Adversity is a bridge to a deeper relationship with God. – Charles Stanley
Our experiences, here on Earth, can be used as great lessons when we give them to our heavenly Father. God will use each one of our challenges to teach us a greater truth, if we simply believe.
This is a quote from a colleague’s article, a pingback from one of my previous articles, and how wonderfully true it is: “Out of the overflow of our lives, we are able to pour into the lives of others. In this, we find the responsibility of prosperity is a privilege…”— I believe that this prosperity comes in many forms. Hard lessons learned can be shared with others, and in this, nothing is ever in vain.
The Journey
I’ve learned to live with very little through the years, also being given the privilege of having much. There were times when daily living seemed more than just a challenge. I was dependent for many things, and at times did not know if the light at the end of the tunnel was ever coming for me. The lessons learned were getting harder; but, I learned that no matter how much we may have, or how much we may lose, it is always better to give than to receive.
The enemy works diligently to take what he can in guaranteeing our future will not be a success. He’s not just after our joy, he’s aiming to steal our finances, our security, our peace, and more specifically, our hope. With no hope, we’re left with no purpose. We give up, we give in, and the consequences can be life-threatening.
Only when we can fully trust in the Lord, will we truly understand what His will is for our lives. We must gather together with other believers for this encouragement. We must continue to praise and worship to counteract these wiles of defeat.
Keep Kingdom Building
There is much work to do for the Kingdom of God on earth. I believe, He will put a passion in our hearts to drive us forward, no matter what our circumstances may be. Prayer is an exercise of our faith, and like any exercise, if you want a good outcome, or a lean body, you must be willing to make time for it.
In my book, The World, As We Know It, I use this example in demonstrating how our nation, our world, has developed what seems to be this spiritual atrophy. I explain that for lack of exercising our faith, by taking God out of our schools, our courtrooms, and so on, we are doing the very same. Many have given in and are losing hope, as a result of these relentless attacks against them.
Imagine if you stop moving or exercising, what do you think is going to happen? Your body is going to lose muscle, and given enough time, you will develop this atrophy. The enemy knows this, and like a wave of destruction, his aim is to wear us down, leaving us for dead, and with no will to keep going.
Watering Our Seeds
“Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly” (see Mark 8:25).
I pray that my eyes will always be open to this truth, and to all that He wants me to see. We must pray for hearts to be changed. We must show support to those who are struggling with helping to make the changes this world needs.
Matthew 9:37-38 states, “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’.”
You see, though the leaves on the tree do appear to be dark and dying, the root system is still very much alive. To gather for a healthy harvest, we’ve just got to keep watering our seeds.
