Before it Happens:

Many are the things you must decide before they come your way. We are told we must learn to not take offense. That's a hard one, but the Holy Spirit will remind you in the situation, and then you will have the choice of smoldering alone in the moment, or taking the matter to Him. We are told the Battle is His. That it is not won by the number of a man's horses or the strength of his legs. Is that really true? We are told that we are not to lay up treasure on earth, but that we are to lay up treasure in heaven. When there is agreement with God on this and there is specific prayer, even then financial loss is never fun or easy. But for the Soldier of The Cross, the Indwelling Holy Spirit will remind that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He will attend to his Own. In particular, when there is misunderstanding or vicious gossip, it is so critical that you have already told Him you are a Living Sacrifice and are willing to identify with His sufferings. Oh Soldier, take these matters to prayer now- before they come about. You have probably been through these things already. Without the frontier of faith, life is a gauntlet of decay. Without prayer that seeks to agree with God, there is more heartache and misery than there has to be. We had a couple in the church. She was a former music student of mine, and they had four children. They had just built a dream house and she had a good harp and a good piano. She had been a double major, and both instruments were important to her. The family happened to be staying with me the night their new house blew up and burned to the ground. They were all calm. The children were fine because the parents were fine. The parents were fine because they had already made the decision that everything they had was Gods. They had already decided specifically how they would think and where they would turn if they had lost everything. And, they did lose everything. Everything physical that is. Soldier, you are not a citizen of this world. You are a sojourner and a pilgrim and you are just passing through. Agree with Him. aloud. Now.