6 Steps To Take When Going Through Hard Times: Step 1

Matthew 10:16,24, 31-32( I jump around a lot)
16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
24The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord
31Fear ye not, therefore ye are of more value than many sparrows.
32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will i confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
At this time in the scripture, we find Jesus talking to his newly appointed disciples, giving them a warning as long as instruction.
In verse 16 we see that Jesus says that He sent us forth as sheep in the midst of the wolves.

1.Remember God will protect you
-We must keep in mind that sheep are defenseless. That they must rely on a shepherd to protect them from the wolves. By applying this to our lives we can say that we are the sheep, The wolves are the hardships that we endure. The wolves are the circumstances and people that rise up against us. However, our Shepherd(God) will protect us.

As verse 24 says the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
- Just as Jesus had to suffer for the kingdom, so must we, yet we must also find comfort in knowing that the Lord is with us.

Verse 32 reads that whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Through the story of Job, we know that Satan has access to heaven. It is there that he persecutes us before God.

-If we take the time to visualize our lives as being in the midst of a great court room, we will see that Satan, the persecuter of the breathern, can be identified as the prosecutor.
- However, Jesus says as long as we confess Him before men, He will confess us before God. Jesus will plead the case for us. Jesus will speak to the Father and say, "Though the evidence of sin may be able to convict, my blood makes that evidence ineffective and not permissable."Therefore where the devil can be viewed as the prosecution, Jesus can be identified as our Defense Attorney. And let me tell you "Johnny Cochran's defense of OJ aint got nothing on how Jesus defends us!!

So, yes we may have to go through hardships while we wander amongst the wolves, but we must realize that we are protected and defended by a Great Shepherd and Attorney.
We must realize that the hardships of life are made to prepare us for a task that God has set for us to accomplish.