“strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”– Acts 14:22
On September 9, 1965, while flying on a mission over North Vietnam, Captain James Stockdale ejected from his Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, which had been struck by enemy fire. He parachuted into a small village, where he was severely beaten and taken prisoner.
What has become known as the Stockdale Paradox comes from his experience as a prisoner of war for seven years during the Vietnam War. The Stockdale Paradox made famous in Jim Collins’s book Good to Great, is about confronting the “most brutal facts about your current reality” and, at the same time, finding a sense of purpose and meaning because you believe that you will prevail by turning this into the defining event of your life that will make you a better person.
Know that during all of our hardships and trials, Jesus is with us. Today in prayer, praise the Lord for any affliction you endure knowing that He is with you.
“God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.” – John Aughey
God’s Word: “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” – Isaiah 48:10
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