Dharius Daniels - Is God Working Through Your Struggles?

I don’t like the agitation you’re experiencing, but I like the outcome it is producing in you. So, what I’m going to do is give you grace to endure what I’m not going to change. You say you’ve never been worse, but I’m looking at you and saying you’ve never been better. You’re saying, «I have never been in this much pain.» But I’m looking at you, and you’ve never been in this much prayer. You’re saying, «I have never been this irritated.» God’s like, «You’ve never been disanointed.» I like what this is producing in you, so I’m going to give you grace to handle what I’m not going to alter. More of anything means more of everything; more of something in one area means more of something else in another. More of what you do want is accompanied by more of what you don’t want. Jesus put it this way: «To whomsoever much is given, much is also required.» This is what I affectionately call the backside of the blessing. The backside of a blessing is the burden you don’t see that comes with the blessing you do see. The backside of the blessing is the burden you don’t want that comes with the blessing that you do want. It is what the Apostle Paul describes in Second Corinthians chapter 12 when he says, «Because of the measure of revelation that was given to me, I received a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me.» Concerning this thing, I sought the Lord three times, and the Lord said nothing to me. On the third time, after he had given me the silent treatment, he said to me, «My grace is sufficient.» In other words, Paul, if it were better for you for me to remove this thorn, I would. Paul never tells us what the thorn is, but he uses the word «thorn» as a metaphor for something that isn’t killing you but is agitating you. Did you hear what I just said? Yeah, you probably never died from being stuck with a thorn, but it does irritate and agitate you. A thorn represents a season of inconvenience that is sent by the enemy to agitate you to the degree that you abandon your assignment. I’m going to say it one more time: it is a season of inconvenience sent to you by the enemy, intended to agitate and irritate you so much that you abandon your assignment in order to avoid the irritation. The Bible says it was a messenger of Satan, so Satan is the one who sent the thorns. But the Bible says God looked at it, liked it, and left it. Are you all going to talk back to me at 12 o’clock? Satan sent it, God looked at it, liked what Satan sent, so he left it. He says, «Paul, I like this. I don’t like the agitation you’re experiencing, but I like the outcome it is producing in you. So what I’m going to do is give you grace to endure what I’m not going to change.» You say you’ve never been worse, but I’m looking at you and saying you’ve never been better. You’re saying, «I have never been in this much pain.» He says, «But I’m looking at you, and you’ve never been in this much prayer.» You’re saying, «I have never been this irritated.» God’s like, «You’ve never been disanointed.» I like what this is producing in you, so I’m going to give you grace to handle what I’m not going to alter. Once Paul got a revelation of this, he said, «I’d rather glory in my infirmities so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.» I realize now that when I’m weak, you are strong. This is the backside of the blessing. More revelation for Paul meant more warfare. Revelation is the front side; warfare is the backside. More responsibility is the front side; more stress is the backside. More notoriety is the front side; more haters are the backside. More influence is the front side; more criticism is the backside. More kids are the front side; more sleep, more bills, more worry—that’s the backside. More square footage is the front side; more expenses are the backside. More locations are the front side; more agitation is the backside. More staff is the front side; more problems are the backside. Come here, Christopher Wallace: more money is the front side; more problems are the backside. There’s a backside. You do not get more of what you do want without getting more of what you don’t want. And this is why it’s important that we respond to God’s timetable and divine delays with appreciation and not agitation. It means that you and I have to develop trust not just for God’s character but also trust for God’s timing. I know you trust His character; I know you know He’s good, I know you know He’s a way maker, and I know you know He’s loving and kind. You trust His character, but you also have to trust His timing. He says, «Sometimes I’m not delaying things to delay things; I’m delaying things to give you an opportunity to develop in an area. I’m using the delay for your development.» It’s not that you’re not developed enough for the front side—you’re gifted, smart, and anointed enough for the front side; you’re experienced enough for the front side. He says development has to happen, not on the front side, but you need development for the backside. You can handle the promotion; I just don’t know how you can handle the pressure.