THIS SETBACK IS PREPARING US FOR A COME BACK! DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE THAT FAILED?
WHY? WHY? THORNS? BAGGAGE? I HAVE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP.
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes) (SEVERAL PART LESSON)
THIS LESSON IS GOING TO WORK ON THE PREMISE: SOMETIMES THE WORSE THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU IS THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED TO YOU. This obstacle is a disguised opportunity.
Psalm 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
LIFE’S HARDSHIPS ARE NOT “IF”… LIFE’S HARDSHIPS ARE “WHEN”… ADVERSITY BRINGS CORRECTION. YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS HARD, DIFFICULT TIME FOR A SEASON, FOR A REASON… THE ENEMY WILL TAKE THE TROUBLE YOU FACE AND KILL YOU. GOD CAN TAKE IT AND WILL MAKE THIS TRIAL A BLESSING… THIS TOO SHALL PASS…
Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
LET US START WITH A VALID CONCLUSION: Real life can cause us to face trouble head on… These strange twist cannot always be explained. Our enemy’s plan is to destroy our hope. There are many false teachings that suggest if we live close enough to God we will be exempt from ADVERSITY, TROUBLES AND HARDSHIPS. Let me assure you fiery furnaces, rains, floods and storms are a reality.
NOTHING CREATES A MORE DEEP SEATED ANXIETY THAN THE TEACHING WE ARE TO BE EXEMPT from problems. If you have a job there will be conflict. If you are married there will be battles to overcome. If you are faithful to church there will be trials and hurts to deal with. THRIVE WHEN YOU FACE DIFFICULT TRIALS…
WHY? WHY? I HAVE A THEORY I CALL THE VOLUME THEORY… GOD SAYS DO YOU HEAR ME? HAVE I GOT YOUR ATTENTION YET? IF WE REFUSE TO LISTEN, GOD TURNS THE VOLUME UP… LOUDER AND LOUDER UNTIL HE GETS OUR ATTENTION.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH MY FRIEND… IT’S JUST A BAD SEASON… THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A BAD LIFE. LET ME STATE A FACT: ADVERSITY IS THE WAY GOD GETS US TO LISTEN AND PAY ATTENTION. Life is full of all kinds of ADVERSITY… Depression? Trouble? Trials? Testing? Discouragement? Tribulation? Stress? Worry? Illness? Opposition? Hard adversity? All these fleshly issues can DRAIN OUR SPIRITUAL VICTORY!
TAKE MY WEAKNESSES AND FAILURES AWAY! NOW! 3 TIMES! GOD REMOVE THIS THORN RIGHT NOW! CAN I EMBRACE MY FAILURES AND FAULTS AS OPPORTUNITIES? THIS THORN IS A GREAT GIFT THAT WILL KILL ME OR DRIVE ME TO MY KNEES AND KEEP ME NEAR THE HEART OF GOD…
2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
WE ARE WALKING IN SEASONS. HARD SEASONS SEEM TO DIM OUR VISION. WE MUST NOT ALLOW DIFFICULT DAYS TO CAUSE US TO FORGET HOW BLESSED WE REALLY ARE. HOW ABOUT DECLARING: I AM TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED?
FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON… THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERY PURPOSE. THIS SET BACK IS A SET UP FOR VICTORIES AHEAD. (Ecclesiastes 3)
THE WORSE THING MIGHT BE THE BEST?… LIFE IS ABOUT BEING TESTED… THIS STORM IS AN OPPORTUNITY IN DISGUISE.
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
CAN THESE CONFLICTS AND PROBLEMS I AM FACING BE PART OF GOD’S PLANS FOR ME? ASK JOSEPH?
LIFE IS A TEST! PROBLEMS AND TRIALS ARE PART OF DAILY LIVING --- LEARN TO ENJOY LIVING WHILE LOOKING FOR THE PLAN FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION. GOD HELP US TO KNOW WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM!
