Sermon : On Surviving Tough Times

What is the secret ingredient of tough people? Why do they survive tough times when others are overcome by them? The answer is all in how they perceive the problem.

Every human being has problems. One of the biggest problems facing America today is unemployment. But having a job does not solve all your problems.

Employed people have problems too. Lots of people hate their jobs. They don’t like their boss or their commute.

Some assume they would be happy self-employed. But that’s not as easy as it sounds. Being your own boss means (taking care of) employee relations, managing personnel and maximum productivity.

History teaches us that every problem has a life span. For 40 years the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness before they found a home. The slaves in America were eventually set free. And the Berlin Wall was eventually torn down.

Every problem holds positive possibilities. Rats and mice are viewed by many as plagues. Yet the presence of rats and mice results in a million-dollar industry because somebody has to make the mouse traps.

Every problem will change you. There was a college professor who was so boring that the students stopped coming to class. The professor was fired. To some this would be a disaster. But to this professor it was a blessing because when he got fired, he got fired up.

You may not be able to control your tough time, but you can choose what your problem will do to you. You can turn your pain into profanity or poetry.

Tough people survive tough times because they choose to react positively. Positive solutions require courage: courage to face up to your creditors, your family and your problems.

Whenever I think about problems, I think about (the Old Testament’s) Job. Job lost everything. And it wasn’t because God was punishing Job; God was testing him. Just like Job was tried, you will be tried. He lost everything, yet he wasn’t a loser because he never turned his back on God. They key is to remember that no matter what happens, keep your trust in God and you can survive the tough times.