"Cross-Fit"

"LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:" (Psalms 132:1)

  They say, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," there is some truth to that, if you are in the frame of mind to let it happen. In David's case, he was determined to serve the LORD; even in his lowest point in life, once he realized what he had done, his heart was broken, as he said, "I have sinned against the LORD." (2 Samuel 12:13) It was a sincere acknowledgement of what he had done, and it was a moment when his heart was truly broken. You could compare David's reaction to the realization of being found out, to Cain's reaction; David's was pure and he knew that it was God he had sinned against, while Cain was in denial, and did not feel his punishment fit the crime. David, on the other hand, did not complain about the seriousness of his punishment; the public spectacle that would await him, even the death of the child that Bathsheba would soon give birth to. He grieved, prayed, and fasted for the child's life, but he never complained; he only pleaded that the life be spared, and when it was not, he dusted himself off and worshipped the LORD. That is the main point that we must be focused upon, both in learning about how others react to afflictions, and while learning to be determined to react the same: What God thinks matters most! It is useless to try and figure out what God is thinking, that is not the point; the point is how our actions are towards God and not to ourselves or to please man. First and foremost, we must worship the LORD! Worship is not just showing up to church or having a private time alone with God; we worship Him by the way we react to afflictions and trials. Is it well with our soul, when trials come our way? Do we actually stand by what we say, when we say that, In God We Trust? This is something that must be thought out and determined. What will you do when all is stripped away? Will you still praise Him, even when life hurts? There is nothing that can come against you, if you know where your hope is founded in, so you must believe it with all you've got. I believe that is something that we must determine in our hearts to do! For certain, we need to learn to listen to the voice of God, which takes practice...

""If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?"" (Luke 14:26-28)