This morning we will continue with my recap of messages that impacted me during the recent Mighty Men of Valor Conference. Today the notes/thoughts come from a message delivered by Pastor Steven Martin of Higher Ground International Church of Conshohocken, PA. Pastor “Steve”, as he is commonly referred to, discussed 1 Samuel 30, where David had to encourage himself in the Lord after unexpected calamity visited his home. His message was centered around how to handle challenging times.
So what does this mean to you today? We will see. I will share a few thoughts from the conference, along with a few of my own thoughts.
1. No one is exonerated from occasional calamity.
a) David was destined to be king, he was anointed by the Lord’s prophet, and he had too much integrity to kill Saul himself. David waited until the Lord elevated him to the throne and in his time of waiting, calamity visited his home.
b) David and his men were sent home from battle only to find their homes burnt to the ground and their families gone.
c) Everyone faces calamity. Everyone has to deal with setbacks. The key is HOW to we respond.
2. Keys to dealing with setbacks:
a) You cannot be surprised when setbacks come. Peter said, “My friends, don’t be surprised at the painful things that you are now suffering, which are testing your faith. Don’t think that something strange is happening to you. But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ shows his glory.” (1 Pet 4:12,13). While I am not telling you to expect trouble, I am telling you not to be surprised when it shows up.
b) Control your emotions. David and his men cried ‘till they ran out of tears. There is nothing wrong with crying. It’s okay to emote. But you can’t stay there. After crying David shifted his focus to seeking God for direction.
c) You must have the right state of mind. You are the way you think you are (Prov 23:7). Your being will respond to your frame of mind. You must believe that no matter how bad the situation seems, God will somehow turn it around for your good (Rom 8:28). David was able to “encourage himself in the Lord his God”.
3. “If you can’t navigate disappointment you cannot be trusted with the success you have asked for” – Pastor Bill Johnson.
a) David had to press his way through this major setback in order to become the king he was destined to be.
b) Every person God has ever used to make major impact in the earth is a person who had to overcome major opposition.
4. I will close with a point Pastor Ron Carpenter made on how things are not always as they seem. He said, “What’s going on is not what’s going on.” He talked about a time when he prayed with all his might, using all the faith he had, for a situation to change and it simply would not change. Instead of getting better it grew worse. He prayed, fasted, cried out to God, but the situation would not change. In the end, when it finally changed and it was over, the Lord revealed to him that the suffering he was enduring was working IN him an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17). While Pastor Ron was focused on the thing he was going through, he did not know the Lord was actually working on something down IN HIM.
a) Sometimes God permits things that are necessary to develop us into the men/women we are called to be.
b) Sometimes God has purpose wrapped up in the pain.
Personal testimony: I remember when our last child, Ethan, was in the womb and it looked like he was going to be born early. It was only the 28th week and Isabella went into premature labor. We prayed against it, we stood in faith, we had our Pastors praying, friends praying, and people standing with us all over the world. The doctors did all they could with the best modern medicine had to offer, and Ethan was still coming. He was born a mere 3lbs. and he had to spend 56 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Ethan was in a hospital about 45 miles from our home. We travelled back and forth every day until Isabella was able to stay in a room close to the hospital. We spent 56 days going in and out of the NICU. Isabella spent 8+ hours a day doing “chest-to-chest” with Ethan, causing tremendous pain in her back, just because she was told it would help him grow faster. She played my sermons on her phone so Ethan could hear Daddy preach the Gospel. She entered the NICU every day with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. We got to pray for all the other children in the NICU and many of the parents.
When it was all over we did not know it, but God was working something far greater than what we were going through. Our pain and inconvenience was quickly eclipsed by God’s glory as parents would come up to us months later and tell us how much we ministered to them. Although Isabella is a perioperative nurse and I am an ordained minister, neither of us could walk in the NICU unless we had a child in there. God used Ethan’s situation to plant us in the NICU for a season, to minister to people who were hurting. Lives were changed for God’s glory. Going back to what Pastor Ron Carpenter said, sometimes “What’s going on is not what’s going on.” Keep your eyes on Jesus. He will take what was meant for harm and turn it around for your good!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. It is only because of Your goodness that I am not consumed. It is only because of Your grace what was meant to harm me did not destroy me. You love me. You protect me. You shield me. You establish a hedge around me. But then there are also times when You allow things to come up against me. I am in the world and in this world calamity visits people. But come what may, my eyes are ON YOU! I am not moved challenges. I am only moved by You. I keep my eyes fixed on You. Not only will You see me THROUGH IT, but You will also see TO IT that it works out for my good. Sometimes what’s going on is not what is actually going on. So I focus on You not only for encouragement, but also for discernment. In the end, whatever I face is working IN me an eternal weight of glory. All things are working for my good! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
