Prov. 24:16 - "For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,..."
A study of Proverbs will reveal the way to overcome adversity is to get back up after you have had your encounter with adversity.
It may have been an illness, a medical set back such as a torn ACL, a rejection of your resume, failure to accomplish a set goal, a divorce or the death of a loved one. There are thousands of ways to get knocked down but if we intend on overcoming adversity we must get back up and re-enter the race. We must get back up on our own two feet and start again.
For some, it would be a conversation with someone that you respect, or watching a movie or reading about other people who overcame adversities. Are you one that is able to motivate yourself? Or are you the kind who will graciously allow others to help motivate you? It doesn't matter which method works for you. What matters is in order to overcome adversity you will get back up and move forward with another plan and a new head full of ideas.
Every time you get knocked down by life you get back up on your feet and start all over again.
I always ask myself "What". What can I learn from this trial? I then write down the things that I can learn and allow these to help motivate me positively to keep moving forward to accomplish my goal. If you ask "Why" you may never be able to determine if the answers you come up with are true. If you're knocked down get back up and you'll be glad you did. If you meet some events that knock you down in life then plan on getting back up and re-engaging. This is the correct way to overcome adversity. Think On These: The difficulties of life are to make us better - not bitter. Say what you will about trouble; it always gives us something to talk about. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Job 1:12 - Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.
Job 2:4-6 Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. "However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face." So the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life." NASU
Job 1:8-11 - The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face." At different stages of our life, we can be sure God's adversary (satan) will want to inflict some type of suffering into our lives. In the case of Job, we can see his sufferings were financial, family, religious, marital and health. They all came upon him immediately and without any warning signs. I studied the book of Job a few years back and arrived at numerous conclusions but the one that sticks with me the most is this: Job suffered because the LORD had faith in him. The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job?..."
Yeah, I didn't think so. It isn't generally my first thought either. BUT, it is true. The LORD has faith in us. He has given us His Word which is able to strengthen us to endure any temptation. Here is how the apostle Paul penned it down: 1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. God has faith in us. Any temptation we face has been faced by others before us. God also makes us two promises, the first promise is He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear and the second promise is He will provide us a way of escape in order for us to endure the temptation. Therefore, when you find yourself suffering or being tempted, keep looking for the way to escape. It is there. You must remain calm and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you God's plan of escape for you. Think About This: A person falls into temptation because he is unwilling to stand up against it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Rom. 8:18 - "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." NASU
We all are going to suffer in this world. We may suffer physically, mentally, or emotionally, but we will all suffer in some way. It really doesn't matter how we suffer. What matters is how we deal with our sufferings when they come. The way I picture this scene is this way: first visualize a set of scales. On the one side we place all of our present sufferings and on the other side you place your future glory of being in Heaven. KABOOM! The side with your future glory being much heavier immediately forces the pan down and your sufferings go flying off of the other side. Paul is basically saying that, our present sufferings in this life are not worthy to be compared with our future eternal glory in heaven. When you suffer please remember to compare your sufferings with your future reward of being in God's glory, Heaven. The apostle John said it this way: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." Revel. 21:1-4 NASU
On the other hand with God our glory is eternal. There will be no end to our glory. It is a no brainer. When you are suffering compare them to eternal glory with God in Heaven. There really is no comparison. Think On These: People always get into trouble when they think they can handle their lives without God. God isn't just a present help in time of trouble, but a great help in keeping us out of trouble. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word 2 Kings 6:5 - "As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water."Oh no, my lord!" he cried out. "It was borrowed!"
Can we prevent a crisis from barging into our lives? I believe the answer is "yes". We can avoid some but not all of them. If you are like me you can think back on some of your past crises and had you listened to the advice you were given by parents, friends, or spouse you could have avoided some of them. There is no way we will avoid all crisis situations.
We have an American phrase "going postal". This phrase was first coined after a mass killing in Edmond, OK in 1986 at a Post Office building. There a postal worker had been reprimanded the day before and thought he was going to be terminated the next day. When he went to work the next day he killed 14 people and wounded 6 others. Then he committed suicide. He not only didn’t know how to cope with a crisis in his own life, but he put numerous families into a crisis situation because of his actions.
If you are in a crisis right now maybe this Pump Up will help you through it.
When someone tells us to "Be Patient" they are actually saying "Learn to cope with your crisis". The next time you find yourself in a crisis remember this - there are no insignificant ones. Next, ask yourself, "How can I cope with this?" Can I figure this out on my own, should I confide in a friend or should I seek professional help? Proverbs 15:22 says, "Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success." NLT Second, they can illuminate us. The crises we find ourselves in can open our eyes to see things as we've never seen them. What crisis can you look back on and say honestly, "Yeah, I am glad I went through it. It has made me a better person." Now not all crises will have this effect but I would say more will than won't. I remember a man telling me one time, "What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." I really didn't want to hear that then, but he was correct. Think About This: See your crisis as a liberation, not an incarceration. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Jonah 1:17 - "…And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights." NASU
The reason Jonah was swallowed by a great fish was his disobedience to God. Jonah 1:1-3 - The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach and Jonah wanted no part of that assignment. He didn't want to do what God wanted him to do. Plain and Simple! Are you in your present situation because you haven't done what God has asked you to do? You must answer this question truthfully. Are you in your present situation because you have disobeyed God?
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said, "I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. 3 "For You had cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. 4 "So I said, 'I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.' PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! When Jonah was in distress he called out to the LORD, and the LORD answered him. Be open and honest with the Lord. Tell Him you have messed up and would like another chance to correct this situation. God is a loving and forgiving God. All great parents love their children and sometimes we have to correct them. God is correcting Jonah's actions of disobedience. Exactly the way parents correct their children's acts of disobedience. Now I don't believe in child abuse, but I can tell you I had my butt beat numerous times by both of my parents when I was younger. I may not have enjoyed it at the time, but as I sit here and write this Pump Up I know I was spanked because my parents loved me. Jonah was in the belly of a great fish because God loved him and God loved the people of Nineveh. God wanted the people of Nineveh to have the opportunity to repent of their sinfulness and this is exactly what they did once Jonah went there and preached to them.
If you are doing what God wants and you still find yourself swallowed up by life then there is only one possible conclusion. You are being attacked by the evil one for living a life according to God's Word. You endure this attack and God will give you the victory. Think About This: A good example has twice the value of good advice. God's main problem with the laborers in His vineyard is absenteeism. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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