I find myself in a familiar situation. Unemployed. It is not by fault or choice, it is what it is. The last time I went through this, I was ill-equipped to deal with the emotional and physical drawbacks of such a traumatic experience. I felt pointless, helpless, unwanted and unnecessary. I had become a statistic.

It was in the midst of this experience that I discovered The Grace and Strength Lifestyle. I was skeptical at first, but as I stretched myself out of the comfort zone I had allowed myself to sink into, and embraced the philosophies and encouragement that comes from the one on one and group experience, I began to see miraculous things occur in my life.

Flash forward to today. I am now equipped to ride this thing out and encourage others to ride out their own carnival ride called life. I am no longer bound by the fears of the unknown, because of Jer 29:11 and Matt 19:26. These two verses have become the core of my strength in adversity.

We all are bound to encounter life changing circumstances. We think we are destined to be on one path and find that life has changed direction on us. We can stumble our way through it or remember what the Psalmist David said:

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

When we are born, we aren't all blessed to be raised by someone who understands that the bible is a user-friendly manual to this thing we call life.

Most of us only know what we have learned from our parents and the people we encounter in life and the example they set in their own handling of life issues.

We have a manual. A relational guideline that embraces our human frailties and shows us how to capitalize on adversity as well as success. Its called the Bible.

Regardless of our situation, The Bible is the one source of comfort, instruction, correction, and wisdom that transcends time and helps us navigate through the corridors of time with our heads held high, regardless of our current or past situations.

We have choices to make our lives better or worse, depending on whose philosophy we embrace. It's not about religion, it's not about church, it's about the power of a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's about letting go of our pain, suffering and personal hell, and letting God through His Holy Spirit and vast infinite wisdom, take our suffering and turning it into dancing, rejoicing, blessing and honor. Our Attitude determines our Altitude.

It's not what you can get out of God, it's what God can get out of you that determines how well you survive each and every twist and turn.

I liken my situation to that of a carnival ride called the Tilt A Whirl. You get in a "car" and strap in. Then it twists and turns in circles back and forth as the whole platform it sits on, tilts and spins round and round. You are thrown this way and that. It is only by holding on til it stops that you know you can survive. Some people get on that ride with their bellies full of junk that they have filled themselves with. As the ride hits its peak, that stuff is forced out and all over. There is stuff in each of us, junk that seems to fill a void, but becomes poison to us as life tosses us back and forth. It is only by purging the stuff out on that ride, that we can find that baseline that we can then build a spiritual, emotional and physical lifestyle that allows us to "Do all things through Christ who strengthens us."  So the next time life tosses you lemons, don't find out who threw them and shove them back down their throats. Give them, instead, to God and let him make diamonds out of them and use those diamonds to promote you and reward you for your faithfulness to Him in the midst of the ride. That is living the Grace and Strength Lifestyle at and in its fullest capacity!

Pray Seek Believe Receive

David Michael Rose

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* Individual results may vary.