January 29, 2025 • 9 mins
Life’s challenges are not meant to break us but to shape us. In this episode, we’ll explore how God uses difficult seasons to strengthen our faith, refine our character, and draw us closer to Him. With biblical insights and real-life examples, we’ll uncover the hidden blessings in trials and learn how to trust God’s process for our spiritual growth. Tune in and be encouraged—your struggles have a divine purpose!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
When the Lord allows you to go through tough times,
when he allows you to face certain obstacles, he is
refining you. He's molding you and shaping you in his
divine plan. He knows that this situation will build your character.
(00:41):
He knows that this situation will build your faith. The
situation will actually build your prayer life. The Bible says,
many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord
delivers him out of them. All troubles can be a
blessed for believers. I know it sounds like an oxymoron,
(01:04):
so let me explain. What I mean by this is
that the Lord can sometimes use our troubles to remind
us that he's a deliverer. Yes, God can allow you
to face a storm just so that you will draw
closer to Him, so that you'll know Him as your
hope and your rescue. Consider this. In Psalm one nineteen,
(01:28):
verse seventy one, the Bible says, it is good for
me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn
your statutes. Now, have you ever thought how and why
it would be good for you to be afflicted? How
is there any good for you to go through pain?
What good could come through trouble. Now, if you could
(01:50):
draw your attention to Acts fourteen, verses twenty one and
twenty two the Bible reads. And when they had preached
the Gospel to that city and made many disciples, they
returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of
the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying,
(02:13):
we must, through many tribulations, enter the Kingdom of God. Now,
just ponder for a moment. Could it be that afflictions,
although unpleasant, although they are uncomfortable, could it be that
the afflictions are necessary for the Christian man or woman
(02:33):
to grow in Christ. If Joseph hadn't been rejected by
his brothers, if he hadn't been sold as a slave,
would he have known that God would lift him up
to become one of the most powerful men in Egypt.
If the woman with the issue of blood hadn't suffered
(02:54):
for so long, would she have known that God is
a healer. If a man named Barti Maeus wasn't blind,
would he have known that God could give sight? You see,
all these people had troubles, but that trouble was a
(03:14):
blessing because it's their issue that allowed them to experience
God's power. And the thing is with some of us,
it is that it takes trouble, It takes a tough
situation to finally get us on our knees to pray.
Some of us need a trial, We need to be
(03:36):
put in a tough place in order to desperately seek
the Lord. Sure it hurts when those troubles come, but
when we keep an eternal perspective, we can say, like
Paul said, that the troubles I face, no matter how difficult,
no matter how overbearing they may seem at the time,
(03:58):
they are in fact light because they are only for
a short while, and because they lead to the glories
of heaven. You see, God is faithful to empower you
to stand strong and victorious and not to be defeated.
And so I have one simple message today, and that
is because Jesus was victorious over Satan, you too can
(04:23):
walk in victory. You can have faith to stand against
Satan's attack. And when you don't have to be defeated,
you don't have to be oppressed. So how then do
we live a victorious life? How can we battle against
the raging current and realize the peace and victory that
(04:45):
God wants us to have well. As Christians, we have
to come to a point of realization that there is
a battle that's going on for our soul. But God
has already provided the path to our ultimate victory his
grace and through his mercy. We are overcomers. We are
(05:05):
more than conquerors. And one of the main principles that
we need to understand is that in order to receive
the victory from God, we need to understand that He's
already won. He has already defeated every enemy, every devil,
every challenge, and every demon. Saints, God has already won.
(05:30):
The battle, has already been fought, and He has already
won the victory for us. If we could only understand that,
then we'll experience true power and real victory in our lives. Saints,
we overcome through Jesus, and yes it may be a
(05:53):
tough battle at times, but we know that the Lord
told us to take up our cross and follow him.
As we do this, we will walk in victory. It
doesn't mean that will never be persecuted, oh we will,
but we will overcome. It doesn't mean that we'll never
(06:14):
experience setbacks. Setbacks will come, but in Jesus, we will overcome.
I love that. Psalm ninety one, verses nine through eleven say,
because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, the
most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be
(06:35):
allowed to befall you. No plague come near your tent,
for He will command his angels concerning you to guard
you in all your ways. Now let us pray, Father, God,
you are a righteous and faithful God. Your word in
(06:56):
Proverbs twenty nine, verse twenty five says the fear of
man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord
shall be safe, meaning that fearing people is a dangerous trap.
But trusting you, my Lord, means safety. Trusting you that
(07:17):
means preservation. It means protection. Help me never to place
my faith or my trust in man. Lord, Help me
never to trust even in myself. But I desire to
be given completely to you, King Jesus, to trusting you,
(07:38):
placing all of my hope and faith in you. I
pray just as your word in Psalm seventeen, verse seven says,
show me the wonders of your great love, You who
save by your right hand those who take refuge in
you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of
(07:58):
your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Lord.
May I see your hand working in my life. May
I see the wonders of your great love. And I
pray that you will hide me in the shadow of
your wings. My Lord Father, Where else can we find
protection but in you? Where else can we find safety
(08:20):
but in your presence. There is nowhere else and no
one else who can offer peace beyond understanding, nobody but you,
my Lord. I come before your presence with sincere thanks,
sincere thanks for your protection over my life and my family.
And Lord, I'm grateful. I'm grateful for you many promises
(08:43):
of preservation and safety. I pray today for your presence
to always be found resident in my heart and even
in my homes. I pray that I may be filled
with the Holy Spirit and experience the power you spoke
of you said in John fourteen, verse twelve. Most assuredly,
(09:04):
I say to you, he who believes in me, the
works that I do, he will do also, and greater
works than these he will do. Because I go to
my Father, May the Holy Spirit lead me in all
that I may do, so that I may seek refuge
in You and never in this world. I pray that
(09:27):
the Holy Spirit leads me to live a life that
is upright and pleasing in your way, so that I
When the Lord allows you to go through tough times,
when he allows you to face certain obstacles, he is
refining you. He's molding you and shaping you in his
divine plan. He knows that this situation will build your character.