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Today we might not understand how and where this piece of the puzzle is going to fit. But as the puzzle comes together, the picture becomes clearer, we will understand the BIGGER PICTURE. I am thinking I just don’t understand what is happening. May I suggest just take a deep breath and close your eyes. Then tell your heart GOD I TRUST YOU AND I KNOW GOD YOU HAVE A PURPOSE. God please help me BY FAITH I TRUST YOUR PLAN.
WILL I ALLOW MY CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES TO DEFINE ME IN A TIME OF TROUBLE? THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF ADVERSITIES WE FACE… 1. REJECTION FROM OTHERS. 2. SELF INFLICTED REJECTION. 3. REJECTION FROM OTHERS AND FROM YOURSELF. GOD USES SEASONS OF ADVERSITY TO STRETCH OUR FAITH.
Proverbs 24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
If we take the wrong attitude we see adversity and rejection in a bad light. REJECTION and ADVERSITY can bring disappointments and shortcomings as mean and cruel. Beware DESTRUCTION FOLLOWS THE TRAIL OF BITTERNESS, HATE, CRUSHING AND CRUEL STRESS.
LET US TALK ABOUT A GENUINE FAILURE THAT DID NOT QUIT? HAVE YOU EVER FELT LIKE YOU ARE A LOSER?
WHY HAS ALL THIS BAD STUFF HAPPENED TO ME? THIS REJECTION MUST MEAN I AM A FAILURE.
TODAY ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PRESIDENTS FROM HISTORY. FOR YEARS MANY SAW ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS A FAILURE.
Lincoln was born in absolute poverty. He lived in a one room log cabin. He had no formal education. At the age of 8 Abraham’s dad, Thomas Lincoln witnessed his father killed by the Indians. Nancy Lincoln, Abe’s mom died at 34 years of age. Lincoln was 9 years old.
Lincoln had so many setbacks…ABRAHAM LINCOLN was a captain in rank. His heart was broken in 1832 when he was stripped from his CAPTAIN RANK to be lowered to the rank of PRIVATE. The worse thing might become the best thing.
Lincoln lost his job in 1832. He ran for the Illinois state legislature in 1832 and lost. His business failed in 1833. His girlfriend, ANN RUTLEDGE died in 1835. Abe had a nervous breakdown in 1836. He married MARY TODD. 3 of his children died. EDWARD DIED AT 3. WILLIE DIED AT 11. TAD DIED AT 18. He often fought depression.
He was defeated as speaker in 1838. He was defeated for nomination for Congress in 1843. He was finally elected to Congress in 1846. He lost the nomination in 1848. He was rejected for land officer in 1849. He was defeated as Illinois Senator in 1854. He was defeated for nomination as vice president in 1856. He was defeated again for the US Senate in 1858. He ran for President of the USA in 1860 and finally won.
LINCOLN TAUGHT PEOPLE WE CAN FIND SUCCESS AFTER FAILURE… SUCCESS DOES NOT ALWAYS COME EASY. THROUGH IT ALL LINCOLN WAS AN OVERCOMES IN-SPITE OF ALL HIS FAILURES. LINCOLN NEVER GAVE UP! LINCOLN WAS A LIFE LONG LEARNER AND HE LEARNED FROM ALL HIS CRITICS AND HIS MANY MISTAKES. WHY DID ABRAHAM LINCOLN SUCCEED? HE NEVER GAVE UP AND HE NEVER LOOKED BACK. WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT STUMBLING BLOCK TO MANY, BECAME A LAUNCHING PAD TO HISTORY.
FAITH IS NOT RAISED IN FLOWER BEDS OF GREAT EASE. NOW FAITH WILL BE TESTED… GOD HAS GIVEN EACH PERSON A TOOL BOX… THE GREATEST TOOLS IN GOD’S BOX ARE SUFFERING, DISAPPONTMENTS, BEING REJECTED AND BEING
CAST DOWN… DO WE REALIZE THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING ETERNITY?
I beg your pardon, I never promised you a ROSE GARDEN. All sunshine makes deserts. Great faith is required when we have tried and still failed. Real faith reaches far beyond the problems and obstacles. SOMETIMES I DON’T GET THE ANSWER I PRAYED FOR… I GET THE ANSWER I DREADED. THERE CAN BE PEACE IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE.
