Character is formed in adversity, not in comfort. So when life gets tough, just believe. God is using every trial to prepare you for greater victories and greater purpose.
That you are a Christian believer, a born-again person, a favourite of God’s Kingdom does not mean that you are totally out of the enemy’s reach. Afflictions of all kinds may test you but cannot destroy you. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Also, in Luke 22:31–32, Jesus assures us He has prayed that our faith will not fail. This means there will be some factors or issues that will challenge your faith. This means that, as a Christian, what you are going through serves a useful purpose: to form and strengthen your character. Character doesn’t get strengthened in pleasure; it gets strengthened during adversity, during times of difficulty. When the going gets tough, that is the best time to strengthen character. You can only get a promotion after war.
The thing that keeps us from despair is not what we see but what we believe. In other words, the thing that keeps us from losing hope is not what we see but what we can’t see and yet believe all the same. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. For a long time, our faith has been focused on what man can do. For many, their faith is always about the experience of man.
If you base your faith on the experience of man, you will never grow. We have different beginnings and different ends, and that is why we have different routes. Even if you have the same achievements, vision, and goals, what you will go through will be different from what I am destined to go through. How do we get to our destination? How do we become men of authority in our field? Authority comes from God, and He will take you through different routes to get there. This makes the route to your destiny difficult. Once you realise you are taking a different route from every other person, you will start to rely on God.
People of God, faith is related to two realities: God and His Word. Faith lifts us above the realm of our own abilities and makes God’s possibilities available to us. Faith connects us to two unseen realities—God and His Word. As we maintain a relationship with God through faith, we are enabled to endure and overcome the tests and hardships that confront us in our daily lives. These, in turn, become opportunities for God to reveal His goodness and glory. People of God, because you believe, the goodness and mercy of God are yours. Remember that, for those whose lives are centred on Jesus Christ, the best is always yet to come.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit all my pain and suffering into Your able hands. Come and help me to walk through them and strengthen my faith in You only. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.