And the Dream Lives On (I was honored to be interviewed on this piece)

The Inner Struggle

To know that you have victory but to feel defeated is the encounter between our spirit and our flesh.  To know that all things work together for the good of them who are called according to His purpose even while you are in the pit, or the prison takes much spiritual maturity.

My dad teaches that this inner struggle is liken to a story of a young boy seeing the owner of two big dogs who were constantly barking and growling at each other.  The young boy asked the dog owner, "Sir, which dog will win if you allowed them to get at each other./"  The owner smiled and responded, 'Whichever one I feed the most."

So is it with the war between our flesh and our faith.  Whichever one we feed the most will become the victor over our life.

The Pain In The Process

The path of effective ministry is one that I would not wish on my worst enemy.  A heard a builder tell me that the deeper the whole in the ground the higher the building.  That seemingly is how preparation for effective ministry is.  You must experience hardship, trials and tribulations that cause a shake in your foundation.  You are humbled and reduced to almost nothing.  And through all of this, you still have to trust and depend on God.

He's taking you somewhere.  You will have to go through the fire in order to be shaped and created into the form that He wants you to be.  Gold, clay, steel and many more valuable resources must go through fire, and heat to become the finished project.  We must trust the process and know that it is all worth it.  If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him.