How to survive hard times (II)

Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” 

Like we saw in the case of Israel, it wasn’t everyone that survived the wilderness. Your response determines whether or not you survive. So what do you do to survive hard times? Let me share some keys with you:

1. Promise. Understand your promise.  

2. Process. Understand the dynamics of process.

3. Presence. Develop God-consciousness. 

4. Power. Develop God-dependence.  

(Continued from last Sunday)

5. Purpose. Understand the purpose for the hard time. It is to refine you. It is to prepare you for what God has prepared for you. God does not send you to the wilderness to change the wilderness, He sends you to the wilderness to change you. The miracles got Israel out of Egypt, but the wilderness got Egypt out of them. God allows you to go through the fire to refine you. Job said, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10. He knows the things that diminish your value and stop you from fulfilling your destiny: anger, malice, lust, greed, pride, selfishness, wickedness, unbelief, fear, self-dependence, etc. He knows how to calibrate the temperature of the fire to suit you. He knows the right temperature that will remove the impurities but will not destroy the gold. He removes the impurities in your life to enhance your value. He allows you to go through the waters to wash you. He prepares you for what He has prepared for you. Psalm 23:5, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” You went through the valley to get to the table. There is a prayer you have not been taught to pray: dear Lord, prepare me for what you have prepared for me. Lord prepare me for my table of abundance. Make me that man of my dream.

God wants to change you for your dream. He wants to change you so you can fit into the higher dimension of wealth, glory and dominion. Samuel said to Saul that the Spirit of God will come upon him and he shall be turned into another man. 1Samuel 10:6. He couldn’t rule the way he was, he had to be turned into another man. God’s priority is always to change us before changing our circumstances so that we can handle it. You have to be transformed before you can perform. Your transformation is the key to your elevation. Transformation is the key to receiving your allocation. You want to be a millionaire in dollars but the way you are right now, you are leaking too much resources, you have to be changed into that man that can handle that level of wealth you desire. Your leaking bucket has to be fixed. You’re not that man yet. You have to be changed into that man. He has to fix you to fit you in. You’re currently too raw to be valuable. You need to be refined. Being comes before having! God has to change you for your miracle. He has to change you for your breakthrough. You must be turned into another man! The man you are now is too fearful to handle a large company.  

Here is God’s promise for you: Psalm 91:15 sums it up, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.”

You see four major things in this verse of scripture:

1. Answered prayer. He says, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him…” Call upon the Lord in the time of trouble, He will answer you promptly. If you can pray you can survive any tough situation. You have cried long enough, it is time to pray. Pray in faith believing He has heard you. Don’t stop praying until you are out of the valley.

2. He says, “…I will be with him in trouble…” “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” He is not a fair weather friend, He does not abandon His own. Pray spiritual sensitivity and awareness of His presence. Pray for the comfort of His presence. The Psalmist said in Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Make up your mind not to be afraid because you know He is with you and that you are not alone. Thank Him for His abiding presence. His presence kept me when I lost my house and my clinic in a deadly inferno. I had uncommon peace, assurance and hope that I could not explain. It was His presence that kept me. I was grateful and hopeful instead of mourning. The Word of God works!

3. He went on to say,  “…I will deliver him…” You are programmed to survive every wilderness experience. Believe the promise of God. He has delivered me from the hands of my enemies so many times, and He will yet deliver me. He will deliver you from the conspiracy of your enemies. He will deliver you from wicked tongues. He will deliver you from friends and enemies that are trying to tear you down. He will deliver you from even your own mistakes and shield you from danger. He will deliver you from that sickness the enemy has sent to kill you. He will deliver you from that financial trouble. I see you coming out of that fire the enemy has thrown you into. You will survive every attack of the wicked forces that are against you. God will set you free from the bondage of the enemy!

4. Then He concluded by saying, “…and honour him.” This is the icing on the cake. Every temptation leads to promotion, every test you successfully go through leads to testimonies. You will not come to shame! God will honour you with promotion. He will honour you with abundance! God will glorify His name in your situation. Get ready for your coronation! Get ready to shine!! Get ready for your table of abundance. Get ready for your promised land. Celebrate!!!

Prayer

1. Father give me the grace to go through the wilderness and get to my table of abundance, in Jesus Name.

2. Make me that man, that CEO, that leader, that wealthy man…Change me to another man, that man that can handle greatness, wealth and power.  

Bishop Dr Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l.