00:00You know, my kids tell me all the time that the adversity I've gone through is part of what makes
00:07me cool today.
00:08And I laugh when they say it, but I understand what they mean.
00:13They're not celebrating the pain.
00:15They're recognizing the hard things I survived helped shape the person I have become.
00:22You know, maybe that's true for you too.
00:26Some of the strongest parts of who you are may have been formed in seasons that you never would have
00:34chosen.
00:36Rejection, failure, loss, loneliness, disappointment, and starting over can teach us things that comfort never will.
00:48Sometimes we ask God, why am I going through this?
00:52And the answer does not come until much later when we look back on the circumstance.
00:59You know, the world will try to define you by success, money, appearance, attention, and approval.
01:06God, well, God works deeper than that.
01:11He develops character, patience, courage, wisdom, compassion, and faith.
01:17Sometimes, the experiences we would erase from our story are the same experiences God uses to prepare us for our
01:27purpose.
01:28Think about Jesus.
01:31You know, before much of his public ministry began, he went through the wilderness.
01:37Matthew 4 tells us that he faced hunger, isolation, and temptation.
01:43The wilderness did not mean he was outside God's will.
01:48It was part of the journey.
01:51That matters because you may be in a season right now that does not look like purpose.
01:57It may feel confusing, unfinished, or painful.
02:03But a foundation does not look like a finished house either.
02:07Sometimes, God is building something before you can see what it's becoming.
02:13That heartbreak may make you more compassionate.
02:19That failure may help you encourage someone who feels defeated.
02:25That season when nobody believed in you may teach you how important it is to believe in someone else.
02:33The pain may not have been good, but God can still bring something good from it.
02:42Jesus said in John 16, verse 33, that we would have trouble in this world.
02:49But he also told us to take heart because he had overcome the world.
02:55He never promised a life without adversity.
02:58He showed us that adversity does not get the final word.
03:05So, maybe the question is not only, why did this happen to me?
03:11Maybe the better question is, God, who are you teaching me to become through this?
03:19And that question, it can change everything.
03:23The person who has been through grief can understand someone who is grieving.
03:28The person who has lost everything can encourage someone starting over.
03:34The person who has been rejected can remind someone else that rejection does not determine their worth.
03:44Sometimes pain begins turning into purpose when you realize your experience can help someone else.
03:54Peter is an excellent example of this.
03:56I want you to think about this.
03:58You know, he denied even knowing Jesus Christ.
04:02But Jesus did not throw him away.
04:06After the resurrection, Jesus restored him and gave him responsibility again.
04:13Peter's failure was not the end of the story.
04:17And your failures do not have to be the end of your story, either.
04:22You can learn.
04:23You can change.
04:25You can grow.
04:27You can start again.
04:29You don't have to live forever inside the worst moment of your past.
04:34Sometimes, if you want to change your life, all you have to do is change your life.
04:42Now, maybe the prayer is simply this.
04:46God, use all of it.
04:49Use the victories, the mistakes, the disappointments, the scars, the doors that opened and the doors that closed.
04:59Use my whole story to make me the person you created me to become.
05:07You may not understand everything God is doing right now.
05:12Faith does not mean pretending that you do.
05:16Faith means trusting him while the picture is still unfinished.
05:20So, friends, do not judge your whole life based on the chapter you're in today.
05:28Remember, Jesus went through the wilderness.
05:34Remember the cross.
05:36What looked like the end on Friday was not the end of the story.
05:42Sunday came.
05:44Hope came.
05:45And maybe one day you will look back on your own life and realize that the adversity you once begged
05:52God to remove
05:54helped prepare you for the purpose he had waiting for you.
05:59God was building something through all of it.
06:03And part of what he was building is you.
06:10My name is Douglas Van der Graaf.
06:12And I believe in Jesus Christ.
06:15God bless every single one of you.
06:20Every single one.
06:22And everyone you love.
06:26Bye-bye.
