In 1909 the Olympic runner from Tanzania, John Stephen Akhwari, fell as he was running.  He hurt his head and legs but dragged himself along to finish the marathon. When asked why he forced himself to endure unnecessary agony, he replied “My country did not send me 10,000 miles just to start the race but to finish it.”  Learning how to overcome adversity is important today because, while learning to parachute is optional and learning to macramé is a choice, learning to face adversity isn’t!  “In the world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).  

Every believer has troubles, even your neighbour.  They might be different from yours, or they may not even appear to have them, but believe me they do. Troubles are part of life for believers and nonbelievers.  Trouble is normal, but the big advantage is that we have Gods help and presence to empower us through it.  Knowing that troubles are normal, helps us persevere. Even while Elijah was chilling in the desert, he had challenges. First abundance, then famine, then ravens, and then lack and death in the home. It was an intense couple of years.  God was not trying to make great difficulties for him, but he was seeking to make him great.  God was growing Elijah for his tomorrow and us for ours. He was making a man of God who could pray down a revival, confront kings and turn back nations. A man who could pray earnestly and see the heaven opened over his nation.

Friends, our troubles are to make us more dependant and therefore stronger. God is developing conquerors, not survivors.  The hard thing about being a Christian is living on the earth; being a Christian in heaven, will be easy.  Expecting to have heaven now, where there is no sickness, no trouble, no sadness or trials, will only cause the pain of disappointment. There is a sure way to get into the blessing of God and there is a certain way into our destiny but there is no easy way. However Gods training in your life up till now, has made you more than strong enough to finish your race.