You cannot have a message without first having a mess. You cannot have a testimony without first having a test. You cannot rise to the top of the mountain without first falling to the bottom of the valley.
You cannot appreciate anything that is good without first suffering deprivation and want. After the pain of the cross, Jesus had to go down into the belly of the earth and deep into the bowels of hell for three long days before he conquered death, made a public showing of the devil and the forces of darkness, spoiled the principalities and powers and gloriously rose again. If you want to go up, you must first be ready to go down. The way up is down. That is the way of the servant king and that is the the way of the Living God. If you want to be a great leader and if you really want to win, you must first be ready to humble yourself, to pay the price and to go down with all the shame and humiliation that goes with it before you finally rise again in His full glory.
So whatever it is that you are going through today, no matter how painful and no matter how hard, just know that God has a plan and that it’s alright. It’s alright to shed tears, it’s alright to take the pain, it’s alright to suffer want and deprivation, it’s alright to be rejected, maligned and humiliated, it’s alright to be insulted, it’s alright to be framed up, it’s alright to be called ugly and to be called a perpetual failure, it’s alright to be sick, it’s alright to be misrepresented, it’s alright to be broke, it’s alright to be hated, it’s alright to be persecuted, it’s alright to be misunderstood, it’s alright to suffer temporary setbacks and defeats, it’s alright to be locked up, to be beaten and to be humliated, it’s alright to be deprived and to be denied, it’s alright to be called a commoner, a peasant and lowly born. For no matter what comes our way or whatever ill-fortune throws in our path by the sinister orchestrations of devils and men, we must learn to have faith in our God and to despise the shame, for that is the only way to pay the price for a greater and a better tomorrow. And whatever you are going through today, count it all as joy, knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of the Lord. He makes all things beautiful in His own time and in His own way and, in your life, the counsel of Jehova alone shall stand. Christ has risen. He has conquered satan. Our ressurection has come. Happy Easter and God bless you all.