The Power Of The Process - Finding Strength and Opportunity In The Midst of Affliction

One of the most difficult things in life is not knowing what to do when you fall, when you fail, when you falter, when you have to face tragedy or affliction.

To know that your life is not over and the game doesn't stop just because you bruised your arm, skinned your knee or, you ran into some roadblocks

People of great faith envision trials, dark valleys and hurts as opportunities and not as setbacks...launchpads to greater things in life.

I love to talk about DAVID because David is a man after God’s own heart.

I love to talk about David BECAUSE God selected David against all odds.

He was the rejected brother in his family, the eighth son of Jesse.

He was not preferred by his father and he was not embraced by his brethren and yet God had a plan for his life.

He was someone that everyone looked over and never thought he would amount to anything.

Most men and women that God uses in a mighty way were born in a place of rejection, they were molded and shaped by affliction for rejection and affliction creates a hunger and a thirst in you to know God in a great and mighty way.

David’s possesses a huge heart... What I have learned is that God will bless those whose hearts are big, deep and vast -

God always blesses those who have unusual capacities in their hearts. If your heart is not ready to encompass greatness

God won’t pour His greatness into a hardened and shallow heart because His greatness will leak out of a shallow heart.

David comes back from the battle looking for comfort and he runs into conflict...Have you ever gone looking for comfort and ran into conflict? If you are not careful you can get to the point where you stop looking for comfort because you get so used to conflict and you dont even expect things to ever get better... He comes home to conflict

They cried until they could cry no longer...
The prophet Samuel wrote "David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him"

Fear tried to creep into David’s mind - THE ENEMY CAME TO HIM WITH LIES

on a daily basis we are presented with multiple opportunities to allow fear to dominate us and that’s all the enemy is looking for...an opportunity to infect your mind with thoughts of doubt, fear and despair -BUT THE BIBLE SAYS: We have not been given the spirit of fear or timidity but of power, love and a sound mind

David is on the brink of giving up, he’s soon to collapse - he’s weary and burdened... not only is he physically afflicted but now he is mentally distraught and to the point of death.

The Bible says: But David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

Have you ever had to encourage yourself? Your kids didn’t do it
Your husband didn’t do it
Your wife didn’t do it

BUT DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF!!!!

The number one fear that satan wants to instill in you is that “the promises that God has given you will not come to pass”...

Its in the overcoming of the thing in which we gain promotion

Don't you think for one moment that because you are going through adversity that you are not blessed.

Don't let people try to convince you that you are being afflicted because you are out of God’s will. Jesus was doing the will of the Father and had to face affliction. The Bible says that Job was a faithful servant of the Lord and was afflicted.

When the world sees a curse in your situation you should rise up and see opportunity.

• God will use what the enemy intended for evil and wil turn it around and use it to purify you, grow you and see you mature spiritually.

Stand firm!

you cant be a winner if you haven’t been in a contest

you can’t be a conquerer if you haven’t had to face a conflict

you can’t have the victory if you haven’t been in a fight you can’t have a testimony if you haven’t been thru a test

you can’t have a message if you haven’t been through a mess...

Affliction reveals the true character of an individual.

Affliction drives us closer to God.

Affliction gives our worship to the Lord new meaning.

Affliction gets much worse right before the blessing.

Affliction promotes us to a higher level in our faith.