18-A-Step-Of-Faith-Endure-Difficult-Times

The speaker discusses the importance of enduring difficult times in order to avoid stagnation or failure. They acknowledge that some may accuse them of being unrealistic or ignorant, but emphasize the need to choose between stepping up or stepping down. They reference Proverbs 24:10, which states that if one fails under pressure, their strength is too small. The speaker advises against giving up and encourages listeners to persevere, as others with fewer resources and more difficult conditions are able to succeed. They remind listeners that they are not failures, and encourage them to draw strength from the stories of Ruth and Boaz in the Bible, who endured difficult times and eventually found success. The speaker concludes with a prayer for strength and perseverance. Hello and welcome to join this chariot for a 5 minute Bible study. This 18th episode on A Step of Faith is titled Endure Difficult Times. My name is Greg Alabi and I'm inviting you to come let us study the Bible together. When I recommend we endure difficult times, some people may accuse me of not being realistic. Some others may likely accuse me of being ignorant about all the things that they have been enduring, reminding me of all their efforts, their patience and the losses they had suffered. Some other people could even tell me that the risks, the possibility of pain and losses are the exact reasons why they had stepped back, stepped down or not even taken the first step of faith. Dear friends, I quite understand, I get it, I know where you are coming from, I understand your point, I know your pain, but truth be told, sometimes in life, to avoid stagnation or failure, we have to choose, you either step up or step down. But to step down is the first step to step out. Now hear what Proverbs chapter 24 verse 10 says, it says, If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. The New Living Translation puts it this way, if you fail under pressure, your strength is too small. The Amplified Version says if you slack. The New American Standard Version says, If you show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress, your strength is meager. The lesson, let us endure difficult times, because it shall come to pass. There are other people out there with lesser resources under more difficult conditions that are getting more done. My advice, even if people put you in this condition or you made some mistakes that landed you in your current situation, never give up, do not pack up. Someone else will step into that very thing and do it successfully, so why not you? Truth of the matter is that you are not a failure. Looking back from your childhood through your school days, putting into account all that you had gone through till this day, evidences show that you are not a failure in life. People who are failures do not get to where you are today. Your efforts plus divine assistance got you to where you currently are. May I announce to you that you will also get through whatever challenges are before you today. My advice, endure difficult times. You are on a journey to your premise land. You are on a journey into that better place. You have what it takes. You have handled worse situations before. Now let us learn some valuable lessons from a few people in the Bible. These few people will teach us to endure difficult times. Hopefully we will be able to draw strength from them. First person here is Ruth, Ruth chapter 1. Two ladies, Ruth and Opa, both lost their husbands and had no children. Verse 14 to 15, At the end of the day, Opa went back home to her people, but Ruth chose to move forward with her mother-in-law. The lesson, if we want to take a step of faith from where we are into something new, something better, and challenging times come up, one reason why we must never contemplate going back, why going back is not an option, is that we must remind ourselves about why we initially left in the first place. We are on a journey to the promise land. Even if the wilderness is rough and tough, going back to Egypt is not an option. Four hundred years in slavery is not attractive in any way. Remember the Taskmasters, my point. Enduring difficult times and pressing on to your promise land is only a matter of time. You will break through soon. Enjoy it. Ruth chapter 2 verse 17 to 18 is our next lesson. Ruth left the city to look for work in the farmland in the countryside, picking up the remnants of harvest left over from the fields all day till the evening time to fend for herself and her mother-in-law. The lesson, if we take a step of faith away from our base and now confronted with what Ruth is faced with, are we willing to go through something similar? Remember the way up is down. Endure difficult times. It's only temporary. It shall come to pass. You will break through soon. Third lesson, Ruth chapter 4 verse 13, Boaz eventually got married to Ruth. She moved from a daily paid laborer in that farm to become a co-owner of his estate, moving on to become the grandmother of King David. The lesson, there are no short cuts to success. As we take a step of faith into whatever is ahead of us, difficult times may come up but we must endure difficult times. They are eventually going to lead us to better days ahead. Stagnation or going back is not the option. My advice, power through this. You are being tested. You shall be rewarded. Let us pray. Father, thank you for the lessons we are learning. We pray, O God, that you give us the grace to power through difficult times. In Jesus' name, Amen.