Galatians 2:20 How to persevere in the trials of life
Good Morning
Stand with me and lift up your bible and repeat after me.
This is my Bible.
I am what it says I am.
I can do what it says I can do.
I am going to learn how to be what it says I can be.
Today I will learn more of the word of God.
The indestructible, never ending, living word Of God.
I will never be the same.
I will never be the same.
In Jesus Name
Is anyone here going through a few trials right now?
Let’s go to the Lord right now and ask Him to help us through those things today and every day.
Stand with me and let us pray.
How to persevere in the trials of life.
Here is a story for you.
When I was a boy, I used to love to find a stray penny on the sidewalk. I would save them in a jar in my room and then use them to buy candy or gum when I had found enough.
Not long ago I read a story about how a minister still loved to find pennies and other change on the sidewalk because on each one was written the words: “In God we trust.” He said that each coin was a message from Heaven that reminded him of just how much God loved him.
Here is his story.
One day I was headed to the store to buy a week’s worth of groceries for my family. I didn’t really feel up to it, though. My stomach was nauseous and I felt weak. I wondered if I was coming down with a virus. Still, our cupboards were bare and it couldn’t be put off. I stopped first to fill my car with gas before heading to the store.
As I walked in to pay, I saw a dime lying on the asphalt. I picked it up and remembered the real message of life. I felt blessed 10 times over. I read the words, “In God we trust” written on it and realized that sick or not God loved me and was with me today and always.
Later as I was heading into the store, I saw a local club doing a Christmas fund drive to buy toys for the needy children in our area. I pulled out a few dollars and handed them to the people. They thanked me and wished me a “Merry Christmas” as I turned to go into the store.
Then I saw it. A second dime lying right in front of the door. This time I felt so good that my stomach stopped feeling queasy. I pocketed the dime, looked to the sky, and smiled.
I took my time shopping since I was still feeling a little sick. Finally, before heading home I stopped to pick up a takeout pizza for dinner. When I got my change, I dropped it along with my first two dimes into the charity box on the counter. I enjoyed the idea of passing them and the love that went with them on to others. I walked out with a happy heart. I took one step toward my car and saw a third dime gleaming in the sunshine on the sidewalk. I laughed with delight.
I knew that God was watching over me and encouraging me to keep loving, caring, and sharing all that I could in this life. I felt loved not 30 times over, but 30,000 times over. When I got home every bit of sickness and weakness had disappeared from my body. I felt healthy, alive and full of joy.
Amen?
How are you persevering in your life?
As you go through this life with all of its struggles, sickness, and problems you and I need to remember that you are loved.
Turn with me to Galatians 2, verse 20 and say, “Amen” when you are there.
Galatians 2:20
Read along with me.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
With all that is going on around us we have to learn to persevere every day, every hour and every minute.
Now you are looking at me and saying, “How can I do that? You have no idea what I am going through.”
You are right, but He does.
The thing that I have found in life is that I have had to get used to remembering that I am loved by Jesus Christ.
Loved by Christ.
No matter what has gone on in my life, I have not been alone.
Neither are you if you have asked Him to live in you.
You and I are loved with a love more powerful than you can ever imagine.
We are equipped to persevere in life if we remember who lives in us when we ask the Lord to take over our lives.
You are loved by God, Our Heavenly Father, the creator of us all!
And the proof of it is all around you.
How long has it been since you looked around you to see the beauty around you when you started your day?
If you looked out a window you can see it.
It is in every sunrise and every flower.
It also is in everyday life.
It is in every smile you see and every hug you get. It is in every good thing, miraculous message, or curious coincidence that happens upon you in this life.
It is even in every penny or dime you find on the ground.
How do you do that?
How do you change your attitude to become more positive and try and persevere in the tough times?
How do you have the attitude you need to persevere every day?
You can do it by a habit that we all need to start and continue in our lives that can remind us.
It’s putting the Lord as our priority in life.
Some of you may be thinking that that way of living is crazy.
I share this in practically every message that the Lord gives me to share about a habit I try and do every day.
When I wake, I try and say, “Good morning Lord.” It may not be verbal as I don’t want to wake my wife if she is still asleep but, I acknowledge that I am breathing each breath because He has a purpose for my life.
He has a purpose for you also.
Even though you may be going through a ridiculously hard time in life, with pressures that most of us have not ever even had to face, He is with you.
When we persevere each and every day, it is part of the plan that He has had for our life.
We can go through the Bible chapter by chapter and see hard times for so many people, but it was all part of the plan.
His plan.
Not yours.
Not ours.
Not mine.
His.
If we get in the habit and keep in the habit of doing putting Him first and developing a relationship with Him that just keeps growing, our life does become easier and more enjoyable even in the tough times that we may be going through.
We saw some kids once when we were away on a mission trip that were playing soccer with a box. They did not have a soccer ball. They were kicking a box.
Before we left on the mission trip, we had been given some soccer balls and air pumps before we left.
We drove past them and then stopped and inflated a soccer ball and turned around and stopped to see the kids.
I got out of our truck and handed the boy closest to me the soccer ball and the air pump and he showed me who deserved the acknowledgement for the gift.
He said, “Thank you Jesus. We have been praying for this to happen. Thank you, sir, for listening to Him and bringing one to us.”
Putting Him first in our lives helps us through the quagmire that may be controlling our lives.
Turn in your bibles to the book of Job chapter 2 and say, “Amen” when you are there.
Let’s read verse 10
He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
I know a story which was written a while back about a man who had faith but did not understand while he was going through a tough time.
A man with leprosy had to leave his family and all he had and wander through life for five years and then he saw a man walking with a group of people and took a step. He had been hiding behind a large rock and stepped into the man’s path and said, “Help me.”
The man was Jesus and instead of just making the ailment disappear, He touched him. He touched the man who was suffering from a contagious disease and healed him. That man persevered for a long time because deep inside he knew that God had a plan.
God has a plan for you and I and we need to get closer to Him through His son, Jesus Christ who died on the cross for us to allow us to persevere in life through His love.
Rejoice in that love, cherish it, welcome it into your heart and soul, and make your whole life a celebration and sharing of it.
Amen?
Let’s go to Him in prayer to allow Him to strengthen us to persevere through each day of life and see the flowers and the sun in a clear way even when it is not going to be a good day.
Amen?
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
Please stand with me now.
