Endurance: As it hits Again and Again...

Introduction:

Hello my friend!

Sometimes I wish that I can look you in the eyes as we have these discussions yet for what we've lacked, we've made up by connecting by heart, having now shared many of these beautiful moments every Friday, on this weekly newsletter since that first one.

Our illustrative story today sees a traveling father leave his five (5) kids with a guide book and a telephone.

In his words;

"I'd be gone to work for a while. Keep the doors closed, call me for everything and read this book to direct you, I'll always explain more when you call"

Then he left.

Discussion:

Endurance is a virtue of staying strong and steadfast through the many storms and low times of our lives, yet because of how intense these challenges can be on the human mind and body, it's not an easy one.

From losses: loved ones, properties, businesses to suffering heartbreaks; and other times having to live with an illness.

Throughout our lifetime, we'd encounter one or more of these challenging situations of pain and suffering, sometimes all at once.

When these things happen we usually have many thoughts going through our heads as we look to make meaning of them. Therefore, understanding and processing these thoughts accurately and backing them up with the corresponding actions are both a test and proof of our endurance.

■ Away from the Master Plan

Immediately, the father left, his kids faced their toys and their food, enjoying all the good things he's provided.

They had such fun that they forgot him and his parting words.

Never called, never read the guide and worse still were too occupied to pick his calls as he tried endlessly to reach them.

This is what we do when we spend all our time living a life of pleasures, work or every other thing that takes our time so much that we don't have space to pray and talk to God.

■ Attacked by the Enemy

Soon enough they got bored of playing in the house so they opened the door to experience the outdoors; against the instruction of their father.

By the time they were done, they forgot to close the door.

As they slept at night the house was overtaken by five (5) stray dogs.

Once we live without God's guidance and direction, we're going to run into trouble sooner.

From financial difficulties due to excessive gambling or drugs, to health issues from the same, we find ourselves enduring different hardships.

■ Unequipped to Fight Back

Because they've never read their guide, they were ignorant of the information in it. They watched helplessly as the dogs put the house in a mess; meanwhile the whole time page fourteen (14) in it read "How to put the stray dogs away"

How many times do we suffer from things that we've been warned against or given solutions to in the bible because we don't read and meditate on it.

■ Looking for Responses

As they sought for solutions to drive the dogs away, their phone continued to ring for their father's call but they were feeling too ashamed to answer it.

They feared he would blame them for all that's happened so they decided against telling him.

So while he tried so hard to talk to them, they ignored him, instead looking to ask their other friends and neighbours for solutions they didn't have themselves.

Here, we're encouraged not to fall for the lie that we're too broken to be made whole again. God is looking to connect to us and save us from the enemy. Despite our failings we're still his children and he's waiting for us to connect to him, not to judge us but to redeem us.

■ Catching our Attention

Many times when life hits hard again and again with different challenges all at once, it's God's way of trying to catch our attention.

Rather than seeing ourselves as unfortunate and unlucky we're asked to point back to the source of our being.

Since the father had seen that his children were never going to reach out to him, he brought more misery on them to ensure they did so.

First their electricity was disconnected, next their food supply; they had never had such hardship so they immediately knew he was somehow involved.

Then goes the call; "Father everything has gone wrong, please help us"

When our challenges make us needy, it's a way of pointing us right back to the masterplan. Here, the father uses certain circumstances to keep us attentive to his original plan of maintaining an intimate relationship with him through prayer.

■ Benefits of Responding Right

The moment we connect back to the father we begin to see things take a different turn for the better. He drives away the enemy and restores our supply because we're now living with full commitment to him, constantly talking to him through prayer and in doing so seeking his will every step of the way.

This is the path of healing then self actualisation.

Summary:

We've gone through the different stages through which we continue to deviate from God's plan until he intentionally hits us hard enough to bring us right back into it.

When we learn from our sufferings and pain, we give them a meaning; the meaning of the love of God which makes him correct us with discipline and reward us with strength of character, peace and ultimately fulfillment.

Master Apprentice

www.twitter.com/truekingmaker