We are all so familiar with the saying "God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers". At the beginning of the new year I saw a meme circulating with the caption "Me checking to ensure that I didn't make it to God's strongest soldiers list for this year".
I looked at the post and I said I would probably be saying the same thing a few years ago but knowing what I know now, I tend to look at challenges differently.
We serve an intentional God and nothing He does is by chance. The plans He has for us were preordained. He tells us that before were formed, He knew us, He called us, He sanctified us and He ordained us. However, because He also tells us that the plans He has are to prosper us and not harm us, we see adversities as the plan of the enemy.
Maybe God has shown you the ultimate plan He has for you. You see yourself living your dream life, in your dream home, driving your dream car and experiencing your dream lifestyle, happy marriage and all. You are happy because you know God is faithful to His words.
But here comes the challenges. You didn't expect to experience infidelity. You didn't expect your marriage to fall apart. You didn't expect to be in a position where you don't know where you would be sleeping. You didn't expect to be put out in the middle of the night by your relatives with a young baby. You didn't expect to rent a house only to be evicted due to outstanding rent. You didn't expect to be lied on, cheated on, scoffed at and rejected. You didn't expect that you wouldn't have food sometimes and have to be dependent on leftovers to eat. You didn't expect to not be able to feed the children that God promised and gave to you. You didn't expect that the very people to leave you when you needed them most were the ones you expected to always be there.
It's a hard pill to swallow, but, it is all a part of God's plan!
God gave you the vision. He will always show you the end but He will not show you the journey to get there. The journey is called the process. During this 'process' is where you learn, grow and build resilience. In the 'process' you may also lose. Sometimes losses aren't bad. During the 'process' you may lose anger, pride, bitterness and many other things that God despises and with these losses come great gain. You gain the spirit of humility which is required to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You may gain a peace that surpass all understanding and that is more than we can ask for in the world we currently live.
If you don't believe that the challenges are a part of God's plan, let's take a look at Joseph. He was a favourite child and we know favourite children are normally spoiled and this would bring jealousy and hatred among the other siblings and Joseph's story was no different. We normally think that the favourite child doesn't go through anything. Joseph was favoured by his father which made his brothers despised him and then to add fuel to the fire, he got a vision from God and shared it with the family and they decided that that was enough. They decided that they had to get rid of Joseph. They wanted to kill him but even when they want you dead, there will always be one person to say don't kill him. Punish him or torture him a bit instead. But that will be the mistake of the enemy. The enemy's biggest mistake was sparing you.
You may be thrown into the pit. You may be lied on. You may be thrown into prison. You may be forgotten. However, it is during this time that you are being built. When you reemerge, and reintroduce yourself, they are going to wonder how you made it! After all they did to you, how did you survive? It was the plan of God so you could acquire strength for the season ahead.
It doesn't matter what you are going through now. Rest assured that God is with you. He never leaves nor forsakes you and all things are working together for your good because you love the Lord and you are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
His purpose must be fulfilled in your life. So dear strong soldier, feel privileged that you are given the hardest battles. Not everyone could endure it. But you can! You did! You have been enduring it. You may have been wounded, but wounded warriors still fight. Fight the good fight. Endure to the end.
This piece was written and contributed by our PAJE Writer! Remember to show your support by liking, sharing and commenting!
PAJE Media Group is a registered media house, providing various creative outlets that sow seeds of healing, growth and impact in order to inspire others to embrace their Purpose, Adventures, Journeys and Expressions for God's glory!
If you'd like to partner with us or have us showcase what you do, here are some ways that you can do so:
Submit your music for listing on our site’s Playlist & be highlighted on our Social Media pages (this is NOT our Spotify playlist)
Submit your upcoming event for listing on our website and highlighted on our Social Media pages
Advertise with us
Sponsor Us
Request Event Coverage
Request an Interview
To partner with us, submit your request here (CLICK HERE)
Also, remember to follow us on Instagram, YouTube & Tik Tok: @yourpaje
Comments