The Secret to Succeed Through Tough Times: Unravel the Mysteries Behind Challenges

By Baba Christian

There are no easy ways of solving our harms and troubles in life, but there are simpler ways in which we can transcend those difficult moments in our life. In trying to divulge the acumen at the back of achievement, this book serves as a pillar of encouragement, inspiration to buttress your psyche explicitly to withstand the wave as it comes your way in life. There is something eccentric about you! When you read this book, you will be inform and equip to face those realities before you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jul 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499087390

Baba Christian

Baba Christian

Book preview

PART I

UNDERSTANDING

THE CHALLENGES

Problems and Circumstances

Every path has its puddle, and progress is not rare in the face of temporal breakdown. The human nature is inundated with numerous problems and challenges emanating or proceeding from the human attitudes and quest for the unknown generally. Life is a series of trials, and living involves tearing up one rough draft over and over. Every day of our life we face different troubles and challenges, some we overcome while some leave a remarkable mark that we can never forget easily. Despite the scar, it didn’t stop challenges from confronting us because problem is part of our progress in life. The truth is that there are many things in us that will not work until we are put to test. For our spirits grow strong by conflict. And adversity is what makes life interesting; overcoming them makes our life meaningful. We learn obedience through what we suffer and we become the best through the challenges we conquer. The birth of a man is characterized with pain, but at the end we become full of joy, forgetting the serious trauma a minute ago. This is what life is all about.

Pain is gain, and the trauma endured gives us life. Herbert Casson said, ‘A leader must face danger. He must take risk, the blame, and face the brunt of the storm.’ To be in challenges and problems is to be alive because in the absence of trials life will not be in view. The living makes progress by overcoming challenges, but the dead makes none. People devoid of this trouble that confront you each day are people leaving spiritually but dead physically. This set of people can only be discovered in a place set aside that is called the cemetery. Without obstacles to conquer, goals and dreams to achieve, and a purpose to fulfil, you can never find the real satisfaction or happiness in life. The dead have nothing in common with the challenges you face. So as long as you are alive in this world, be ready to face these challenges, for through them you can only become the best in the area that God has created you to be.

Of what use is light in the absence of darkness! Of what use is life in the absence of trials! Life is not a playground; it is a battlefield. And the sooner we understand this, the wiser we will be (Pastor T. B. Joshua (SCOAN)). When we challenge our fears, we master them. When we wrestle with our problems, they lose their grip on us. Problems are the price of progress. The more you solve and overcome, the more progress you become. What you are facing now is called desert preparation. Problems are preparation ground, which help us to rediscover ourselves and to reposition us for greatness. Lou Holtz advised us in his speech when he said, ‘Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals.’ King David learnt how to rule in the desert, and John the Baptist became a great prophet in the desert. Note this, when they came out of the desert, they did not only come out with the anointing but also with the character to sustain the anointing. It is the desert experience that sustains your blessing. Troubles and obstacles that we encounter better our lives, not bitter our lives. When problem comes, know that God wants to show you a way out of life. Changing your state or level is to overcome problems or challenges. Where there is no problem, there is no way forward. You can be a soldier, but you can never tell until there is an outbreak of war where you live. Every life challenge is saddled with the responsibility of introducing one to himself. Problems sometimes inculcate a sense of responsibility in the life of so many of us in this world. And to other, problems help them to reawaken their spirit of creativity in them. People that achieve greatness are people that have discovered that problems and challenges are seasonal. It will pass; it is the passage to promotion. Your perspective about problems determines the result. James the apostle advised us,

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (Jas. 1:2-4 GNB)

Count it all joy just like the apostle James says, because not all problems are bad luck; some are blessings in disguise, some are testing your faith, and others are to prepare you for the challenges ahead. It took the Israelites forty years to learn how to defend themselves in their new territory surrounded by enemy who wanted them out. I don’t see life challenges as a problem sometimes. Any problem that has a solution is no longer a problem. The problem of your life has a solution, and that solution is within you and in God’s hands. If that perspective in your life can change in conformity to the guides, rules, and regulations of your true self, things around you will change for the good. May I remind you, when I say your true self, I mean the spirit of God within you. Problems are like teachers every day of your life; it makes you learn. You cannot know who you really are until problems confront you. Just like what Martin Luther King Jr. says, ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy.’

Temporal discomfort does not mean that God is not with you. When we dare to confront the things that scare us, we open the door to personal liberty. Life is like a tea bag without worth until you pour hot water. Being face-to-face with problems reveals our instinct and disposition. Problems have different faces; it depends on the side you look at it from. Every great action is impossible at the take-off; it is only when it’s accomplished that it seems possible to the average man who thinks that problems are stoppage or hurdles. God is conscious of your troubles and difficulties you are facing, but He assures us one thing: He will come when our troubles in life tend to outweigh us. Invariably, He assures you and me that when the troubles of life and the wickedness of our enemy tend to grow out of proportion, He will come to rescue us and punish our adversary equally.

