Have you ever prayed to God to use you in a big way for His Kingdom Purposes ? Have you always wanted to be a mighty Christian Leader and do great things for your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ ? Then God will answer your prayer request, only probably not the way you are expecting Him too. You see, God's way of preparing you for leadership is to put you through the firey furnace of adversity and suffering. When God begins to refine you and to prepare you for leadership, one of the first things He has to do is burn the self-centered pride out of you. He has to turn you upside-down and shake your life. He will humble you. The pathway to Godly leadership almost always leads us through the Valley of Adversity

Looking in the New Testament, we see that even Jesus had to face adversity in the desert, suffering hunger, thirst, temptation and opposition from satan. Only then could He begin His public ministry. The Lord's disciples had to endure the loss of their Master, the failure of their own faith and character, and the dark days of despair between the cross and the empty tomb before they could become the founding leaders of the Lord's church

And then there was the apostle Paul, who was struck blind on the road to Damascus. Paul and adversity became lifelong friends. He was beaten with rods three times, stoned once, shipwrecked three times, and nearly flogged to death five times. Yet despite this adversity, Paul concluded that " we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed ( 2 Cor. 4 :8-10 )

It's hard to find anyone in Christian history who became a great leader without earning an advanced degree at the University of Adversity. Like Joseph, John Bunyan experienced God's presence in a special way while he was in prison. It was in his prison cell that he penned his classic, " The Pilgrim's Progress " . It's a book that could only have been written by a soul that was refined by the fires of Adversity

We must be transformed and renewed. That's why we must often pass through adversity on our way to becoming what God wants us to be. Adversity changes us. Adversity is the crucible that melts down the old us. Adversity is the hammer that shapes the new us. Has God enrolled you in the University of Adversity ? If so, then he has a Great Heaven-sent calling on your life !!!
 
 
 

have a blessed day,   Gary