"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens other."
Proverbs 27:17
If you are going to overcome your challenges, you have to become stronger than your challenges. Don't hope your circumstances away, instead work on overcoming your circumstances with God's power.
"Some mountains are meant to be moved, but other mountains are meant to be climbed."
If we are going to climb our mountains, we have to challenge ourselves to become spiritually stronger.
Here are what I call "the 3 B's" to become spiritually stronger.
1. Back Up
The first step is to focus on God's power rather than your problems by backing up from your problems.
Stop accepting that your problems are too challenging.
Get yourself into the proper perspective.
Sometimes you have to have a "come to Jesus meeting" with yourself.
You have to awaken to the goodness of God and not the trials of the world.
You have to deal with yourself before you can deal with your situation.
Practice self-control by not allowing yourself to overreact out of fear. You can do this by putting on some worship music to snap you back into God's presence and power. Or by opening your Bible and reading about the promises of God. Or simply by speaking life over your situation and ceasing to worry about the challenges.
"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." Proverbs 25:28
2. Build Up
Build yourself up with faith-giving opportunities. We slip into discouragement because we aren't very good at being proactive about keeping ourselves encouraged.
You need to have a system that puts guardrails on your life.
Keep yourself from falling off the path to progress by ensuring you input Godly resources and opportunities into your course. For example: if you only go to church when you feel like it, you'll probably sleep in most of the time and not go to church. If you just read that faith-based book when you have some extra time, you'll never have the extra time to read it.
You have to be intentional about doing things that will build your faith even when you don't feel like you need it; that's what keeps you from "needing it."
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life." Jude 20-21
3. Buddy Up
We were created for community. We are simply better together. God designed us to be in relationships with others who will help us in our time of need.
Everyone needs someone. It's vital to your spiritual growth to have buddies that will pour into you and encourage you when you need it.
We aren't designed to go solo and work things out alone. There are no "Lone Ranger" type people in God's community.
We need each other to be all we are capable of being. Ensure you have people in your life who will hold you accountable, encourage you, and challenge you to be, do, and have more.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor (Rev. Elias Limones)
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