As the guest minister stepped on our pulpit to minister, he made this profound statement about me; “One thing I love about your pastor is that he is both rugged and decent. Some ministers are rugged but not decent, while some are decent but not rugged. Your pastor is both.” This was when it dawned on me that toughness is a requirement for success.
Friend, you need to develop toughness if you hope to stay on course and fulfil your destiny. You must have heard that, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.” The going will always get tough, but your focus must not be on the toughness of the journey but on your own toughness. You must be tough (Psalms 105:37).
You don’t have to be hard, but you have to be tough. Being hard is external; being tough is internal. You must develop internal toughness if you want to cope with external roughness. Toughness would help you to bend and not break. It would help you to be flexible. Toughness will help you to go through changing seasons without changing your conviction and confession (Daniel 3:17-18).
When you are tough, you maintain your integrity and tenacity in the face of oppositions (Nehemiah 4:1-6). Toughness is not gender specific. Everyone, male or female, young or old, pastor or business man, must be tough. This was what Paul meant when he told Timothy to be strong in the Grace of Christ and to endure hardness (2 Timothy 2:1-4). You need to be tough. Yes, to thrive in ministry, you must be tough. You must not be easily tired or discouraged (Isaiah 42:4).
To take a business from scratch to the top, you need to be tough (Psalms 107:23). You need to be tough against financial pressures, unfavourable environments, or government policies. You have got to be tough against the elements of weather. You need to develop tough skin against the insults and mockeries of people (Nehemiah 4:1-6). You need to be tough against the attacks of the devil. You need to be tough in the place of prayers (Luke 18:1-8). You must not give up easily.
There is no shortcut to developing toughness aside going through stuff. The unpleasant situations you are going through at the moment are currently being used by God to develop toughness in you (Psalms 66:10-12). Don’t back out. Don’t back down. Don’t faint. The days of adversities are not only meant to reveal your strength but also to develop your strength (Proverbs 24:10).
How could Joseph develop the toughness to stand on the platform as a Prime Minister without the toughness acquired through the experiences in the Pit, Potiphar’s house, the Prison, and the likes? When you develop toughness, you would go all the way. You would not only go fast; you would also go far. You would have speed, stability, and safety (Acts 20:24, 26:22). All these would guarantee lasting success in life and destiny.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria