No Strain-No Gain

If each one of we WIM would be honest with ourselves, our past STRAINS brought us:
TO OUR KNEES AND TO GOD
TO SUBMISSION
TO GROWTH
TO OBEDIENCE
STRAIN IS TO STRETCH. We all want comfort, but comfort comes after STRAIN. The old saying if there were no clouds and rain, we wouldn’t appreciate the Sunshine. It’s not fun to work-out, at least for some of us, but it brings amazing results in our looks and health. It’s not always fun to practice, but practice makes perfect.
I remember a time when I had totally lost my joy. I was a miserable WIM because the JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH and I had lost it. This went on for several months and sorry to say into years. I had come to the place where I thought I would have to endure this for life. This mentality brings on self-pity, worthlessness and depression. I had gone to my KNEES AND TO GOD. Nothing seemed to help!
One day I was sitting in our family room reading the Word, and my doorbell rang, it was my neighbor. She brought a piece of dropped mail and asked if I was a pastor’s wife. She went on to ask if I was a counselor. I told her I only did Spiritual Counsel. To make this long, beautiful story short, she came into our home, I led her to the Lord, and we met every Friday for prayer for several years. I came out of my state of worthlessness, self pity and depression.
From this experience I found out where there is NO STRAIN, THERE IS NO GAIN. I stretched out of my comfort zone in reaching out to others, and stopped concentrating so much on MYSELF. This one event helped lead me into a ministry of COACHING and ENCOURAGING.
2 Peter 1:3-10 – Read this entire portion of scripture and study it and practice it.
“HIS DIVINE POWER HAS GIVEN US EVERYTHING WE NEED FOR LIFE AND GODLINESS THROUGH OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HIM WHO CALLED US BY HIS OWN GLORY AND GOODNESS….THEREFORE, MY SISTERS, BE ALL THE MORE EAGER TO MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE. FOR IF YOU DO THESE THINGS, YOU WILL NEVER FALL AND YOU WILL RECEIVE RICH WELCOME INTO THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.”


Love,

SHARON

Sharon Lebsack
sharonkaylebsack@yahoo.com