Prosperity through Hardships

“But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” - Genesis 15:14

“Whenever God brings you through a time of great adversity, you can expect to come out of that experience with great possessions, if you have been faithful through the trial.”-Os Hillman

I took these two quotes from something I read recently which spoke to me deeply. Reason being is both hold significant truth and both lead to the same conclusion…true prosperity in life can only come about through hardships.

When I speak of prosperity it not only refers to financial prosperity but there are other, deeper levels of prosperity that exists, such as spiritual, inner growth (self realization), and wisdom, to name a few.

Prosperity exists in many forms; there are many who would love to prosper in anything they seek to achieve in life, yet many fail to realize that the greater the level of prosperity, the greater the hardship that must be endured. There is a reason why only a select few seem to be the ones to prosper in life and most do not. It has nothing to do with greater intelligence or greater opportunities or being more favoured by God, it is simply because the people who are most successful in life typical had to endure hardships that most of us would have never been able to.

Many look at the end result without knowing the process that one had to go through in order to get to that end result, and it all began with struggle and hardship.

The Israelites were enslaved for 400 years before they were freed by Moses to live in the land God had promised them. Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers, sold and enslaved in Egypt before later rising to become a man of great wealth and power, and second to Pharaoh. David was persecuted by Saul tirelessly and if it wasn’t for his faith and endurance to the end he would not have been king over Israel.

Need to be further convinced? Bob Marley was constantly persecuted in his early life for his religious beliefs which ironically were seen as non-acceptable then but is iconic today. Speak about Black oppression and the Black liberation and mention names such as Marcus Garvey, Malcom X, Martin Luther, Nelson Mandela or Rosa Parks. All these men and woman had to endure hardships of oppression until the end so that we may receive the prosperity of freedom today.

No matter how you choose to view it everything comes down to the same conclusion, prosperity can only be achieved through hardships. Do not see hardships as a deterrent in achieving what you want to in life or see it as an agent designed to oppress and keep you from your aspired dreams. See hardships as a tool that is used to strengthen, instigate wisdom, and help realize true prosperity, financial or otherwise.

Once you are able to view hardships in a positive rather than a negative I guarantee you that you will be surprise to see how little and less struggles in life affect you negatively and your entire outlook and approach towards life will change. I for one welcome hardships because I know it can only lead to greater prosperity.

Diamonds can’t become diamonds without enduring immense levels of pressure and heat beneath the earth’s surface. It is the same for us before we as coal can become diamonds we have to go through the fire and pressures of life, and be thrown in the dirt and sometimes even lower and beneath dirt.

The true test of who is truly deserving comes from hardships in life, faith during those times and endurance to the end, and from this prosperity shall be realized.

So when life becomes a bit too much to bear just remember that your prosperity is waiting for you in the end, just endure the hardship a bit more.

All the Best.

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