(00:41):
He knows that this situation will build your faith. The
situation will actually build your prayer life. The Bible says,
many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord
delivers him out of them. All troubles can be a
blessed for believers. I know it sounds like an oxymoron,
(01:04):
so let me explain. What I mean by this is
that the Lord can sometimes use our troubles to remind
us that he's a deliverer. Yes, God can allow you
to face a storm just so that you will draw
closer to Him, so that you'll know Him as your
hope and your rescue. Consider this. In Psalm one nineteen,
(01:28):
verse seventy one, the Bible says, it is good for
me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn
your statutes. Now, have you ever thought how and why
it would be good for you to be afflicted? How
is there any good for you to go through pain?
What good could come through trouble. Now, if you could
(01:50):
draw your attention to Acts fourteen, verses twenty one and
twenty two the Bible reads. And when they had preached
the Gospel to that city and made many disciples, they
returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of
the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying,
(02:13):
we must, through many tribulations, enter the Kingdom of God. Now,
just ponder for a moment. Could it be that afflictions,
although unpleasant, although they are uncomfortable, could it be that
the afflictions are necessary for the Christian man or woman
(02:33):
to grow in Christ. If Joseph hadn't been rejected by
his brothers, if he hadn't been sold as a slave,
would he have known that God would lift him up
to become one of the most powerful men in Egypt.
If the woman with the issue of blood hadn't suffered
(02:54):
for so long, would she have known that God is
a healer. If a man named Barti Maeus wasn't blind,
would he have known that God could give sight? You see,
all these people had troubles, but that trouble was a
(03:14):
blessing because it's their issue that allowed them to experience
God's power. And the thing is with some of us,
it is that it takes trouble, It takes a tough
situation to finally get us on our knees to pray.
Some of us need a trial, We need to be
(03:36):
put in a tough place in order to desperately seek
the Lord. Sure it hurts when those troubles come, but
when we keep an eternal perspective, we can say, like
Paul said, that the troubles I face, no matter how difficult,
no matter how overbearing they may seem at the time,
(03:58):
they are in fact light because they are only for
a short while, and because they lead to the glories
of heaven. You see, God is faithful to empower you
to stand strong and victorious and not to be defeated.
And so I have one simple message today, and that
is because Jesus was victorious over Satan, you too can
(04:23):
walk in victory. You can have faith to stand against
Satan's attack. And when you don't have to be defeated,
you don't have to be oppressed. So how then do
we live a victorious life? How can we battle against
the raging current and realize the peace and victory that
(04:45):
God wants us to have well. As Christians, we have
to come to a point of realization that there is
a battle that's going on for our soul. But God
has already provided the path to our ultimate victory his
grace and through his mercy. We are overcomers. We are
(05:05):
more than conquerors. And one of the main principles that
we need to understand is that in order to receive
the victory from God, we need to understand that He's
already won. He has already defeated every enemy, every devil,
every challenge, and every demon. Saints, God has already won.
(05:30):
The battle, has already been fought, and He has already
won the victory for us. If we could only understand that,
then we'll experience true power and real victory in our lives. Saints,
we overcome through Jesus, and yes it may be a
(05:53):
tough battle at times, but we know that the Lord
told us to take up our cross and follow him.
As we do this, we will walk in victory. It
doesn't mean that will never be persecuted, oh we will,
but we will overcome. It doesn't mean that we'll never
(06:14):
experience setbacks. Setbacks will come, but in Jesus, we will overcome.
I love that. Psalm ninety one, verses nine through eleven say,
because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, the
most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be
(06:35):
allowed to befall you. No plague come near your tent,
for He will command his angels concerning you to guard
you in all your ways. Now let us pray, Father, God,
you are a righteous and faithful God. Your word in
(06:56):
Proverbs twenty nine, verse twenty five says the fear of
man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord
shall be safe, meaning that fearing people is a dangerous trap.
But trusting you, my Lord, means safety. Trusting you that
(07:17):
means preservation. It means protection. Help me never to place
my faith or my trust in man. Lord, Help me
never to trust even in myself. But I desire to
be given completely to you, King Jesus, to trusting you,
(07:38):
placing all of my hope and faith in you. I
pray just as your word in Psalm seventeen, verse seven says,
show me the wonders of your great love, You who
save by your right hand those who take refuge in
you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of
(07:58):
your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Lord.
May I see your hand working in my life. May
I see the wonders of your great love. And I
pray that you will hide me in the shadow of
your wings. My Lord Father, Where else can we find
protection but in you? Where else can we find safety
(08:20):
but in your presence. There is nowhere else and no
one else who can offer peace beyond understanding, nobody but you,
my Lord. I come before your presence with sincere thanks,
sincere thanks for your protection over my life and my family.
And Lord, I'm grateful. I'm grateful for you many promises
(08:43):
of preservation and safety. I pray today for your presence
to always be found resident in my heart and even
in my homes. I pray that I may be filled
with the Holy Spirit and experience the power you spoke
of you said in John fourteen, verse twelve. Most assuredly,
(09:04):
I say to you, he who believes in me, the
works that I do, he will do also, and greater
works than these he will do. Because I go to
my Father, May the Holy Spirit lead me in all
that I may do, so that I may seek refuge
in You and never in this world. I pray that
(09:27):
the Holy Spirit leads me to live a life that
is upright and pleasing in your way, so that I
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