We all go through challenges and things we don’t understand, and it’s easy to get discouraged and think, “Why am I having these challenges”? The good news is that we have not been knocked out by these challenges because Christ is the solid rock on which we stand! Even Faith doesn’t exempt us from challenges, it rather helps us to overcome challenges. The scripture says Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalms 34:19
The question in the heart of most Christians today is why are good Christians going through challenges more than the people who don’t have anything to do with God or people who are not as committed to the things of God as others in the faith? Jesus told a parable about this, where a wise man built his house on the rock by honouring God. Another man built his house on the sand by not honouring God. The winds blew, and the rains descended and beat upon the houses. Matthew 7:24-27
What is interesting is that the same storm came to both people, the just and the unjust. If the story ended right there, you would think, it doesn’t make a difference to honour or serve God… No, that’s not the end of the story. Jesus went on to say that the man who built his house on the rock, when the storm was over his house was still standing. The man who built on the sand, his house had washed away.
Here is the difference. When you honour and serve God, the storms may come, but you have a promise that others don’t have. Christ is the solid rock on which you stand. When it’s all said and done, you will still be standing. In times of challenges, you have to remind yourself, “This is not the end… I can not be knocked out by these challenges.
The enemy doesn’t have the final say, God does, and He says when it’s all over, you will come out stronger and better”. You may get knocked down, but you won’t get knocked out. You may suffer a setback and have to go through a few things, but don’t get discouraged, don’t get bitter. It’s just life. If you stay in faith when the smoke clears and the dust settles, you will not be the victim, you will be the victor.
All of us can look back at things that should have defeated us. That divorce, that tough period of your life should have given you a nervous breakdown, but look at you, you are still standing, happy, whole and restored. When you have this history with God, remembering what He has done, you don’t get discouraged by every challenge. You don’t fall apart because of disappointment. You don’t get upset because people are talking about you. You know God brought you through in the past, and He is going to bring you through in the future.
You have the DNA of the Almighty God. The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives on the inside of you, and you may get knocked down, but you are not going to stay down. Christ is the solid rock on which you stand. There is something in your DNA that says, “Get back up again, that’s not where you belong, you are a child of the almighty God.
FLOURISH LIKE A PALM TREE!
Some time ago I was watching a video about a hurricane on my phone and there were all kinds of trees blown down by the wind. However, there was only one type of tree that I noticed wasn’t blown down. It was the palm tree. It’s because God designed the palm tree to withstand the storm. Unlike most other trees, the palm tree can bend without breaking.
There is a certain kind of palm tree that can bend over to where it’s almost touching the ground. During a hurricane, it may stay that way for 5 or 6 hours, looks like it’s over, looks like it’s done but in a few hours, when it runs out of strength when the strong winds stop, the palm tree will stand right back up to how it was before or even better!
The palm tree may get pushed over, but it’s only temporal, just a matter of time before it stands right back up. Psalm 92:12 says, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree”. It could have said we will flourish like an oak tree, be big and strong and have wide branches. Could have said we would flourish like a pine tree, be tall and impressive and be able to see miles away. But the reason God said we would flourish like a palm tree is because God knew we would face challenges. He knew there would be things in life to try to push us down and keep us from our destinies.
So God said, “I’m going to make you like a palm tree. I’m going to put bounce back on the inside of you,” and you may go through a season where the winds are blowing; a wind of disappointment, a season of dealing with an illness, a season of marital challenges but don’t get discouraged, it’s only for a while. At some point, those winds will stop blowing, and the bounce back God put in you will cause you to straighten right back up to where you ought to be.
Don’t believe the lies that it’s permanent, “You will never get well. You will never overcome that addiction. You will never get out of that legal problem. You will never get out from that challenge” No, Christ is the solid rock on which you stand. You may be a little bent over now, you may have some challenges, be encouraged, you are going to stand right back up to where you ought to be.
STRONGER AND BETTER!
What’s interesting is when the palm tree is bent over because of the hurricane, you would think that it’s damaging the tree and making it weaker. However, research shows that when the palm tree is being pushed and stretched by the strong winds, it strengthens its root system and gives it opportunities for new growth. It becomes stronger and better.
