~ Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:22, paraphrased and expanded)
If you’re currently going through a rough patch, I have five brief words of advice for you:
1.Focus on the parts of your life that aren’t painful right now. Make a list of good things in your life at the present time. Maybe it’s your health. Maybe it’s some of your relationships. Maybe it’s your job. Maybe it’s the house you live in. Whatever doesn’t stink in your life right now, write those things down, be thankful for them, and focus your thoughts on them.
2.Your present storm has an expiration date. In nature, every hurricane and tornado eventually passes. None of them hang around permanently. And so it is in the spiritual realm. The clouds will eventually part in your situation. Until then, hang on. Hat tip to Rick Warren who wrote this line to me yesterday in an email: “‘It came to PASS.’ It didn’t come to stay!” Don’t forget that the storm you’re currently in will eventually pass.
3.God is aiming at something specific through your trial. Whenever we look at our lives and say, “It’s not supposed to be this way,” the Lord has another idea. He’s driving at something in your life. Something He wishes to change for His glory and for your good (Romans 8:28). And He’s using the present circumstances to awaken you to it. Prayerfully and thoughtfully, take a personal inventory and discover what that “something” is.
4.Be thankful for people and situations that are making your life hellish right now. Why? Because they are the Lord’s instruments to transform you, to cause you to grow, and to make you stronger. Yes, it’s counterintuitive. But that’s what life in the kingdom of God is – counterintuitive.
5.If you are still alive, it means you haven’t fulfilled your purpose yet. It doesn’t matter if all hell is breaking lose around you, your mission isn’t finished. How do I know that? Because you’re not dead yet. Go find out what that specific mission is and get laser focused on it.
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