Adapt & Overcome

Adapt and Overcome, a faithful saying the military use when crazy situations present themselves to soldiers. I remember a few sergeants would say this when the workload and orders came down hard on us. They would say this trying not to show their frustration and create an on-the-spot strategy to handle the situations successfully. These two principles go hand-in-hand and we've must hone them in these hard times. I myself am going through some very difficult situations in my life from time management, keeping the fire burning in my marriage, church responsibilities, to financial hardships. It's crazy and sometimes I do want to pul my hair out (what's left of it). I do get frustration and just start to die inside so I won't feel the pain I'm going through. I could continue to act like a victim in this whole thing and live out the rest of my days with a chip on my shoulder. But for every great person who is called by God to be somewhat of an example of His miracles of making impossibilities become possible, they have to adapt and overcome. My friends, this isn't an easy task, for it requires work, effort, discipline, and a willing mind to loss what's precious to us. A couple of weeks ago, I heard a preacher talking about the valley. Of course, many of us didn't really want to hear about the valley because we just want to be blessed all the time. We feel like if we suffer, it should only last a couple of days and I'm good. We feel like if I'm going through certain situations, I can pray and things will be fixed instantly. We think about the woman with the issue of blood and other people in the Bible who were healed instantly. However, we forget about the time they stayed in those places of pain. The woman with the issue of blood dealt was broke down for over a decade! Job suffered for at least 3 years before he got his breakthrough. Joseph was in slavery as well as in prison for almost 13 to 14 years. These people had dealt with the harshness life can bring and could've just laid down and died. But something clicked within them and said, dude, you've got to learn how to adapt and overcome. The woman did whatever it took to stay alive in her long season of pain from going to priests then to doctors. Job continued to ask God why and be ridiculed by his so-called friends. Joseph explored the different talents within him to keep himself from going nuts and becoming bitter. They had to learn to make their stumbling blocks become their stairs. Now, this is easier said than done but it can be done. Do you think it was easy for God to create the universe as we know with ease? That's the true definition of work. When we're learning how to adapt and overcome, we become creative, we become more introspective, and we take ownership of our journey. We become more compassionate of what others are going through despite their shifty attitudes. We learn how to manage our money better and go back to the basics of what we need instead of always getting what we want. We learn to do what' right in the eyes of God and our families; thereby ceasing the work of pleasing other people. We learn to analyze the problem, seek wisdom, and get a solution. We learn so many things that I can't name right now because dude, I'm only one man, I don't know it all. Sometimes, we need hardships to be taught so we can teach others. Hard times are the best time for God to get our attention. It's not because we did anything wrong, it's just that He wants to give us more tools in our toolbox. dgwo

Reference:

Psalms 16:7