After the storm, when the palm tree stands right back up, it’s stronger than it was before, and when you get through that storm, when you straighten back up, you are not going to be the same. You are going to be stronger, healthier, wiser, better off, and ready for new growth.
God never brings you out the same. He makes the enemy pay for bringing the trouble. What was meant for your harm, God will use it to your advantage. That challenge is not going to defeat you, it’s going to promote you. It’s not going to break you, it’s going to strengthen you. You are not only going to still be standing, you are going to be standing stronger than ever.
Here is what I’m saying, no matter how hard those winds of challenges and opposition blew, they cannot uproot you, they cannot topple you, they cannot break you. Sickness doesn’t determine your destiny, God does. He is the one who breathed life into you. He made your body. If it’s not your time to go, you are not checking out of this earth.
God has the final say, and He said, “No weapon formed against you will prosper” (Isaiah 54:17) He said, there is a bounce back. Now, you have to get in agreement with God. Don’t have a weak, defeated mentality, “Oh pastor, why did this happen to me? I don’t understand it”. I can tell you why it happened because you are about to move higher in life. The good news is because you are that righteous person flourishing like a palm tree, you have something in you that the unrighteous don’t have.
Like that palm tree, there is a bounce back in your spirit, and no matter how hard those winds blow, they cannot defeat you. If you stay in faith, you will be able to say, “I’m still standing. Sickness had me down for a little while, but I came right back up, still standing”. Went through a slow season at work but it didn’t defeat me, it promoted me. I came out stronger because Christ is the solid rock on which I stand.
GET YOUR FIRE BACK
You have to realize that in tough times, you are not alone. You have somebody fighting for you. The God almighty has your back. Now, you have to get your fire back. You can’t go through life focused on who hurt you, what didn’t work out, and how unfair it is. That’s going to keep you down. Shake off that weak, defeated mentality and have a warrior mentality. A warrior doesn’t back out of opposition. On the contrary, a warrior likes a good fight. It fires him up.
This is what David did in the scripture. He suffered a major setback. While he and his men were out protecting the borders of Israel, doing the right thing, and fulfilling their purpose, some bandits came in and attacked their homes; the city of Ziklag was burned down. They stole their possessions, kidnapped their wives and children, and when he and his 600 men returned home, the scripture says they wept. It was the worst day of their lives. (1 Samuel 30)
It looked like it was over, looked like they were done. It would have stayed that way if it had not been for David. He did something that we all must do if we are going to see the bounce back. Instead of staying in the ashes, focusing on how bad life had treated him, that warrior spirit began to rise. He thought, “Hey, my worst defeat so far, but this is not the end of my story. I am the righteous, created to prosper like a palm tree. I have to bounce back in my spirit. I have God’s promise upon my life. When it’s all over, I will still be standing”.
He started encouraging himself, reminding himself who he was and he told his men, “Get up. Dry your tears, get your weapons, we are going to get what belongs to us”. They went out, and not only attacked and defeated the enemy, but they got all their possessions back, they got their wives and children back. The scripture says they recovered all, and David’s greatest defeat turned into one of his greatest victories.
We all face unfair situations, things that seem like they are going to bury us. But if you have this warrior mentality and go after what belongs to you, the enemy won’t have the last laugh, you will. He may hit you with his best shot, but his best will never be enough. The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. Like David, you may be down right now, but because Christ is the solid rock on which you stand, there is a bounce back in your spirit!
Beloved, you are not weak, you are not defeated, you are a warrior. You have resurrection power on the inside. You may be down right now, those winds may be blowing, but like that palm tree, you are about to come back up again. You are not going to stay down. You are not going to be the same, you are going to be stronger, healthier and better off.
This is a new day. Things are changing in your favour. God has done it in the past, He is going to do it again in the future. You need to get ready, a bounce back is coming. You are going to bounce back from sickness, bounce back from loss, bounce back from attacks, bounce back from debt, bounce back from marital challenges, bounce back from relationship issues…. You are bouncing back to peace, joy and abundance in Jesus’s name.
Those winds cannot uproot you. They don’t have the final say, God does, and because Christ is the solid rock on you stand, it doesn’t matter what comes against you, I decree and declare when it’s all said and done, you will not be the victim, you will be the victor. You will still be standing in Jesus’ name.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”
