• "Why are you sitting there just staring off into space?" one friend asked another.
• "Well, this year has been awful. It's the worst year that I can ever remember. Nothing's gone right and it seems that everything's gone wrong. So I'm trying to figure out what was the worst thing that happened. But there's too much competition for first place."
• Call them what you will: Misfortunes or mishaps, troubles or trials, adversities or afflictions. They are part of all of our lives and no one is immune to them.
• But some seem to get through them, over them or around them better than others. Does their strength come from a superior source? Do they have a resource to call upon that is unavailable to the rest of us?
• There is a story of the men of Judah standing before the Lord with their little ones. Suddenly, the spirit of the Lord came on one of the men. The message that came to him to give to the others was simple: "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!"
• All Christians have God's Spirit in them Who can work through them. If we stand firm in our faith and ask for God's help, He will fight the battle for us and triumph.
• Prayer: Lord, when adversity tries to stare us down, may we look up to You to save and sustain us. Amen.
• Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:13-17: 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.'"