San Andreas: Are you prepared?. Downsizing Downsizing Infidelity in marriage Infidelity in marriage...

San Andreas: Are you

prepared?

•Downsizing• Infidelity in marriage•A fatal car accident•The illness and death of a child

Unexpected hardship without mental/spiritual preparation is a main cause of divorce, bitterness, impulsive decisions, and for many, deep despair. Getting prepared enables us to remain steady and clear thinking in order to navigate through life’s obstacles; so it’s very important that we get prepared.

Big ideaProper preparation

prevents Poor performance

The unexpected should be expected

For hardship does not spring from the soil,     nor does trouble sprout from the ground.Yet man is born to trouble     as surely as sparks fly upward. Job 5:6-7

In this world you will have trouble… John 16:33a

The unexpected should be redemptive

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, 

whenever you face trials of many kinds,

because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

The unexpected should be redemptive

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and

complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

• God uses unexpected hardships to prove that your faith is genuine

• God uses unexpected hardships to bless you with abilities you could never get without the hardship

• God uses unexpected hardships to “grow us up”

ReviewThe unexpected should be expectedThe unexpected should be redemptiveThe unexpected should be endured

We endure through the comfort of friends

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

We endure through the power of God

Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

We endure through obeying our Lord

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice  is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25