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Conquering Adversity

February 23, 2018

For a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 1 Corinthians 16:9

1. FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS. So often, obstacles coincide with opportunity. For instance, when the apostle Peter walked on water at the bidding of Jesus, the atmosphere was stormy—wind was blowing and waves were crashing (Matthew 14:27-30). When Peter diverted his eyes to his circumstances, he started to sink. When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, ready to hear what He has to say—revelation will come, faith will be roused, and storms will be settled.

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37

2. RELAX IN GOD’S TIMING. There are perfect timetables for our lives if we follow the Holy Spirit. FOMO—fear of missing out—is built into our culture, where people become discontent, afraid they’ve missed opportunities. We can’t control the past, but the good news is that the Holy Spirit is present and ready to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). As we stay tuned to what God is saying, we can relax and trust that our steps are ordered by the Lord.

3. GET STRENGTHENED IN THE WORD. The Word of God is our sword and our weapon. Instead of speaking from a place of want or lack, we are called to speak from a heart filled with the promises of God’s Word. It puts us in a strong position to fight and win. From this place of strength, having done all to stand, we stand: we pray for one another, we believe God, and we step through open doors!

Press on!
Pastor Jeff

DAILY STRENGTHENING CONFESSION:
The Lord is the strength of my life and there is nothing to fear. I wait on Him and I gain new strength! I mount up with wings like eagles. I run and don’t get tired, I walk and don’t become weary. I am strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (Psalm 27:1 NKJV; Isaiah 40:31; 2 Timothy 2:1; Philippians 4:13).

con·quer, verb
To gain control of or subdue… To defeat in war. To eliminate or minimize (a difficulty, for example). To overcome or surmount mentally or emotionally. To be victorious; win.

Copyright © 2018 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. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Web. 20 Feb. 2018.