Not Victims

Stephen Furtick post:  Use it

In my high school wrestling days, my coaches taught me a technique that seems to work well in every area of life.

Whatever your opponent gives you to work with, use it.

For instance, if your opponent gives you only one vulnerable arm to work with, use it to your advantage. If your opponent aggressively attacks you, use his own momentum to bring him down.

I think you see this same kind of technique in the lives of people like the apostle Paul. And it’s the reason why he was so effective. He used whatever was given to him. He saw the potential in every situation and this allowed him to be adaptable and useful in every situation.

If he was put in jail, he converted the guards.
If he was executed, he saw it as gain.
If they let him live, he’d preach the gospel.
If he was given a thorn in his flesh, he’d use it as an opportunity to let God’s power shine in his weakness.

This made Paul the freest and most powerful man on the planet. And there’s no coincidence that he walked in a level of joy and intimacy with God that most of us fall cosmically short of.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The same technique that worked for him can work for us too.

The circumstances, struggles, and attacks you face are not the ultimate determining factor of the kind of life you live. How you use them is. And there isn’t a single situation in your life that can’t be used for your good and God’s glory.

If you’re facing adversity, use it to develop patience and endurance.
If you’re in a place of financial scarcity, use it to display God’s sufficiency.
If you’ve failed, use it to learn.
If Satan is exploiting one of your past failures, use it to display God’s past faithfulness on the cross.
Whatever you do, refuse to be a victim of what’s thrown at you.

Whatever you’re given in life, use it. And God will use you.