The people God uses all endure hard things

Pastor Max opens with the story of a 22-year-old Charles Spurgeon in 1856. In the middle of a packed service, someone shouted "Fire," the crowd stampeded, and seven people died. Spurgeon was carried out of the room and battled depression afterwards, feeling responsible for their deaths. Nobody would have blamed him for never preaching again, yet he pushed through and became known as the prince of preachers. We remember what God accomplished through great leaders, Pastor Max observes, and forget what they endured along the way.

Have you ever gone through something that could have taken you out? Following Jesus does not exempt us from crisis; it guarantees it. The question is never whether hard times will come, but how we respond when they do. Today's crisis, he says, is preparing you for tomorrow's calling.

David's worst week

By 1 Samuel 30, David has been anointed king, sent back to the sheep, hunted by his father-in-law, turned away by the Philistines, and relegated to a forgotten town called Ziklag. Then he and his men return to find the city burned and every wife, son and daughter carried off by the Amalekites. The men weep until they have no strength left, then start talking about stoning David. From that moment Pastor Max draws four responses that turn a setback into a comeback.

Find strength in God

"But David found strength in the Lord his God." When David had no strength, he at least knew where to go to get it. Everyone runs somewhere when things get hard. Some "turtle" into isolation, which Pastor Max carefully distinguishes from healthy solitude with God. Some run to relationships, substances, or busyness. He recalls his second year of Bible college in Australia, on a student visa with no way to pay rent or buy food, hitting his knees and crying out because no one else could help. The first place to run is to God, and we should come to Him before our circumstances change. Israel worshiped before the walls of Jericho fell; Jesus gave thanks before the bread multiplied.

Seek direction from God

David's next move is not to react but to inquire. He calls for the ephod and asks the Lord whether to pursue the raiders, and God answers that he will overtake them and succeed. Pastor Max admits his own first instinct would be emotional, not wise. Emotions react; wisdom inquires of the Lord. Do not make permanent decisions in temporary pain. He shares how he and Pastor Juliet have built the habit of stepping into solitude to inquire of God before a disagreement blows up. Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.

Fight for the promise

God's word to David did not remove the pursuit. David and four hundred men chase the Amalekites, fight from dusk until the next evening, and recover everything, with nothing missing. You cannot possess what you are unwilling to pursue. Promises start in prayer but end in pursuit, and the promise of God does not eliminate the process. Pastor Max tells of a friend in London who received a devastating cancer diagnosis, sensed God promise she would come through, and then changed everything about her diet and treatment rather than passively waiting. By God's grace she was healed. Faith does not just believe God's word; it acts on it. He believes the enemy has taken something from people in the room, whether a loved one, a relationship, an opportunity, or a wandering child, and urges them to fight for it in the spirit.

Share what God restores

Back at the Besor Valley, some of David's men refuse to share the plunder with the two hundred who were too exhausted to fight. David overrules them: all will share alike, and he sends gifts to the elders of Judah. What God restores to you is not just for you. Pastor Max recalls fundraising to plant Elan Church in 2020, how other pastors sowed into them, and how by year three the roles reversed as new planters began asking Elan for help. The church has since helped launch 121 Church in Barcelona and sponsored ten church planters through training. What God leads you through becomes a responsibility to reach back and pull others along.

The challenge

Your breakthrough can become someone else's blessing. Pastor Max closes by asking what God has brought you through, and who you could walk through it with now. God wants to do it through you, he says, but it requires keeping your eyes open and bringing other people with you.