You're Strong Enough (10 page)

No trial or challenge is wasted with God.
Whether it’s our own trials or the challenges that come from the choices of others, God can use them to our benefit if we allow Him. You have all the power to choose what to do with your experiences and challenges. Ask yourself next time a trial comes along:
Do I learn from this or do I allow it to cloud my view of God and
myself?

Same Lesson, Different Time

I encourage you to ask our Heavenly Father to make you stronger and build character because of your trials. If you find yourself always asking, “Why me?” instead of “What can I learn from this?” you will remain stuck. The “Why me?” question, will keep you walking in a circle on your quest and you will find you end up in the same place you started with no progress. The problem will continue to show up in your life. Let’s say you find yourself dating the same type of abusive guy, over and over again and you have no idea why. It is because you have not learned to recognize an abusive guy or you believe you are not worthy of anything better.

If you find yourself facing the same problem over and over again, your problem will never go away until you take it on, overcome it and learn from it. Life’s problems go away, or are easier to accept, when we learn the lesson. Our trials are for our learning and growth.
They are the best way God could test us, to see if we would choose Him and be worthy as heirs in His Kingdom.

It is important you use your strengths and talents and prayers to overcome the obstacles that you are facing, so they won’t repeat themselves. Let the lessons of life build character in you, so you can become stronger for the next trial that God has in store for you. God uses our trials as building blocks to better things, like becoming heirs in His Kingdom.
Remember, your trials were handpicked for you, for your ultimate learning and growth.
They are something you accepted in the Preexistence.

Perspective on Your Acceptance

It may be hard for you to believe that you may have agreed in the Preexistence to have these trials in your life. If you knew you did, wouldn’t that give you the power to change, accept and be happy in this life no matter what? Changing your perspective on your family, trials, challenges and weaknesses can assist you in becoming more powerful about the way you handle them.

Let’s say you had a dream of your future wife and you knew the dream was going to come true. Wouldn’t that give you the confidence when you did finally meet her, for you to win her heart?

The concept is the same. If we knew we accepted our trials before we came to Earth and that God gave us what we would need to overcome these trials, wouldn’t that give you the strength and confidence to achieve your quest no matter what?

Look at every challenge as a stepping-stone. View trials as things you can learn from and a reason to draw closer to your God. Let’s say while you were in the Preexistence you were watching others go through their obstacle course on Earth. You saw someone climbing a mountain. As you watched this person climb (i.e., cancer), you knew that you could do the same mountain. You knew that type of trial was something you had the strength and courage to handle.

Now if you were to believe that you could scale a mountain, overcome cancer, wouldn’t that give you the confidence to accomplish that task here on Earth?

By believing we can accomplish the things that are placed before us, we have won half the battle.
Our belief will serve as power to defeat the dragon who tries to get in our way. If you can change your perspective and accept that you chose these trials, how much more confident and powerful would you be in your own life? If you can change your perspective, you are able to change how you overcome things.

Trials themselves do not define you. What defines you is how you act in those circumstances you are confronted with.
If you can change your perspective about your trials, then they will become easier to learn from and overcome. Next time a trial or challenge comes along your path, step back and try to look at it as if you already conquered it. Perspective brings power and power brings success.

Be strong. Be prayerful. Use your talents, strengths, armour of God and perspective to overcome any obstacle on your quest.

Our Heavenly Father is wise and all-powerful. He knows when your trials are too much for you to handle alone. Therefore, He can provide assistance by sending you another human to help you or by sending you a miracle.
Miracles are still performed every day for the benefit and use of
man.

Miracles

The story I shared in the preface was full of miracles. The only way I could have succeeded on my quest to live with my father was by divine intervention. Miracles are happening all around us. Though we each have the strength to overcome our own trials, God can and will perform miracles as we need them.
A miracle is an event attributed to divine intervention, an act that can’t be explained, or something that was done so perfectly it could have come only from
God.

Miracles, big or small, come for different reasons. God performs miracles for the human race, through those He has called to bring about His work and teachings (i.e., His gospel). Miracles also come through inspiration for the advancement of man (i.e., penicillin). And miracles can come to those who are trying to do what is right and need divine intervention.

Miracles are needed now more than ever because of the world in which we live.
The quest that we must go through in the twenty-first century has more dark mists, a stronger dragon, tougher strings to cut through, harder terrain and confusing roadmaps. Satan is gaining more control over people through their poor choices now than ever before. He is the puppeteer to many people because of pornography, alcohol, drugs, etc. As a result, many people are letting Satan help dictate their choices, abusing their free agency and hurting others deeply.

Abuse

Abuse to children and the youth is more prevalent now than ever before. Miracles are needed now more than ever—especially for those who feel they are not strong enough to overcome the abuse that is happening to them.

If you are being abused by family, extended family (i.e., stepparents or stepsiblings), or by others, you need to speak up. No one deserves to be touched inappropriately, beaten physically, or spoke to cruelly. I want to share with you how Jesus Christ feels about the youth being abused.
He states in Matt.18:6, “But who so shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
In another words, whoever harms one of His little children, it would be better for them never to have been born.

If Jesus Christ feels so strongly about people abusing others, let that give you strength to act in your best interest.
Be strong and brave. Tell someone if you are being abused.
Reach out to someone you can trust and tell them what’s going on. You will never receive the help you deserve if you do not open your mouth and talk about the abuse. Do not be afraid. Ask our Heavenly Father for a miracle to help you get out of the abusive situation.

Our Heavenly Father will assist you and send you a miracle when the time is right if you ask. He loves you very much. It hurts Him deeply when His children misuse their agency and harm each other.
Do not let Satan convince you that God has deserted you.
Pray and do your part in finding relief from this abuse by finding someone that can help you. You are strong enough. Believe in yourself and save yourself from future pain by speaking up today.

I hope your quest for answers has been quenched. Each of us was given the gift of free agency. Not all will use it wisely. You can choose how you will act or react if others use their free agency towards you poorly. You have been given the strength, tools and opportunities to learn and grow from any challenge or trial that comes your way. Change your perspective on your trials and be confident that, with the help of our Heavenly Father, you can overcome anything, so that you may return home and receive your reward.