Week Eighteen, 2018
“Expect Adversity”
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
One of the certainties in this race of life is that we will face adversity. At any given time we are either going through adversity, recovering from adversity or about to go into adversity. It is a fact. As Job said , Yet, man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward (5:7).
Expect to encounter adversity in your life, remembering that we live in a deeply fallen world. Stop trying to find a way that circumvents difficulties. The main problem with an easy life is that it masks our need for Jesus.
Overcoming adversity is one of the biggest hurdles we face. As Havelock Ellis wrote, “Pain and death are part of life. To reject them is to reject life itself.” Problems, large and small, present themselves to us throughout our whole existence.
Problems, large and small, present themselves to us throughout our whole existence. Regardless of how sharp, clever, or happy-go-lucky we are, we will encounter struggle, challenges, difficulties and at times, heart wrenching moments. Is this meant to be a negative, cynical assessment of what we have to look forward to? Not at all!
In fact, thank goodness for adversity! Learning to deal with and overcoming adversity is what builds character and resilience. Every challenge and every difficulty we successfully confront in life serves to strengthen our will, confidence and ability to conquer future obstacles.
When we became a Christian, He infused His very life into us, empowering us to live on a supernatural plane by depending on Him.
Anticipate coming face to face with impossibilities: situations totally beyond your ability to handle. This awareness of your inadequacy is not something you should try to evade. It is precisely where He wants you—the best place to encounter Him in His glory and power.
When you see armies of problems marching toward you, cry out to Him! Allow Him to fight for you. Watch Him working on your behalf, as you rest in the shadow of His almighty presence.
Jesus came to bring identity to our struggles and understands more than we think He does about whatever we encounter in life. He came to bring glory to our weakness and cares for us far more than we can comprehend. He came to bring glory to our weakness and He can do far more than we realize.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
THE ATTENDANT
Thomas B. Wheeler, who served as CEO of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and his wife were driving along an interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low on gas. He got off the highway at the next exit and soon found a rundown gas station with just one gas pump. He asked the lone attendant to fill the tank and check the oil, then he went for a little walk around the station to stretch his legs.
As he was returning to the car, he noticed that the attendant and his wife were engaged in an animated conversation. The conversation stopped as he paid the attendant. But as he was getting back into the car, he saw the attendant wave and heard him say, “It was great talking to you.”
As they drove out of the station, Wheeler asked his wife if she knew the man. She readily admitted she did. They had gone to high school together and had dated steadily for about a year.
“Boy, were you lucky that I came along,” bragged Wheeler.
“If you had married him, you’d be the wife of a gas station attendant instead of the wife of a chief executive officer.”
“My dear,” replied his wife, “if I had married him, he’d be the chief executive officer and you’d be the gas station attendant.”
–o–
PORNOGRAPHY
• Every thirty minutes a porn film is made in the United States.
• The United States produces 89 percent of all pornographic websites.
• Every second 30,000 people are watching porn.
• 42.7 percent of all Internet users view porn.
• The average age of initial pornography exposure is just eleven.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
I have reached an age where often my train of thought leaves the station without me.
An encounter with the truth regarding what God is like as a Father brings incredible healing.
Ask God for forgiveness from your sins; Believe that Jesus Christ died for you and for your sins; Confess that you cannot do this alone and accept Jesus as the gift of forgiveness for your sins. Amen, and Amen!
So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. (Deuteronomy 31:6, NLT)
The highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity. These are the choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integrity without looking back, for there is never a wrong time to do the right thing.
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©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618