Rise above your challenges.

Success or victory doesn’t have to be big to be significant. If we have been able to master a situation, we can bask in that moment. Sometimes we don’t see the need to acknowledge an achievement because we don’t think it is worth recognizing. Did you overcome obstacles? Did you do what you had set your mind to do? Did you exceed your own expectations? Did you hold your own under great strain? You can carry the day because God is always with you. And He will not fail those who depend on His Strength.

“Be adaptable to your circumstances through Christ.”

12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me (Philippians 4).

Challenging times that we are not accustomed to can make us feel defeated. We may feel like we are losing control, when we don’t have the usual amount of food, money, or life-enhancing items. Having less of what we are used to can sometimes cause us to despair. We should adapt to situations we find ourselves in. When we have less, we should make adjustments that meet our immediate needs. Be adaptable to your circumstances through Christ. Abide in Him and you will be kept in His provision. Whether with little or more, your Source will never change. It is not what you have that gets you by; but Who He is—your Strength and Provider. Overcome the fear of not having enough, though you may struggle for a time. With time, you will learn how to keep your head above water. Everything we have comes from our Heavenly Father, and we are the children of God, in Christ.

“God’s Wisdom is the knowledge that we apply to give us the best outcome.”

14 Now thanks be to God Who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His Knowledge in every place (2 Corinthians 2).

God leads us to situations where we can triumph in Christ. He gives us His Knowledge to guide us in making the best decisions. In every place or situation we face, we can fall back on God’s Knowledge, from Scripture, and ask His Spirit to instruct us. The Spirit of our Lord Jesus is ever present in us. When we aspire to use God’s Wisdom to glorify Him, in every place, He will ensure we succeed in what we endeavor to do. In Christ, we will have victory at every stage of our lives. God’s Wisdom is the knowledge that we apply to give us the best outcome. 

“While you wait on The Lord, you can complete other tasks.”

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, The Lord, The Creator of the ends of the Earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29  He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31  but those who wait on The Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40).

Know your God and don’t waver on Who He is. Though we may be worn out and overwhelmed by the challenges and trials we go through, we don’t have to depend on our strength to get us through. We should not define God by how we feel about ourselves or our circumstances. He is The Creator of everything and He keeps the Heavens, Earth, and sea under His Command. He doesn’t slumber, nor does He tire from keeping the cycles of nature working as they should. 

Those who depend on themselves will reach a breaking point. Wait on The Lord to meet your needs, and He will uphold you with His Might. While you wait on The Lord, you can complete other tasks. He will give you the strength to overcome your weakness. When you trust in God, He will give you the stamina to keep you going. Instead of drooping into despair, you will make better use of your time and energy. Don’t give up on doing the next thing. Keep going without fainting, soar above your fears as an eagle. As your God doesn’t faint, so shall you be in His Strength. Get on with the next task, while drawing from God’s Strength.

“Before you go into battle, praise God for all He will do.”

1 Praise be to The Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. 2 He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in Whom I take refuge, Who subdues people under me (Psalm 144).

Meditate on Who God is to you: your fortress, deliverer, shield, refuge and your loving Savior. God will not lead you to a losing battle. He will be everything you need Him to be and more. He will teach you the ropes on how to subdue your opponent. He is your Rock that is steady, and strong, and will not crack under strain. Face your challenges with God, and put all your confidence in Him. Before you go into battle, praise God for all He will do. He will trounce those who come against you, and deliver you from all their schemes. 

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God Who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Who died, and furthermore is also risen, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us (Romans 8). 

Can anything separate us from God’s Love? He gave us His only Son. He has demonstrated His Love for us. No one can lay a charge against us, when we have been bought with The Precious Blood of His Son. If God is for us, no one can prevail against us. We are more than conquerors in peril, battle, tribulation and adversity. Adversity should draw us closer to God because He covers us with His Love.

We are counted daily as sheep for slaughter, when we are willing to live and die for Him. We will be persecuted, ostracized or despised for our faith. When we accept suffering for His sake, He will deliver us. So in every circumstance, we are conquerors of our fear and struggles because God’s Love continuously abounds to us. We lay down our lives for His Glory, just as The Son of God did. He will freely give His elect all things, and no one can stake a claim to what God has allotted to us. No charge or condemnation brought against us will stand because Christ is interceding for us, and has justified us by His death and resurrection. 

15  Those who walk righteously, and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—16  they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them. 17  Your eyes will see The King in His Beauty and view a land that stretches afar (Isaiah 33).

Shun evil at all costs. Resist the lure of sin, and despise it vehemently. Steer clear of fraudulent gain, shut your eyes and ears from evil plots that harm others, and live each day to speak and do what is right. When you choose righteousness, God will be your refuge, fortress and strength. He will supply your needs and will not fail you. While others are raking in from bribes and extortion, you put your trust in God. He is your Source for everything. Keep your focus on The Great King, whose Beauty is His Holiness. Look forward to the place He has prepared for you—Heaven—where you are furnished from His abundance. When you overcome temptations, you triumph over wickedness. Pleasing God should be the motivation to do what is right.

“God’s Presence is the reward for those who cling to Him, to the very end.” 

24  You will guide me with Your Counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 25  Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides You. 26  My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73).

Even if suffering leads to death, we must still finish well. God will guide us with His Wisdom, until He brings us to our eternal home. If nothing can separate from God’s Love, we are complete in His Presence. Earth offers little comfort to the haggard soul—one who is wasting and slipping away. God becomes the full portion and desire of those who are longing to be with Him. 

With every labored breath, as the curtains come down on our life, we have the privilege of gaining Heaven, as we lose our grip on Earth. God’s Presence is the reward for those who cling to Him, to the very end. Peace and hope enfolds those who have assurance of their eternal home.

This life is riddled with hurdles to overcome, but we are not called to go it alone. We will never lack, when we learn to be content in our circumstances. We can apply God’s Wisdom to the decisions we make, and be fruitful and productive in our responsibilities. In Christ, we have access to The Father, who meets our needs and leads us to triumph each day. We can face challenges by putting our confidence in God; Who teaches us how to battle. As we put our expectations on Who God is, we can praise Him in the face of adversity. If we are close to our end, we have God’s Presence with us here to give us the strength we need. And the promised reward of eternity with Him, when we draw our last breath. But we must live our lives as those who triumph over sin, fear and despair. We are more than conquerors because nothing will ever separate from God’s Love, which is in us, through Christ Jesus. 

29  “For You are my lamp, O Lord; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. 30  For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. 31  As for God, His Way is perfect; The Word of The Lord is proven. He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

32  For who is God, except The Lord? and who is a Rock, except our God? 33  God is my strength and power. And He makes my way perfect. 34  He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places. 35  He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 You have also given me the shield of Your Salvation. Your gentleness has made me great. 37  You enlarged my path under me; so my feet did not slip” (2 Samuel 22).