AS I SIT down to write, I have nothing at all planned but all I know is that I feel like crying and tears are building up. God is telling me that so many of you reading this column right now feel like giving up; feel like a failure; are embarrassed by where you are at; feel depressed and burdened; see no way out; are afraid of what’s to come; live being a mask; need a break from it all and a miracle. What’s amazing is that I am going through some of this too.
Many people message or greet me on the street to share how much these articles encourage and inspire them. What I find amazing is that despite the many storms and low times I may be facing, people look forward each Thursday for encouragement, motivation, knowledge and even a good laugh from this column. What this has taught me is that despite where you are at and what you are going through, if you learn to die to self and submit to God, He can use you to do remarkable things. Here it is that I need encouraging and God can still use me to encourage others.
The Holy Spirit is literally leading me as I write and I am hoping that by the end of this column, both you and I are encouraged and our situations put in perspective.
No one likes to go through trials, tests or pain, but it is in these hard experiences that the best of us is created. Life is filled with many of them and they are necessary not only for growth but for progression and promotion; and if you cheat, dodge or short-change the testing, it will show up later, even if in a different form.
Take for instance CXC examinations. These are tests we all must face if we are to progress to the next level, which is CAPE, BCC or UWI. There is no way you can reach the next level unless you pass the exam. Even if you are kicked out of school or you finished school without any qualifications, the test will present itself at a later date – you just can’t short-change the process. You may have to go to evening classes or private lessons but at the end of the day, you will have to face that test and pass it, if you want to go to the next level.
Life is the same way, filled with many tests, and they are there to prepare you for the next chapter. Common Entrance when you did it was stressful, but it prepared you for CXC, which prepared you for CAPE or the associate degree, which prepared you for the bachelor’s degree, which prepared you for a master’s, and so on.
Let’s look at the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. Many people focus on David killing Goliath but fail to recognise the tests that prepared him for such a victory that later led to his promotion. In Verses 34 to 36, David said, “When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them.”
Because David had passed the test with the lion and the bear, the success of the experience was one of the things that motivated him and gave him confidence to fight Goliath. I encourage you to see your storms, trials and situations as lions and bears that are preparing you for your Goliaths. I would also encourage you to value humble beginnings. Before David could lead and be king of the people of Israel, he had to pass the test of leading and being king of the sheep.
Natural disasters caused by storms, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, wild fires and tornadoes are inevitable but there are a few facts we can deduce from them. (1) Everyone of them only lasts a specific time. (2) They cause pain and loss. (3) They humble us. (4) Whatever is rebuilt after is more beautiful than what preceded them. (5) They force us to turn to God for help. The same is true for storms in your life.
• Corey Worrell, a former Commonwealth youth ambassador, is director of C2J Foundation Inc., a project-based NGO focusing on social development.