Woe is me if I ____________________

1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

We all have had days and even weeks like I am having this week. I call them, “Murphy’s Law” weeks, for it has seeming went wrong at every turn. I could just start a pity-party rant of my list of woes that I have been dealing with this week. Sometimes it gets so bad you just have to almost laugh to keep from crying. Stresses and strains of every day life that we all deal with when they seem to take an elevated turn. I hear these type stories from many of you as a HVAC repairman. “You would not believe all that has happened to me this week, now I come home to no heat at my house…….” I had a sermon this past Sunday where we were looking into developing that daily time with God in prayer and his Word. I am sure Satan sent his army to discourage any of us that were pursuing God more than we did the day before. He excels at giving us many reasons to not spend that time with God. The Bible puts it this way; 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Do you remember in the book of Job when Satan was approaching God asking permission to attack Job? This was how God greeted him and Satan’s answer; Job 1:7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Not everything that happens in your life is spiritual warfare, but you must also realize that some of it is. When you are pursuing God, there is a good possibility that those distractions are.

I told a good friend of mine yesterday when I have times like this, I always think of the apostle Paul. For all that he suffered for Christ, yet in all of it, he glorified Christ. Paul’s list of sufferings are immeasurable, but beatings, shipwrecks, and imprisonments were the norm. Paul was speaking in this context of 1 Corinthians about his humility, and he even uses it to glorify Christ. He could even brag about the level of his sufferings for Christ. When you truly set your mind on eternity, all things here will take a temporal level in your life. Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. When life comes at you hard, just remember that pain here is temporary; you will leave this temporal life and spend eternity without sin and pain when you come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior. You only have this life to make that eternal decision. Do not wait until it is too late.