I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished. (Gen. 15:16 GNB)

The environment that produces the power of God is one with hopelessness and cynicism. God does not visit a man when he celebrates. He visits us when we are in pain and trouble. He shows up when we are completely exhausted naturally. When Abraham became tired of waiting, he fell asleep. God’s glory passed between the sacrifice, and then God made a covenant with Abraham ‘as far as you can see’ (Gen. 15:17-18 GNB).

Life challenges reveal the uniqueness in one’s life. Always remember, the stronger the wind, the stronger the tree becomes. Surround yourself with a dyke of faith and view the awesomeness of God in every trouble you find yourself in, because with the atmosphere you create around yourself, you either limit God or you make Him overdo His work in your life. A door can be shown to you, but it takes your own determination to walk through that door. Don’t look at the pain that trouble gives you, but focus on the benefit it leaves behind. No man remains the same after a fierce battle. Robert Schuller opined that for every mountain there is a miracle.

A tree that does not know how to dance must be thought by the action of the wind. Problem and circumstance narrow our path to that area or God gift that we are best at and that is unknown to us. Sometimes problems and challenges scare us into the right path to our success. When you are not ready for problems, then you are not ready for success. John Mason said, ‘Turning an obstacle to your advantage is the first step towards victory.’ And this is by accepting the fact that problems are necessities; face them. They are realities; embrace them. No one is immune to problems. Even one of the strongest animals, the lion, has to fight off flies. Problems are necessities of life; they come to every one of us whether you are prepare or not prepared for them. Whether you are bad or you are good. Whether you are righteous or you are unrighteous. Difficult situations come to us all. It doesn’t matter the side it is coming from. Being good or spiritually strong and diligent in all ways does not remove you from the world and its problems, but rather it repositions you for greater achievement, victory, and defeat. The flow of the life of Christ is not mostly produced by comfort and pleasure, but by endurance and perseverance.

Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and He will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm: He will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out. (1 Cor. 10:13 GNB)

Look very well. You will see that there is a way out of any problem you find yourself in. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy says in one of his sermons, ‘The closer you are to Jesus, the better you see. What you see is what you become.’ The closer you are to God when you do those things that please Him; He will give you the understanding of challenges. Don’t pray for God to terminate your problems; instead, pray thus, ‘Lord make me as big as my problems.’ Terminating your problems is terminating your blessing. Terminating your problems means death. It is only the living that has problems of life. When the troubles and snag in your life stop, your blessing also stops abruptly. This is what happens most of the time in our life. When there is no problem there is no promotion. Because our problems and our progress work hand in hand to keep each either of them in motion. But our Lord Jesus Christ advice us to cheer up for him have overcome, therefore, we shall also overcome by His strength.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 NIV)

His strength is our strength, His might is our might, His peace is our peace, His blessing is our blessing, His joy is our joy, and Him overcoming, we have overcome also.

The fact about life is that if you want easy things, you will have difficulties around. It is worthwhile going after things that will make a difference instead of sailing on a safer path of averageness. If you are ready to embrace problems as they come with thanksgiving to God, you will soon succeed. The Chinese have a saying, ‘The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.’ Without Saul, there cannot be David; therefore, you should also know that without that problem of yesterday, you would not be where you are today, and without this problem of today, you will not be wearing that crown of success tomorrow. There is no real success without a corresponding challenge. For Joseph to liberate his people from hunger, he had to manoeuvre through the pain and agony of rejection, slavery, and prison to become a high official in Egypt in charge of food. For David to become a king in Israel, he had to pass through the pain, suffering, and distress of being an outcast, of hatred, and of constant battle with Saul’s soldiers. And so it was with the many apostles and great men and women of history. You are there as a problem solver to replace failure with success, to replace sadness with joy and happiness, and to replace mourning with celebration. I want to advise you, today may be your darkness, but tomorrow will be your light. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and no darkness remains forever. Today may be your failure, but tomorrow will be your success. Hold on to the struggle and put your trust in the Lord. Winners win because they always finish whatever they started. The Bible encourage us in the book of Job,

There is hope for a tree that has been cut down; it can come back to life and sprout.

Even though its roots grow old, and its stump dies in the ground, with water it will sprout like a young plant. (14:7-8 GNB)

Even though it is seen that there is no hope, I want to tell you there is hope as long as you put your trust in the Lord, knowing that the problems we encounter is part of promotion. No matter how cloudy it is when the plane takes off, above the clouds, the sun always shines. And if you feel yours have stayed too long, don’t feel bad; when the soup stays long, a leaf used in covering it becomes soup itself. A lingering problem must one day become a blessing to whosoever is involved. Whatever condition you find yourself in now, you still have the potential power to succeed with the right attitudes towards the problem.

I want to wrap this up with three benefits that the problems in our life bring to us.

•   The difficulties that problems bring give us the opportunity to increase in wisdom.

•   Experience is wisdom gained by living through various situations.

