wants you to go to places where there are hopeless cases so He can show the world that there is still hope through you. He wants to use you mightily and shine His light through you so that He will be glorified (Matthew 5:16).

However, you must learn to trust in His word completely and proclaim it boldly over every situation you encounter. May you be a conduit of God’s mighty power everywhere you go henceforth, in Jesus’ name.

OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026 KEY POINT:

Doubt and unbelief undermine the power of God’s word, making it ineffective in a Christian’s mouth.



OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026 HYMN 3:

ANCIENT WORDS

1 Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God’s own heart
Oh, let the ancient words impart

Chorus:

Ancient words, ever true
Changing me and changing you
We have come with open hearts
Oh, let the ancient words impart

2 Words of life, words of hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where e’er we roam
Ancient words will guide us home

3 Holy words of our faith
Handed down to this age
Came to us through sacrifice
Oh, heed the faithful words of Christ

4 Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God’s own heart
Oh, let the ancient words impart

PRAYER POINTS ON OPEN HEAVEN 18 MAY 2026

BANISH UNBELIEF

Let Us Pray:

1 Father, I adore You for You are the word from the beginning, living, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Your word creates, sets free, and delivers to the uttermost.

2 ‎Father, please help me to deal with every bit of doubt in me, increase my faith in You and help me to speak the word in faith so it can produce the expected results, in Jesus’ name.

3 ‎Father, please help me to abide in You and let Your word live in me. Make me overcome every problem or challenge that the world may throw at me, in Jesus’ name

3 ‎Father, because You are greater in me than he that is in the world, I receive the truth of Your word that I am above poverty and destruction, and I subdue every negative situation around me, in Jesus’ name.

4 Father, I banish every unbelief in my life, please let nothing hinder Your power from flowing through Your word in my mouth, in Jesus’ name.

5 ‎Father, please deliver me from the torment by the spirit of doubt and unbelief. I believe Your word in my heart, for Your word is real and true, and I dismiss every uncertainty in my heart right now, in Jesus’ name.

6 ‎Father, I command anything that is hindering the manifestations of Your word in my life to vanish now, in Jesus’ name.

7 ‎Father, I speak increase into every area of my life; my portion on earth is good health and all-round prosperity, in Jesus’ name

8 ‎Father, through my life, please let it be evident to the world that there is still hope when we hold unto Your word, in Jesus’ name.

9 ‎Father, please use me mightily and let Your light shine through me, that Your name will be glorified, in Jesus’ name.

10 ‎Father, help me to trust You completely, and to proclaim Your word boldly over every situation I may encounter. Henceforth, please make me a conduit of Your mighty power, in Jesus’ name.

11 ‎Father, thank You for the life of Your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye.‎ Please make him a conduit of Your mighty power allthrough His lifetime, in Jesus’ name. Bless his children (biological and spiritual). Help him to continue to produce sons and daughters to Your glory, in Jesus name

12 Thank You, Lord, for everyone working in this community (RCCGONLINE.ORG). Lord, please bless all those who have been rebroadcasting these prayers and declarations; give them the grace to keep up with this good work of faith in the name of Jesus.

13 By faith, appreciate God for answered prayers. Your testimonies are undeniable in Jesus’ name.

14 Father, please let every challenge, hindrance, and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children timely and on a daily basis be removed, in Jesus’ name.

15 Submit yourself and your personal petitions to God. Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you (Philippians 4:6)

16 In Jesus’ name, I pray. (John 14:13–14; 15:16)

17 Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

#godblessournation

These prayers have no expiry date! Please join us in prayer, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus’. name.

Note: These prayers are spiritual and can only be understood and fully enjoyed by God’s children.

To fully benefit from these prayers, you must first accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior by saying this prayer:

Lord Jesus, I come before You today with a broken and contrite heart full of repentance. Please, forgive me for all my sins. Today, I surrender my life to You, I believe that Jesus is Lord and I confess it with my mouth. Jesus, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction. In Jesus’ name, I pray. AMEN!

