If you ever truly understand the real purpose of stress in your life, you would never ask the question, ‘God, why me’?
Many bosses admit that when looking for a member of their team to promote to a higher position they deliberately ply pressure on that person to see what they are like under pressure. If the pressure breaks the person, then they won’t promote him/her. Venture capitalist also will admit using this technique when people want them to invest in their business. They research the business idea and deliberately pretend not to be interested and rubbish the idea. The whole purpose is to see whether the person really believes in himself and his idea or if he will buckle up under pressure and abandon his ideas. They figure that a person who does not have the courage of his convictions is not worthy of an investment.
So when next you are going through stressful situations or your beliefs are challenged, believe you are under a test from One who is greater than a boss and a venture capitalist. God wants to see if you are worthy of promotion or if you will hold on to your belief in Him or begin to doubt the moment your beliefs place you under persecution. There is a better world than this world and God is looking for those worthy enough to populate that world “But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage” – Luke 20:35.
Don’t see rejection by others as a setback. Don’t even step back because men reject you. The best use for rejection is to use it as a springboard for better things. The Bible in Acts 4:11 and Psalm 118:22 says “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone”.
True story (and you can Google this) – Jan Koum and Brian Acton applied for a job at Facebook in 2008 and were rejected. Rather than be consumed by this rejection, the duo drowned their sorrows in developing an app that helped people to connect to all the people on their phone’s address book. They named their app Whatsapp. Today, the same Facebook that rejected them has paid them $19 billion for their company. If you had asked them about the rejection in 2008 they would have said it was a bad thing. If you ask them today, they would say it is a good thing.
God promised believers in Romans 8:28 “all things work together for good to them that love God”. If this is the case, if things are not working for good in the present, don’t despair. God cannot lie. That situation will eventually turn out for your good if you continue to love God. And as Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands”. As long as you love God, that situation will turn out for your good.
Reno Omokri is the pastor of the Mind of Christ Christian Center and author of Shunpiking No Shortcuts To God. He can be reached on Twitter @renoomokri