•   God’s approval—every problem will test your faith, and when you pass the test, your faith will please God and He will approve of you and promote you.

The question of ‘Why me?’

(Don’t Ask Why)

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, let us dance. Learn never to be surprised at things that are inevitable to your progress in life. A yam that will burn must be burnt whether boiled or roasted. Whatever will happen must happen irrespective of what makes it happen. Circumstances in one’s life do not connote the end. Whether you accept it or not, the world is a warfare arena. And you are already in it fighting to lose or to win. The sooner you understand this, the better are your chances of winning. There are some situations that are inevitable; it doesn’t need to consult your personal view before coming into your life. It just comes, whether you are ready or not, whether you are good or bad, and whether your faith is strong or weak. Any situation you cannot handle or beyond your human ability, allow the will of God to prevail. In this regard, Reinhold Niebuhr advises us to pray thus, ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.’ Don’t undermine the power of God. Take your eyes off the size of your problem and focus on the greatness of your God, who is able and willing to do more for you.

Sometimes the reason for our suffering and pain in life is to create in us an uncommon heart of humility, compassion, and passion for others around us. David said, ‘It is good for me that I have been afflicted’ (Ps. 119:71 KJV). Have you taken your time to brood over this? Our father is conscious of every falling bird to the ground each day, but even at its consciousness, He does not prevent it from falling. It is not the falling or the happening around us that speaks but our responses to them that determine our rise.

James Billy says that you will never be the person you can be if pressure, tension, and discipline are taken out of your life. The question of ‘Why me?’ roll up when we are face-to-face with either the expected or unexpected in a profound manner such that it scares us from our faith track. You are not the only person this type of thing is happening to or that is bearing such a great burden. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, when in the world, experienced it also, but He overcame it in an attitude I want to unravel to you. Three times Jesus prayed to his father, ‘Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me!’ (Matt. 26:36-46 GNB). But God was silent not because He cannot avert it; it was what He must bear to fulfil the prophecies, to wear the crown and to possess the key to hell. Instead, God equipped Him with strength to endure.

Jesus did not only concentrate on taking the cup of suffering from Him, but in His prayer, He also added, ‘May your will be done.’ When face-to-face with trouble so big for you, always allow God’s will to supersede your will. Bad occurrence will always happen whether you like it or not, but how you respond to them defines the quality of your character. ‘When things are going well for you be glad, and when troubles comes, just remember: God sends both happiness and trouble; you never know what is going to happen next’ (see Eccl7:14). It is better in troubles and challenges than death. The trouble may sadden our face, but it sharpens our understanding.

Life is a choice, you either choose to remain in perpetual sorrow or sadness, unable to move forward by the gravity of your own loss or choose to rise from your pain to treasure the most expensive gift you can have, ‘life itself.’ The day sun and the night moon/stars are sign to tell you there is a season in life. There are seasons when it seems that the enemy is winning and confusion or sorrow becomes your other name, but at such seasons, always remember the words of David in Psalm 144:1 (KJV): ‘Blessed be the Lord my strength, who teaches my hands to war, and my finger to fight.’ What God has put in you is bigger than what is confronting you. Don’t give up!

The road of life maybe hard, leaving you to question your life at times, but never allow the voice of discouragement to make you want to quit your struggle. Of what use is light in absence of darkness! Of what use is life in absence of trials! Our spirit is created to grow strong by conflict and not by comfort. Life is full of challenges, but challenges in your life are not meant to break you down but to strengthen you up. Life is not a bed full of roses but a bed of controversies and challenges, coupled with good and bad times. Some people believe that as a child of God, one should not face challenges. Being saved or spiritually alert does not keep the devil, trials, and challenges from existing, but it serves as a way of positioning you for battle, which you will keep on fighting till the end of time.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. As long as you are a star, you must shine, and a star can only shine brighter when there is darkness. Problems are not a respecter of any status, person, or race. It comes to us all; therefore we must accept it not because it is good but because it makes a man strong and alive. Always remember that man’s adversity is God’s opportunity. You have to face challenges and predicament, for that is what is keeping you alive. Try to view things as an overcomer, someone who looks beyond the ordinary, and not as a loser, someone who believes once there is a problem, it means the end of the road. ‘As long as you see as men see, you will walk in blindness’ (Pastor Chris Oyakhilome).

A certain man was faced with a problem that was weighing him down; he ran to his pastor friend and told him about his predicament. In his conclusion, he told the pastor, it seems is only me that the devil holds in his mind from the rest of the people because of the number of troubles that surrounded me. He asked the pastor to pray for him. And when the pastor started praying, he prayed thus: ‘Lord, let him die!’ The man was shocked, and he quickly withdrew his head and exclaimed, ‘Sir, that is not the prayer I asked you to pray.’ And the pastor said to him, ‘The only option for you to stop having problem is to die, because the living makes progress but the dead make none.’

Jesus never promises to keep trouble and hard times out of our way, but he promise to see us through them (Ps.