Stepping Into RevivalSample

Adversity Makes you Better—Not Bitter!

About 30 years ago, in the Northeast, they discovered that codfish was a lucrative business, and they began to ship codfish all over the United States. They soon noticed a problem. As these codfish were frozen and then shipped miles and miles away, they would become mushy; they lost their taste. 

Several businesses decided they would try to ship live codfish in large tanks across the U.S., but by the time they landed at the distribution spots, they had somehow lost their flavor. They realized that the fish were not very tasteful because they were too comfortable in their tanks. There were no threats, nothing that would cause them to stay alert. 

Finally, it was decided to put an enemy of the codfish in the tank with them. They dropped a group of catfish into the tanks of the codfish. 

Catfish are the natural enemy to the codfish, so these catfish immediately began to scare the codfish. 

The codfish had to stay alert, and because they were not allowed to be lazy in a comfortable environment, they arrived healthy and fit with no compromise to their taste. Not only did the cod survive, but also they were stronger having gone through the journey. 

Have you heard the phrase, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?” As Christians, you shouldn’t be surprised by the trials that you're facing, as if something strange was happening, as if God left the throne room. No, God could be using those very trials to help you grow into who He's called you to be— to shape you into the man, the woman, that He's called you to be. Trials come with the territory. 

What happens when we recognize that these seasons of trials are seasons of growth, seasons of spiritual awakening, and seasons of personal revival? 

We learn to look for the lessons and look for the purpose in our pain. We begin to align our thinking with God’s thinking and partner with Christ in our suffering. This is the door to revival.