By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“Adversity is an adventure that develops a ‘venture’ at the junctures of ‘what’ would have destroyed the structures of your purpose on this plane called Earth, but eventually turns out to be a weapon and a builder towards fulfilling your destiny and lifting the weights of glory! How you see situations or challenges and confront them matters, and they are functions of your mindset as a being called MAN. You determine what (must) come out of it! Adversities are surmountable! You are the actor in the picture. Your posture influences the picture. I charge you to BE THE HERO, not a ‘zero’! So, maximize the scenarios in your favour! It is, therefore:
Acutely advertising
Destructible!
Vulnerable!
Episodic!
Revival!
Surmountable!
Impactful!
Terrifying! But, it is all about
YOU and what’s in you! ” —Tolulope A. Adegoke
John 16:33 (NKJV): ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. ‘
Romans 8: 37: ‘Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors. ‘ (NKJV)
ADVERSITY is a builder. It is to a man what fire is to gold! Fire purges, melts, heats the gold, and makes it SHINE!
It is the way that a man sees adversity that he gets from it. If you take it to be a builder or ladder, it would build and lift you (vis-à-vis).
It is the challenge that comes one’s way that brings out either the best or worst character in a man.
Winners today were once failures, but they were determined enough through the order of divine grace and strong-will to face it all and breakthrough, which eventually culminated in them being globally celebrated in their areas of calling!
It is the same adversity that breaks one person, that builds another! It all depends on the way we manage and wire our mental and spiritual focus. You either rise up or succumb to the pressures that come with adversity! It is left for you to pick yourself up, bounce-back like a palm tree, and encourage yourself to surmount the mountain (s) before you! Once the mountain is surmounted, you enter into glory.
Adversity is what builds our spiritual and physical muscles, so as for us to be fit enough to bear or carry the weight of glory.
Adversity is like an examination for a student; it gives him promotion or demotion, which is determined by his level of preparation and his level of mindset towards becoming a victor or victim, hero or zero!
It is based on our individual levels of reactions to ‘adversity’ that gives us the edge in surmounting it. It can make or mar you. It can make you in the sense that, if you embrace it with rugged faith, then, you will come out strong; but, if you submit to it, it will crush you. Kindly permit me to say that Dr Yomi Garnett, Yinka Oba, Fela Durotoye, Strive Masiyiwa, among others, are living proof [you could ask to interview them in person about how true this is.]. Even so, the testimonies of Job, Joseph, Paul the Apostle, and others in the Holy Bible lingers on and on.
You must not see ADVERSITY as a problem, but a challenge that must be confronted with hope, faith, love, and hard & smart work to conquer, which are the courageous weapons for success that lead to greatness in the face of tribulations, no matter how many times they come.
You must always see yourself on the other side of it. What you see attracts what you get!
A wise man once asked his children: Can you say a professor is a failure? They replied, “NO! The father responded: Wole Soyinka failed the West African Senior Secondary Certification Examination nine (9) times… The children screamed! But can you still call him a failure today? No, the children replied… The father then asked why? Then, the children responded, ‘because he confronted his fears and was determined enough to overcome them by hard work and with the influence of divine grace… and eventually succeeded.’
The moral of this illustration is that you are not a failure until you give up!
Today, you call him Prof. Wole Soyinka (a hero), but as at the time he was failing WAEC, most people called him a dullard (a zero).
Adversity is a ladder to greater levels of glory!
You cannot get your reward until you finish your course!
You can not get your crown until you are done with the cross!
No guts, no glory! You cannot overcome the wilderness until you grow wild!
You cannot get through to the promised land until you are completely processed (refined)!
No gold ever shines without passing through the furnace!
You cannot become more until you’ve been mocked!
You cannot have your prizes until you have fully paid your prices! What we regard as adversity is a setup for us to overcome and step up! It is a junction or curve on our journey to fulfilling our destiny! Don’t interrupt the processes of growth and sustainable development.
Adversity is an examination in disguise to build our muscles so as to be fit enough to carry or bear the weight of GLORY!
Therefore, adversity is:
Acutely advertising
Destructible!
Vulnerable!
Episodic!
Revival!
Surmountable!
Impactful!
Terrifying! But, it is all about
THANK YOU! You determine what must come out of it! Adversities are surmountable! You are the actor in the picture. I charge you to BE THE HERO!
You are not a failure until you give up! Adversity unveils us to realms of glory! It compels us to aim higher, while it charges us to take the stairs!
Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. reveals that: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy!’
It is not easy to be EASY. We must be determined, we must work and do our best to escape genuinely, but only God can deliver us from all uneasiness. Only God gives us the grace to overcome all odds!
Stop being frustrated when you are confronted with challenges. Rather, engage in audacious faith to confront and conquer your fears! It is a revival, and you are in for a revolution that will propel the required evolution. Adversity is an advanced citadel of learning in disguise! I call it the advanced ‘universe’s-city’, where reality poses a great threat, just like examinations within the four walls of a university.
Thank you all for reading this #EpistleForChampions
