When the title is difficult
Contents
John 16:33 In difficult times
There is always a person who runs first among the people that Koreans respect the most. This is Admiral Yi Sun-sin. In case someone who was born in Canada and raised in Canada does not know about Admiral Yi Sun-sin, I will briefly explain Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who served as a naval officer during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. A three-way naval commander is today's naval commander. At that time, Japan invaded Joseon with the latest weapon of that time, the gun, and the country was in great danger. At that time, especially in the sea, Admiral Yi Sun-sin made a revolutionary contribution to defeating the Japanese navy, leading the war to victory and saving the country. Admiral Yi Sun-sin had a saying like this:
Don't blame the family for being bad.
I was born into a family of fallen rebels
I grew up in a single family home because of poverty.
Don't tell me your brain is bad.
I failed the first test
At the late age of thirty-two, I barely took the exam in the past.
Don't complain that it's not a good position
For 14 years, I served as a junior defense officer in the outlying backcountry.
Don't say you can't help it because it's an order from a superior.
I am at odds with my unrighteous immediate superiors.
He was dismissed and penalized several times.
Don't worry about your body being weak.
I have been suffering from chronic gastroenteritis all my life.
suffered from an epidemic.
Don't complain about not being given a chance.
After the country was endangered by the invasion of the enemy
He became an admiral at forty-seven.
Don't be discouraged by the lack of organizational support.
I plowed my own fields and made money for the military.
He fought twenty-three times and won twenty-three times.
Don't complain that your superiors don't recognize you.
I am in constant misunderstanding and suspicion of the king.
He lost all the balls and had to go to jail.
Don't despair if you don't have capital.
I came back empty-handed from the battlefield
133 enemies were blocked with 13 old ships.
Don't say you love your family in the wrong way.
I lost my 20-year-old son to the blade of an enemy
He went to war with his other sons.
Don't say you're afraid of death.
I see the enemies retreat
He chose his own death in the final battle.
Ladies and gentlemen, no matter where you go, you can see that great men are people who have overcome various difficulties. It is the same with the great men of faith in the Bible. They are the ones who overcame various difficulties that came to them and overcome them. In the Bible, we often come across the words ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’. That is, they are representative characters of the Old Testament. Take a look at these.
First, Abraham, the father of faith, left his hometown at the age of 75 and emigrated to the land of Canaan. But there he encountered unexpected difficulties of poverty and famine. It is indeed a great crisis and difficulty for people to die of starvation in a foreign land because they have no food. However, he was not discouraged by the difficulties. Rather, in the midst of those difficulties, I sought God and with His help, I overcame them well.
Isaac also faced the greatest difficulties of his life. The difficulty was that none other than his father Abraham was trying to kill him in order to offer himself as a burnt offering. I was at the crossroads of life and death. However, in these difficulties, he did not blame his father or God. Rather, he obeyed and followed God's will despite the difficulties. In the end, he too was recorded in the Bible as a person of faith.
Jacob also went through a lot of difficult times. As he grew older, he confessed his life before Pharaoh of Egypt. “Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of my sojourn are one hundred and thirty years. I am young, so I am short of the time of our forefathers as a sojourner, but I have had a rough time” (Genesis 47:9). He did not betray God because life was difficult. Rather, the more difficult it was, the more I depended on God.
Once upon a time, in a forest, there was a red dragonfly that always flew high in the sky and lived a very happy life with nothing lacking. Then one day, misfortune struck this red dragonfly. His beloved mother, brother and whole family were caught and eaten by flying birds. So this red dragonfly was very, very sad.
No matter how much I thought about it, my heart ached so much that I felt like I could no longer live. So, thinking that I must die now, I go to the fairy in the forest and tell him this. “Fairy, I must die. In this situation, my heart aches and I cannot live any longer. I lost my mother and brother in one day. How can I live like that?”