OFTEN I HAVE FOUND THAT THE STUMBLING BLOCKS AND THE STEPPING STONES ARE THE SAME STONE. WILL I TRIP AND FALL AND BE CRUSHED? WILL MY FAITH AND ATTITUDES CAUSE ME TO FALL AWAY OR THIS ADVERSARIAL CIRCUMSTANCE CAN BE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW. BY FAITH I CAN BECOME A BETTER PERSON. THIS STORM HAS A PURPOSE!
James 1:2 (MSG) Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.
I was in high school. I had been a bus boy at the Flaming Pit. I quit that job for a new job working at KAY JEWELERS in Springfield, Illinois. I thought I had a permanent job. On January 3 I returned to the job that I really loved. The store was very quiet and somber. I stepped in the door to go to work and the manager pulled me aside and FIRED ME. He told me it was a temporary job through Christmas season. They had never mentioned this to me. I cried and cried. I drove around crying. I did not want to face my mom and dad, so I drove until my normal time to come home. In my heart I blamed the manager. I walked in the house and pretended? The next day I pretended to go to work. I did not want to disappoint my parents. I cried and cried. Finally I went home and told them: “I GOT FIRED.” They hugged me. My dad told me about getting fired at CROWN OVERALL in Cincinnati when he was my age. Dad said some of the best people in the world have been fired. They adapted and changed and became better people. Dad said: SON, I AM PROUD OF YOU. THE PEOPLE FROM FLAMING PIT CALLED TODAY AND ASKED IF YOU WOULD COME BACK AND THEY WOULD GIVE YOU A RAISE. Of course I loved where every kiss starts at Kays. I learned a deep lesson about failure as a FAITH STRETCHER.
SOME MIGHTY FINE AND FAMOUS PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN PAINFUL CONFLICT --- THEY LOST THEIR HOPE… BUT THIS PROBLEM IS A SET UP FOR A COME BACK.
SIR ISAAC NEWTON was the head of the family farm. His own mother fired him as she learned HOW MUCH HE HATED WORK. This was a terrible dark season to be fired by your own mother. Today Newton is not known for his failure. He is world famous. His set back was a SET UP THAT PUSHED HIM OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE. He is known for his discoveries in optics, Mathematics and CALCULUS. Newton found 3 laws of motion. Today Newton is known as a great genius. ISSAC NEWTON’S NAME WOULD HAVE BEEN LISTED AS A FARMER, unless something bad had happened to him.
I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU CHOOSE. OF COURSE YOUR FAITH AND LIFE WILL BE TESTED … BUT MY FRIEND GOD REWARDS THOSE THAT REFUSE TO BE DETERRED.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG) No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.
THE BATTLE OF LIFE IS WATCHING YOUR ATTITUDES AND WORDS IN SEASONS OF ADVERSITY. THIS “AIN’T BAD!”
THOMAS AVA EDISON ‘S mother was a great teacher and pushed him. He got a job as a news boy. Thomas got a job as a telegrapher. THOMAS ALVA EDISON got fired from his job because he accidentally spilled some strong acid on the floor. The acid soaked into the floor and ruined his boss’ desk. Edison’s laboratory burned to the ground and destroyed all his work. Edison tried over 6,000 filaments to make the light bulb work. 5,999 failures. Edison said I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that do not work. We don’t know Edison as a failure. Edison is known as one of the greatest inventors and businessman of all time. EDISON’S FAILURES AND IDEAS MAY HAVE SEEMED BOTCHED, BUT HE CREATED 1,093 PATENTS. Edison’s failures made him a success.
CONCLUSION: WE ARE LIVING IN PERILOUS TIMES. WE MUST LEARN TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS AND ENCOURAGE OUR SELF. THIS SEASON OF TRIALS CAN BE THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY YOU HAVE EVER KNOWN. YOU CAN MAKE IT! THIS SET BACK IS A SET UP FOR A MIRACLE.
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
