From Adversity to Destiny

Sometimes I don’t want to hear the truths the Lord speaks to me. I want my life to be easy and simple. That is not the path He chooses for us. If we lived without adversity, we would have little desire to learn, grow and become the person He has destine us to be. The Lord will not give us more than we can handle. 1 Cor 10:13 ‘No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’

In order to grow, we must be stretched. Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, “Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” I have found that to be an absolute truth. Our program has grown in leaps and bounds over the last year. The biggest single change was moving from standard definition to high definition. That was huge and expanded our program significantly. I could not imagine ever going back to where we were.

At the beginning of this year, I did not think we’d be able to build a second unit. The task seemed to big for our abilities. Through faith and His guidance we built the 2nd unit. There is more on the horizon too…it boggles the mind what He is showing me. He has stretched all of us at MMTV. Each crew member is doing more today than they originally thought possible when the year started. That was only possible by trusting the Lord.

What is He asking you to do today? Will it take faith and guidance from Him? If so, you can be assured He will be faithful to see you through. My only word of advise, remember His ways are not our ways.

Blessings

From Adversity to Destiny
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position” (James 1:9).

Most of us avoid pain. We keep our medicine cabinets loaded with pain relievers. We couldn’t imagine major surgery without an anesthetic. We are so averse to pain that we think God must desire that we will experience pain-free lives. After all, a loving God surely wouldn’t want us to suffer pain, would He? Although God takes no pleasure in our pain, we have to acknowledge that He sometimes allows painful circumstances to occur in our lives in order to shape us and make us more like Christ. Sometimes our times of despair turn out to be a much needed light into our soul.

I once came across the following poem written by an anonymous Confederate soldier, a devout young man who fought in the American Civil War. The lines of this poem express the soul of a man who has learned to view his times of adversity from a different perspective:
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men, most richly blessed.*

Do we trust God to lead us even though we can’t see the pathway in front of us? Do we trust Him to be all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful? Do we believe He does all things well? As Paul wrote, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). That’s why God leads us through the dark places.

Only in the darkness do we learn to walk by faith.