Proverb 17:17—“A brother is born for adversity.”

Vietnamese soldiers had a reputation for torture. James Stockdale spent eight years in one of their prison camps during the Vietnam War. He was tortured, beaten, and deprived of food daily. After Stockdale’s release, a news reporter asked him how he survived eight years in a prisoner-of-war camp. He said, “I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in looking back, I would not trade.”

James Stockdale later became an Admiral in the Navy and won some of the highest awards any soldier could win. He became an achiever in part because he realized the necessity of an enemy. Many people don’t want to face strong opposition or difficult circumstances. But the achiever welcomes the enemy of adversity as a necessary means of gaining courage, strength, and character.

Achievers welcome the twin realities of current difficulty and ultimate triumph. He knows that the coming victory can sometimes be seen most clearly in the darkest moments. His life is defined by how he responds to difficulty not by what he does in good times. For sons and daughters of God everything will work out in the end. If it’s not working out it’s not the end.

1. Who do you consider to be your number one enemy? Why?
2. What is your usual attitude when bad things happen to you?
3. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? How did it change your life? Is your life better or worse for it?
4. One action you need to take to face adversity with courage: ___________________.
________________________________________________________________________________________.

Great victories demand great risks. Nobody ever won anything big or accomplished anything great without taking big risks. I have witnessed countless people, teams, and nations fall short of destiny, victory, and prosperity because they failed to risk. Their moment of opportunity was upon them but they lacked the thing they couldn’t do without—the willingness to risk . What does it take to risk big?
Saul’s son Jonathan was a risk taker. I Samuel 14 speaks of how he and his armor bearer singlehandedly brought defeat upon the Philistine Army. These marauding enemies were camped on a mountaintop opposite the valley position of the Israelites. They had raided, raped, and ravaged the Israelites for many months.
One young man of the Israelite Army saw his moment clearly and acted. Jonathan did three things that led to him risking all for the glory of God, his people, and his country:

1. He found his faith. “Come let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will work for us.”—I Samuel 14:6. Faith is a free gift from God. Everybody has faith. When, where, and how you use it—those are the real issues. God is powerfully drawn to the faithful heart. If my heart is to risk for my God and my team, that in itself is a victory!

2. He made a decision and acted. “Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him.”—I Samuel 14:13. Once my faith is activated and I see my course, conviction rises up in me. I move from “I will” to “I must!” My life takes on a burning that cannot be quenched except in the intensity of battle. Others may feel sorry for their adversity and pain. I cannot. Others may fear embarrassment and failure. I cannot. Others may quit. I cannot.

3. He called out a comrade. “And his armor bearer said, ‘Do all that is in your heart for I am with you.”—I Samuel 14:7. If we will risk big, God will give big. The bigger the risk, the greater the resources He pours out for us. The moment you decide to act in faith, the moment you plunge in to the risk, that is the moment that God begins to turn in your direction all kinds of resources you never knew existed—confidence, teammates, unexpected circumstances.

Where in your life is God calling you to risk? “Perhaps the Lord will act on your behalf” but not before you take action. Pour it all out—all your talent, all your energy, all your focus and see if He will not meet you in a powerful and unexpected way!

Posted by Bill Buckley

Great victories demand great risks. Nobody ever won anything big or accomplished anything great without taking big risks. I have witnessed countless people, teams, and nations fall short of destiny, victory, and prosperity because they failed to risk. Their moment of opportunity was upon them but they lacked the thing they couldn’t do without—the willingness to risk . What does it take to risk big?
Saul’s son Jonathan was a risk taker. I Samuel 14 speaks of how he and his armor bearer singlehandedly brought defeat upon the Philistine Army. These marauding enemies were camped on a mountaintop opposite the valley position of the Israelites. They had raided, raped, and ravaged the Israelites for many months.
One young man of the Israelite Army saw his moment clearly and acted. Jonathan did three things that led to him risking all for the glory of God, his people, and his country:

1. He found his faith. “Come let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will work for us.”—I Samuel 14:6. Faith is a free gift from God. Everybody has faith. When, where, and how you use it—those are the real issues. God is powerfully drawn to the faithful heart. If my heart is to risk for my God and my team, that in itself is a victory!

2. He made a decision and acted. “Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him.”—I Samuel 14:13. Once my faith is activated and I see my course, conviction rises up in me. I move from “I will” to “I must!” My life takes on a burning that cannot be quenched except in the intensity of battle. Others may feel sorry for their adversity and pain. I cannot. Others may fear embarrassment and failure. I cannot. Others may quit. I cannot.

3. He called out a comrade. “And his armor bearer said, ‘Do all that is in your heart for I am with you.”—I Samuel 14:7. If we will risk big, God will give big. The bigger the risk, the greater the resources He pours out for us. The moment you decide to act in faith, the moment you plunge in to the risk, that is the moment that God begins to turn in your direction all kinds of resources you never knew existed—confidence, teammates, unexpected circumstances.

Where in your life is God calling you to risk? “Perhaps the Lord will act on your behalf” but not before you take action. Pour it all out—all your talent, all your energy, all your focus and see if He will not meet you in a powerful and unexpected way!