Quit Your Whining And Toughen Up!

It is sometimes Gods will that we endure tough, hard, and difficult times. Those who have endured and overcome very little in natural life can normally endure very little in spiritual matters. Things get tough so they give up and quit.

It isn't good to have things too easy. In America we had a generation that came through the depression that were tough. They could push through tough things spiritually because they had conquered difficult and hard times in natural life. They never gave up and survived the most difficult times our country had faced. They also did the same in spiritual matters. Those who have endured little in the natural can rarely endure much in the spiritual.

Physically, mentally, and spiritually they were a different breed because of the things they endured and pressed on through. It's not good to have it to easy spiritually. Folks that are ALWAYS having folks pray FOR them... exercising their faith FOR them...everything going easy.. the money just rolling in with no strain on their part. Folks that have it to easy then wilt when they run up against hard times. Sooner or later you will run up against something... something hard. If you haven't run up against hard times then you haven't been far yet.

I don't know where in the world some of the so called faith people get some of the fantastic ideas they have. It's nothing in the world but mental fantasies. They think they are just going to float through life on a cloud. Float down the stream of time on a flowery bed of ease. Well....you will soon find out dear brother and sister... some of you folks entering ministry or if you get out and begin pastoring a church...you will soon find out if you are floating down a stream on a flowery bed of ease or not! Somebody will remove all the ease there is about your life from you. Crisis comes to us all.

I want to see us toughened up bless God. Get ready to win when in a spiritual battle. Tough times will surely come. However, you can be prepared. Some things you must just pray through. Stay right in there until you pray them through. Don't quit and don't faint but endure. Endure and keep pressing on with the Lord.

Ken Hagin Sr., November 14, 1986, Winter Bible Seminar, Broken Arrow Oklahoma

I was in the meeting where Ken Hagin shared this. I was actually one of his personal ushers that night. I know several dozen people that have been used mightily of God in regional revivals for that primary reason he shared about. They developed backbones like crow bars set in concrete and refused to allow the enemy to take them down or discourage them. They kept on pressing in through the very, very difficult times and a day came God rewarded their integrity and fortitude with a blessed visitation of renewal in their geographic region.

Toughen up! Press through! The reward at the end of the challenge is worth the effort!

Hi Solomon,

Funny enough my mom and i where just discussing this about an hour ago.

My dad was an agressive and violent alchoholic and we went through what we though was hell before he passed away from bronchitis in 2004. Each and every day was a battle (especially for my mom) with sleepless nights (he shot at her several times) , verbal, physical and financial abuse ontop of normal day-to- day things like school, work, exams etc.

So she was reminincing about the difficult times, how she came to Christ amidst his threats to never go to happy clappy churches, how things God worse and how the most difficult part of this was her making the decision to become born again. She said that there was two weeks of calm after she started her fellowshiping including a marriage councelling seminar and after that, God met her deepest need so much that she never lived a day in fear of my father, regardless of what he tried to do to her.

Yimes where dark, and although the next person saw her as in the fire as Shadrach, Mesechach and Abednego were, she said she had the deepest trust and relationship with Christ through prayer that all she felt with the preassure my father brought was peace in the assurance of Gods love for both her and her husband.

She prayed endlessly, ministerd to him when a chance arose, refused to divorce him despite our aunts and uncles interventions etc. She was a Christ worrior for the sake of her family.

I was quite young so I have my own story throgh this situation, but in the end my father died in my mother's arms as a saved man calling unto Jesus.

I bring up this story because she was talking about this beautiful relationship with Christ as a thing of the past. She even said that she doesn't know if she would have the same streghth/fire now should a similar situation arise.

Dare I say it was a sad realization.

Do rejoice in your suffering like the bible says. Rom 5:3.

Very good messages!

On the same theme, I just listened to this yesterday - it reverberates with everything you both said about strength and enduring with Christ:

David Wilkerson: Baptism of fire
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=3008