Then the fairy says: “If you do one thing, I will wash away the wounds of your heart.” “What is that one thing?” “I’ll give you one year from now, so if you walk through this forest for a year and bring someone with an insect that doesn’t have a heart, I’ll wash away the wounds in your heart.”
The red dragonfly thought this was a seemingly easy task. Because most of the insects in his eyes seemed carefree. “Oh, that’s easy. I will do it.” So, the red dragonfly set out in search of carefree insects. There seemed to be so many, such as grasshoppers singing without worries, cicadas singing on the cool treetops, female cats singing on a moonlit night, and crickets embroidering the silence of the night with beautiful melodies.
It didn't take long before I thought I'd bring any insects with me. However, even after several months, they could not find an insect without heartache. Finally, a year has passed. In the end, he never found a single insect without heartache. However, this red dragonfly did not need to visit the fairy any more. This is because, after meeting countless insects during that year, they also knew that each of them had a heartache, and then their pain was healed.
Gentlemen, when faced with difficulties, people usually think that they are more unhappy than others. And I get discouraged and give up. Furthermore, complaining and resentment. And if you go further, you will eventually find a way
They fall out and fall and walk the path of betrayal and betrayal. In the Old Testament, when we look at the people of Israel who had to leave the country, we often see them walking down this road. There's a reason the Bible spends so much time showing their negative side. This is God's lesson that we should not be like this when we face difficulties while believing in God.
Everyone, each of us faces difficulties in our lives. I would like to ask you at this time. How do you feel when you face difficulties here in a foreign land, here in Canada, or here in Calgary? What kind of image does the Lord ask us to have in these difficult times? The Lord tells us today: “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The Lord did not tell us to become discouraged and give up when we face difficulties in this world. He didn't even tell me to complain and complain. He did not tell me to leave the faith and go down the path of depravity and betrayal. The Lord told us to be courageous when such difficult times come. It is a promise that the Lord who has overcome the world will help us.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must do our best in spite of difficulties. We should use it as an opportunity to draw closer to the Lord. You have to make it into electricity that will develop you further. This is the story of director Steven Spielberg, who made the film Schindler's List, which won seven Academy Awards. Until he became a famous director in Hollywood, he had an indomitable will to try again without being frustrated by failure. And in the midst of that difficulty, I got an opportunity to reflect on myself.
Spielberg was interested in film from an early age. However, when I was a teenager, being kicked out of the filming set was like eating. At the age of 17, when I had the greatest interest and affection for movies, my parents divorced, so I had to build up my skills with a 16mm camera by myself. After that, Spielberg made a difficult entry into the film industry at Universal Studios, but was too busy shooting.
I was even humiliated to be kicked out for meddling.
But Spielberg was not discouraged. After wandering around Hollywood again, he was selected by producer Dennis Hoffman and was recognized as a director for the production of the short film 'Ambrin'. Then, Spielberg was so intoxicated with his great success that he began to show pride in his ignorance.
But while Hollywood recognized his talents and abilities, he did not accept excessive pride and bluffs. In the end, Spielberg experienced the pain of being expelled from the Hollywood film industry. After being kicked out of Hollywood, Spielberg was in trouble. It made me look back on what was wrong with me. He coldly looked back on his past and frankly admitted his pride and faults.
And he humbled himself again and set out to recover. And by releasing the best hit 'ET' to the world, I have stood tall at the top. He later confessed: "If I hadn't been kicked out of Hollywood, and I didn't reflect on myself after being kicked out of Hollywood, I wouldn't have been able to make 'ET'."
Ladies and gentlemen, like all the great men in this world, many difficulties come to us. Those of us who live here in Canada, which is said to be a good place to live, are likewise often faced with difficulties. But despite such difficulties, we are not discouraged. Don't give up. Rather, use it as an opportunity to draw closer to the Lord. We use it as an electricity that more resembles the image of the Lord. I believe that God will surely help me and all of you who move forward without losing courage even in the midst of difficulties and give them victory.