Pursued by Troubles?

It seemed as if he were always looking over his shoulder for trouble that consistently pursued him. Minor troubles weren’t what plagued him, but major ones that threatened his very existence. Jacob’s attitude toward life was an open invitation to trouble even after God personally changed his name to Israel, which means "one who wrestled with God and prevailed."

Jacob's transformation was a progressive development. The Apostle Paul warns us "not to conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind." This indicates that transformation is an on-going process and does not prevent trouble from pursuing us.

Perhaps God uses troubles we must endure to bring to the surface hidden possibilities that lie dormant within us. Oliver Wendell Holmes was fond of saying, "Troubles create a competence for managing them." It is God's will that we mature and grow strong in faith, so we can serve Him and His church in a hostile world. God gives us strength to overcome and be victorious.
____________________

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you. 
~ROMANS 12:2 The Living Bible

Positive Change: Resist It or Embrace It? - Part 3

The word apprehend brings up images of police officers' taking into custody those who deliberately violate the laws of our country. My childhood years were spent in a small Texas farming community that employed one deputy sheriff, who in all those years took into custody only two teen-aged boys for violations of the law.

The Apostle Paul used the word apprehend to express a spiritual desire. His goal was to be apprehended by Christ Jesus; to be filled with his power so he could complete the mission for which Jesus had called him. He asked God for strength, endurance, resilience, and maturity to spread the word that God sent Jesus to save all humanity.

Paul's encounter with Jesus changed how he perceived himself and how he would serve God for the rest of his life. As God created in Paul maturity which enabled him to do his work, He also established in him resilience to stand up and fight every attempt to distract him from his calling. The Lord Jesus Christ will do this for you.