Perseverance

David’s life was not without failure. He stumbled, he doubted, and he faced ridicule from those closest to him. Yet he rose each time, learning and growing with every step. Persistence and perseverance carried him through the valleys of doubt and despair, teaching him that the path to victory is rarely straight or easy. 

Life is designed to challenge us because that is the only way we can grow into our potential. If nothing presses against us, we will never gain the strength to raise the banner of victory. This stone is a call to keep going, to rise again and again, no matter how many times we fall. The Lord doesn’t waste the stumbles, He uses them to teach us how to run. Every time you get back up, you have gained a victory.

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Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you believe that the challenges you face have a purpose? Why or why not?

• Can you recall a time when an obstacle or failure taught you something valuable? How did it shape you?

• What is one failure in your life that you need to reframe as a lesson rather than a defeat?

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Just like the polished stone that David found in Saul's palace, our lives our shaped and polished by a Master Craftsman who uses adversity the same way a jeweler might use gritty tools to smooth out a precious gem. 

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Trials will always come, that is just a fact of life. And when they do, you have two choices as to how you will interpret those trials:

1) As a curse or consequence of a failure in life

2) As an opportunity to push yourself, turn to the Lord, and seek your inner strength.

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If the trial is going to happen no matter what, why not see it is an opportunity rather than an obstacle. You may not be able to change the obstacle, but you can change your attitude about the obstacle. Which, I guess, does actually change the obstacle.