If you participated in that 👆 life-changing prayer! Congratulations! we are so excited you surrendered your life to Jesus!

Bible in one minute

MR. CRITICAL
Once I led a man to the Lord who had a pretty rough background. After being born again, he joined our church and began criticizing everything. He criticized people for using soap because it wasn't natural. (He could have used a lot of soap too—he needed it!) He criticized people because they peeled their potatoes, and the skin was the most nutritious part. This guy just had an opinion about everything!
I didn't find out until later, but this fellow had been the first person ever indicted by the California Grand Jury three times before he was a teenager. He had lived in reformatories since the age of five. Because of all this, and growing up around so much strife, there was a tremendous amount of anger and resentment in him.
After a couple of months, he came to me one day and said,
"I'm leaving this church. I'm going back out into the desert because there's too much strife here."
I just got bold and told him, "Yes, there is strife in this church, but it's all coming from you. There wasn't any strife among the members until you came in here and started criticizing
everybody. You're the source of this strife!"
"Really? I didn't realize it."
"You didn't realize that when you criticize people over everything they do that they aren't going to like that?"\
This brother just sat down and began to tell me about his background. Then he said, "I guess I just didn't realize it was strife. I just thought it was normal." Then he continued, saying,
"If you were to tell me to act healed when I feel sick, I can do that because I've felt healed before. But when you're telling me to walk in love, I guess I don't know how to do that. I've
never felt love before." I had to take this guy and start teaching him through the life of Jesus what it's like to love people.
Some folks come from a background where screaming, yelling, and throwing things were normal. There are plenty of families like that, but it's not the way God wants us to be.
(James 3:16.)
Do you treat strangers better than your own family? Many people wouldn't dare to treat me the way that they treat their own children, yet they wonder, Why am I having these lousy kid!" scream at me, "Why haven't you done this yet?"
and see how our relationship gets along. If that's how you treat your family, you have a double standard.
When you blast your family members—the people you're supposed to love more than anybody else—it's no wonder you're dealing with rebellion, strife, and division. If you want
godly relationships, you have to start guarding your tongue.
You have to realize that you can't tolerate such strife. Satan comes in through the doors of envy and strife and works every evil work in your life.
Would you allow a poisonous snake to run loose in your house? If it got into the heating vent, perhaps you wouldn't see it for a week or two, but if you knew it was still lurking there,
somewhere, you'd probably say, "I don't care how long it takes, I am not going to live in a house with a dangerous, venomous viper on the loose!" It might not be an immediate
threat, but if you never knew just where it was... hunting.....
Strife is much more deadly than a poisonous snake! Along with envy, strife opens up an inroad for every evil work in your life. It's time you snap out of complacency and recognize that you're in a spiritual battle. You can't tolerate envy, strife, unforgiveness or any other negative emotion.
Some people look at pornographic images and think, Well, I'll never act that out. Every time you indulge your flesh, you are releasing spiritual powers into your life. As you give more and
more of a place to the devil, I guarantee that it will cost you something. Sin will take you further than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you
want to stay.
Every one of us is exposed to the forces of the kingdom of darkness each and every day. We aren't on R&R (rest and relaxation). We aren't in a secured area where our actions
don't really count. We're in a spiritual battle, with a real enemy who wants to take advantage of us any way he can.
God's Word says, "Neither give place to the devil," (Eph. 4:27).
You are the one who gives Satan inroads into your life. He takes whatever "place" you give him through your thoughts, words, emotions, and actions.
- Andrew wommack (Believers Authority)

Fruitfulness is productivity. Traffic leads to revenue. Until your productivity results in value creation. It is just physical exertion.

People are interested in the value that your product can provide. Consciously create the value and give yourself to the process.

People drops their money to eliminate or reduce a pain. Our job as entrepreneurs is to give ourselves to the process and inject vitality into once painful experience.

Keep creating

#productivity #solution #value

Jesus is more than enough