Here's the reality many of us today you're going through a hard season and the reality is it's easy
when we hit a hard season in our in our spiritual journey in our life to give up on our destiny
and dream to just quit but I want to remind you that hard seasons are very much a part of God's
divine plan for your life that sometimes easy and fun doesn't always mean fruitful
that sometimes the seasons of greatest growth and advancement for us are the ones that are hard
maybe you've lived through or are living through your own storm
the problem is that most people don't know how to profit from their problems
most people never learn how to harvest their hurts how to learn from their losses
mature believers though they do those things they advance through adversity
and if you don't do that instead of becoming better you're going to become bitter and God's
not going to be able to use you the way that he wants to so you gotta trust him in difficult
situations that even when it looks like everything is breaking down around you if you trust in the
Lord you can experience incredible breakthrough and see God work in mighty miraculous ways
when you feel and see nothing believe by faith that God is up to something you see the
struggle is a setup when Joseph was falsely accused and put in the prison for 13 years
13 years he was put into prison in a hard spot hard season this is what Psalm says about him
in 105:18 it says that he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into that iron that's
a powerful verse what is that saying that's saying there was something that happened on the inside of
him when he was put into a hard place perseverance grew his prayer life grew his faith grew strength
grew on the inside there was something that happened in that place when he was chained up when
he was in prison that could only be solidified in him during that place during that hard time
what am I saying friends there are some things that only come to us spiritually the hard way
and they're not fun and and we don't like to praise and shout about it but the reality is is
there is great hope knowing that though it's hard God is up to something that though it is hard God
is doing a significant work in my life that though it is hard God is preparing me for something that
is ahead of me if you believe it can you say Amen and though he slay me yet shall I trust him
you see in order to develop real quality it takes time and it takes pain and it takes endurance and
it takes grief and it takes trouble and it takes turmoil and it takes destruction and demolition
demolition is a messy thing if you get ready to remodel your house expect to have some mess
everything you're going through is preparing you for what you ask God for you just got to quit
tripping while you're in the process because the process is necessary you may not see it now but
when he gets you on the other side of it you're going to see exactly why it went that way and
you're going to be okay with it God is processing you he ain't through with you and often I'll see
people they go through hardship they go through tragedy and they make the mistake of running from
God they run from God they get mad at God they become disappointed in their situation and they
run from God and I understand that human reaction but my question would be who are you running to
who are you gonna run to if you're running from the one person who loves you faithfully and
actually has the power to help you and heal you who are you running to that's a mistake
don't run from God if you're going through a hardship turn to God draw near to God
Romans 8:28 and we know that God causes some things is that what it says no it says we know
that God causes what all things to work for good for those who are in Christ Jesus or for those
who are called according to his purpose God has a purpose for your life a distinct plan for your
life that you are called to God shaped a plan and then he shaped you for that plan specifically you
are called according to a purpose meaning that everything in your life has a purpose God can
use it God can bring something out of it there are methods to your purpose being carried out God uses
methods to carry them out he uses easy seasons and easy things and easy moments things that
come quickly spontaneous special moments that are fast and supernatural but he also uses things that
are difficult and that are hard and they're just as supernatural and they carry his purpose out
you see hard is not the preferred method but it's necessary at times and this is so encouraging for
us because you'll go through many things in your life that are not good being laid off is not good
going through a divorce not good having a miscarriage not good having your father in
the hospital is not good but when you put these things in God's hands when you trust him over
time you have the promise that he is going to work all these things together for good
that means that if it's not good God's not done
he's still working if you say well it's not good yet that means God's not done he's still working
it together he's still moving in ways you don't even see sometimes it's not till later that you
look back and realize how he worked it together for good so in the meantime even when you don't
understand what he's doing trust in who he is you know his heart you know that he's faithful you
know that he loves you and he has a plan for your life I want you to see it almost like a
seed all of you have seeds in your life dreams and potential well a seed doesn't germinate and grow
just sitting on a shelf and light nice and cozy and comfortable a seed has to be taken and it must
be buried into a dark place it must be buried into a hard place it must sit in a place that's hard
for it to germinate for it to grow for the potential that is on the inside of it to
come to fruition and the same goes for our lives is yes there's mountaintop moments and there's
hills and they're great and they're awesome and I love living there but there are also
seasons to our journey where we come into a hard place hard season lonely times it gets
difficult and it's in those seasons where God is wanting to bring something out from the inside
God wants to do something I want to encourage you don't complain
if you're in a hard season right now recognize the opportunity that is before you to allow God to do
whatever it is that he's designed to do in this season there is something significant that God
is wanting to draw out of you in this hard time you see if you're going through some dirt as a
believer be reminded that the dirt is necessary for the seed to become all it was created to be
there's got to be a little bit of dirt in our lives at times for God's promise to be fulfilled
and you are being planted but you feel like you're being buried have you ever noticed that there is no
difference in the motion between planting and burying when you plant a seed it feels buried
and even though he takes a seed and digs a hole and puts the seed down in the hole
and covers it up with dirt he's not a mortician he's planted it and not
buried it and most of us think we are being buried when in fact we are only being planted
and when you are planted that means you're going to get up again and when you are planted that
means you're going to come forth again and when you are planted that means that this is not how
