"I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will." For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay. Acts 13:22b, 36 God is looking for people like David, who have a heart after God and who will serve His purpose. God's primary purpose for us is to serve—even through hardship. When we encounter a challenge, instead of backing off, we must press into the call to serve with an overriding element of faith. In Psalms it says that "those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting" (Psalm 126:5).

The best things come out of a place of challenge. Our church's greatest testimony so far came when the building got filled with flood water. God used us to reach out to others and we became stronger than before.

So don't just be wrapped up in your stuff; it's not all about you. Be concerned for the needs of others and be available to those around you. You've heard it before, but it bears repeating: This cynical generation doesn't care how much we know; they want to know how much we care. As you refuse to succumb to difficulty, and instead choose to serve others, you will see things turn around: "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25 NIV).

Press On!
Pastor Jeff

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." —Viktor Frankl, Holocaust Survivor & German Psychotherapist

From "Man's Search for Meaning," Copyright 1959, 1962, 1984, 1992, 2006 by Viktor E. Frankl. Beacon Press, Boston, Mass. First published in German in 1946.

© 2008 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.














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