"Have you ever felt backed up against a wall, with the odds stacked against you?  In situations like that, Christians too often refuse to acknowledge an important truth.  That is, they fail to recognize that God may actually be the one who is orchestrating their challenging circumstances.

"You may think, No way.  God protects me from such things.  The world and Satan are doing this to me. Perhaps.  Yet maybe, just maybe, God is trying to tell you something--and He first needs to get your attention.

"Time and again in Scripture, we see that the Lord uses difficulties to build faith.  It's easy to trust Him when things go our way.  However, God often removes comforts and false securities from our lives to remind us that He is the true source of our strength.

"Consider Judges 7:1-7, in which Gideon was ready to lead a powerful militia of 32,000 men into battle against the enemy.  However, the Lord stepped in three separate times, whittling the Israelite army down to less than one pecent of its original size.  We may have replied, 'What?  It's impossible to defeat enemy forces with just 300 men!'  That's probably true; 300 men alone couldn't do it.  But the Lord can--which is the lesson of Gideon.

"When the odds are not in your favor, don't think that God has abandoned you.  Your friends, money, and success may disappear, but those won't win the battle anyway.  Stand your ground and keep your eye on the Lord,  With everything else stripped away, you'll be amazed at what your heavenly Father will achieve."

From IN TOUCH MAGAZINE, October, 2008

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