Tough Times Don’t Last by Pastor Tim Gilligan
Tough Times Don’t Last
Pastor Tim Gilligan
Tim Gilligan founded non-denominational Meadowbrook Church in Ocala, Florida, in 1989. From humble beginnings, the church now has approximately 3,500 members, and continues to grow. Dedicated to sharing God’s vision with his Meadowbrook family and an ever-expanding Internet audience, Pastor Tim teaches spiritual lessons with a blend of compassion, humor and above all, practical application. Pastor Tim and his wife, Alicia, have raised five children and reside in Ocala. You can learn more about Meadowbrook Church on their website. You can order “Tough Times Don’t Last” by clicking here.
In this world, one thing is certain: there will be tough times. No one is immune to the pressures, problems and challenges of life. Relationship struggles, financial challenges, health concerns, and family problems are part of living in this world.
Sometimes we find ourselves in tough times that are of our own making,where the situation is one that we’ve created — whether intentionally or by accident. In other instances, tough times are individual situations that we didn’t create or put in motion. Like it or not, the reality is that some things come into our lives that are not our fault. They happen simply because we live in a fallen, broken world. We have to deal with those times even though we didn’t cause them and don’t deserve them.
When the pressures of life are closing in on all sides, it often seems there is no escape. Tough times are a reality, but they don’t have to dominate your existence, and they don’t have to last indefinitely.
Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. It’s part of living on this earth. People often make decisions that actually extend and intensify their troubles. They may also have spiritual, emotional or mental conditions that prolong hard times. If you’re uninformed, or misinformed, if you’re ill-equipped, if you lack strength, if you make wrong decisions, or if you’re headed in the wrong direction, those tough times can linger.
While tough times come to everybody, the good news is, those tough times don’t have to last. Tough Times are subject to a number of principles and practices, as well as the promises and power of God.
Tough Times Don’t Last is all about teaching you how to properly equip yourself with God’s Word and His powerful principles so you’ll be able to deal with trials, and come through with a testimony that will strengthen you and bless those around you. As you get informed and equipped, and adjust your perspective from a Scriptural view, you’ll find strength and make right decisions. Then you can deal with the tough times when they come along and make sure they don’t linger.
Here are seven things we need to understand and do to make sure that we outlast the tough times we face.
• Your problem is not really the problem.
How successfully – or miserably – we make it through challenges in life depends in part on what we know. You must be stronger on the “inside,” filled with the Word and promises of God, than the problems you face on the “outside.”
• Cast your cares upon the Lord.
There’s a danger in continually carrying your cares. We need to do whatever it takes to get rid of our cares, but do what you have to do to get out from under that load of cares or you’ll be easily knocked down.
• Nurture a close relationship with God.
To build a relationship with God, you need to spend time alone, just you and God. Spending time alone with God does not make Him love you any more than He already does, you don’t earn special spiritual reward bonus points, and it simply makes it easier for God to communicate with you.
• Learn the essence of problem solving.
You must narrow the gap between what you have and what you want. You have to define what you want, understand what you have, and then decide what needs to be done to solve the problem.
• Know how to deal with fear and problems.
Once we get the revelation that God has promised to be our refuge and our strength and really believe it, we’ll understand that we don’t have to be afraid of anything! He’ll be there to protect us and give us His strength to get through it.
• Find peace in the midst of challenges.
Even during hard times, God is able to put gladness in your heart, so that you can lie down in peace and sleep. Real peace springs from having hope even in the midst of troubles and conflicts. The only way to obtain peace is through daily “intake of and exposure to” the Word of God.
• Determine to make it through the storms of life.
You choose the foundation on which you build your life: rock or sand. Determine to make God’s truth the core of your life, the very foundation upon which you build your life. Then you will have a life that will withstand the test of any storm that may blow your way.
Tough Times Don’t Last gives valuable spiritual insight and practical applications to help believers stand firm in the face of life’s challenges. You can order “Tough Times Don’t Last” by clicking here.