the story ends this is not the end don't run from it don't hide from it don't duck from it
don't dodge from it don't run trying to get away from it because you are not being buried
you are being planted hard seasons for me honestly have been probably the most significant seasons of
growth for me in my life it wasn't the great times and it wasn't the good moments where I experienced
the most growth now listen I'm not praying for bad times and I don't love the hard seasons trust me
and I'm not praying for hard seasons okay but I am just saying that when I look at my life
I have recognized already that the most significant growth has taken in places
and seasons that were the most difficult and so I'm changing and trying to change my perspective
whenever I am in a hard season whether it's relational financial whether it's about my
purpose or my future wherever I find myself God I'm changing my perspective because when
I see and feel nothing and it's hard I'm gonna believe in faith that God you are up to something
we never pray for pain we pray for blessing and favor but sometimes God's favor is found in
suffering it's through pain we found salvation how well it started with the pain that Jesus
experienced on the cross you couldn't have been saved without pain it's when you hit rock bottom
and you realize that God was all you have that's when you decide well that's that's
who I really need Psalms 32:8 it says I will guide you along the best pathway for your life
God says I will advise you and I will watch over you it doesn't say I will guide you on the easiest
and most comfortable path for your life it says right now I will guide you along the best path
I'm wondering how many things God has kept us from while he's taken us on a harder path I wonder how
many things as he's taken us on the best path as we've prayed how many people he's saved us
heartache from even though it's taking a little bit longer I'm wanting to learn to seek God's best
path not seek the easiest because it's in God's best where you're discovering your full potential
it's in God's best that you you're being prepared for what's ahead it's in God's best where there
is full Grace and full protection right where you're at God's watching you and he's advising you
that's exactly how God works and we need to realize that because sometimes we'll be in the
middle of a storm the middle of a hard situation and we'll be praying God take this storm away
that's a of course that's how we pray why wouldn't you pray that God take the storm away but what God
does he doesn't always remove the storm yet he does promise to walk you through the storm
David in Psalm 23 famously says the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want he makes
me lie down in green pastures and he leads me to the still waters and though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil that's an interesting verse there because
David is essentially saying the same God that is leading me to green pastures and still waters is
the same God that is leading me through the valley of the shadow of death same God David is saying
I am learning to trust God not complain not get bitter not give up not quit I am learning to trust
God that he's with me he's not forsaking me though I feel lonely at times though I feel like God has
absolutely forgotten me I am going to believe that just like he leads me to still waters he is taking
me through this hard season and he is preparing me for something great he hasn't left me taking care
of me listen to what David would go on to say after you go through the valley after the dark
place he says that God will prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies and your
cup will run over that's a great promise friends notice that you have to go through the hard season
you got to go through it to get to the table if there's a struggle something's being set up
if there was a struggle God is setting up something don't give up on the way to your table
many people give up and they lose heart and they lose faith where is God I don't see anything and
God is saying listen I've prepared the table I am going to take you through this valley stay
in faith anchor in hope that I'm working and that I'm watching over you and I'm going to provide for
you and I'm going to set up table for you to be refilled and refreshed I'm gonna run your cup over
in the presence of your enemies it's the hard seasons that bring the most out of us
and in the moment we may not always feel it and see it but in hindsight we see it's in those
moments where we're stretched our faith grows we've become the people God's designed us to be
we become the people that he wants us to be when we get to the table of blessing the place where
he wants to overflow our cup recognize that Christ lives on the inside of you and though the season
is hard you have supernatural power in you to bounce back to walk through this valley not just
struggling to struggle and I'm the victim and I'm going to be bitter and I'm going to complain but
no put your shoulders back have hope in the hard times have hope in this season knowing
not necessarily that that you're gonna figure out how the promise is going to come that you're going
to figure out how God is going to provide but that you you have hope because you know who your
provider is you may not know how you're going to get to the table you may not know how you're going
to get to the promise you may not know how Goliath is going to fall but you can rest assured and have
hope and who is your giant killer and who is the one that's going to escort you into the promise
and we need to be reminded of this we know that God he is always working he is almighty
all-knowing high and lifted up his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are
higher than our thoughts what that means is he's going to do things that we don't have the ability
to understand I mean that's unfortunate you always want to know what what's going on what's the plan
the thing is with God he doesn't reveal the plan to us he doesn't give us a manual with all the
directions and all the things that you're going to experience along the way what he
gives you he gives you the end of the story and a lot of promises that you can trust him
what he gives you is a ongoing demonstration of his love for you like how am I supposed to trust
his heart and people ask questions like this all the time and why would God let this happen
what they're doing in that moment is they're questioning and doubting God's heart
they think man if my situation isn't good does that mean that God's not good
but we got to trust his heart because again and again he has proven his love for you
starting with this sent his only begotten son to live and die for you
so don't fight the dark places the hard times grow in them
don't fight them grow in them there may be dirt all around you it's comfortable but
that dirt is not there to stop you it's there to bring out the greatness in you
my encouragement to seek his best over easy and when you do that I believe that you'll reach your
destiny that in this season when you seek his best and not easy you will fulfill your destiny you'll
go to new levels you will pass tests you will get what he was wanting you to get in this season for
what huge things he has for you ahead let's trust him let's grow let's be mature believers amen