Growing in the Spirit

Happy Easter!

Thank you God for Jesus!

Reverend Ed!

Dr. Edward Sparkman,

Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Philadelphia

TURNING STRUGGLES INTO STRATEGIES

In our worst of times and/or situations, we have to be able to TURN OUR STRUGGLE INTO A STRATEGY. God has never said that all our days would be good days. However, we can all look back over our lives and honestly say that our good days have outweighed our bad days! We must always remember that trials and troubling situations come to us as a part of living. If we never had any, we would never learn how to trust in God who gives us the inner strength to hold on and not give up. We are tried and tested everyday by people, pain and/or problems. They all represent “struggles” that we have been able to turn into our “strategies” by affirming to ourselves, “I am still here!”

We have to learn how to use our struggles in life as our strategy to move forward. I reflect back on my sixty-nine years of life and realize that every struggle that God has brought me through, I have adopted the strategy of affirming for myself that, “if He did it before, He’ll do it again!” We should not allow struggles to make us remember the trials, but to reinforce our triumphs.

Family, we need to stop allowing our struggles to disrupt our lives and use them as strategies to help us move forward in our lives. As I have been listening to and watching what is happening in the UKRAINE, I am continually reminded that, no matter what I am going through, someone else is going through something worst. The point here family is that no matter how bad it is for the people in UKRAINE, they are not giving up the fight. Their strategy during this struggle is to encourage themselves! Always remember that when nobody else pats you on the back, you should pat yourself on the back. Because it is not about going through the struggle, it is about getting through it that is the strategy!

-Rev-

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Consider this…

God hears and answers prayer. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. But also know, when God does answer your prayer, your blessing might not show up in the way you were expecting. In fact, it might not resemble at all what you THOUGHT you wanted. Understand that God’s ways are not our ways, and his timing is not the same as ours. I truly believe a lot of people miss their blessings because they’re looking for something other than what’s in sync with God’s plan for their lives. Trust and believe, He knows what’s best for you! Because of that, the answer to your prayer might present in a way that’s other than what you thought or expected. Your blessing might look, smell, feel and taste different from what you prayed for; so be careful not to miss it. For instance, if you’re looking for a soulmate, don’t be so quick to dismiss those that show up in your life (or were already there) who may not fit the physical description you had in your mind. Tall, dark and handsome, or a beauty who could be a super model, doesn’t ensure happiness and may not be the profile of the one you were always intended to be with.  I share this based on a lifetime of my own experiences. There have been any number of times I prayed for something, only to discover that the answer to my prayer came packaged in a way I couldn’t have imagined. The way I met Richard is just one of many examples.

Make your desires known to God through prayer. After that, trust him, and open your mind and heart to receive that which God wants for you. The good news is, however God chooses to bless you, it will be Amazing!

Takeaway:  Be careful and don’t miss your blessing when it shows up. It could be staring you right in the face. Be prayerful, watch and wait!

-K-

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Listen and Be Blessed

(Thanks for sharing, Donna T)

Peace and Blessings to you always!

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