Rico Sharp tells people facing unemployment, divorce, or illness that their struggles are just chapters in a larger story. He cites Romans 8:28 to argue that all circumstances work together for good, and urges listeners not to quit because their breakdown can become a breakthrough.
Chapters
esteem in the sight of God and man. And that's the end of chapter 3. Hi everybody, it's Rico, and listen, I'm reading this book and this book is on wisdom, and one of the things that I've discovered is that our life is like a book. Yes, just like a book is the story of someone's life that is broken down in different phases and stages, Put together is called chapters. That's what it's about. Our life is as chapters. This book is full of chapters. And any book, for the most part, that is heart-touching kind of starts out happy, starts out with some good information. It starts out on the celebrative tip. But then after a while, it begins to change course. It begins to change definition. And then things get a little rough. Things get a little sad. Things get a little unorthodox. And you can see the pain. You can see the struggle. You can see the trouble. You can see where there are things going on in someone's life that is totally different from the way the— Started. And as you continue to read on, you go through different chapters, and then you get to the end, and then things begin to brighten up again, and things work out good, and things come to a full circle of happiness and a level of glory that makes you feel like, man, this was a good book. But one of the things that you know, that when you're reading a book, that you can't stop in the middle. You got to keep reading to see what the end is going to be like. Because you know that things has to get better for the person who wrote the book, otherwise the story would have never been told. And that's how it is in life. And there's a verse in the Bible in the book of Romans chapter 8, verse 28, that lets us know that all things are going to work together for our good. And that's the end of how things are going to be. It's going to end up good, although it may not be good right now. You might be in the middle of the story of your book where you're going through storms and tribulation and persecution, and you're, you're right now unemployed, and maybe you're going through a divorce, maybe you're dealing with cancer, maybe you're dealing with leukemia or some sick sickness or disease in your body or in someone's body that you love dearly. Maybe you're dealing with some circumstances with your finances, maybe your house is going through some turmoil. And your Little House on the Prairie has become a Nightmare on Elm Street. Well, I want to encourage you not to give up, not to quit. Don't stop moving forward, because what you're doing is you're building up the story of your life. The story of your life, the book of your life is being recorded and documented, and God is compiling all of this information so that you can put it in a book so that someone can learn How faithful and how awesome God has been in your life. Right now where you are is just a chapter, and sometimes when people on the outside learn about what you're dealing with on the inside, sometimes people will judge you. Sometimes people will misread what you're going through. Sometimes people will not understand the transition of your life, and will begin to suggest that perhaps you're going about things the wrong way. Perhaps you're out of the will of God. You done messed up or. Oh, you never should have attempted the endeavor that you're engaged in. Well, you know, people have a tendency to speak contradictive of things that they don't understand. But what God wants you to do is to continue to focus on what he's doing in your life, because although things are hard-pressing and distressing and perplexing on the outside, there's a peace on the inside that lets you know that you are still in the master plan of God's will for your life. Amen. You're just going through chapters. And what people must understand is that though you're going through different phases and different stages of life, and maybe you're weeping at night as, as calm, and your struggle has come, and your back is up against the wall, it's just a chapter. What you got to do is tell them, baby, don't judge me for where I am at. Don't size me up right now for the car that I'm driving. Don't try to measure me based upon where I am right now economically. Because I'm just in a transition of my life. This is just a chapter. I'm going to continue to grow. I'm going to continue to increase. I'm going to grow in wisdom. You're going to grow in learning. You're going to grow in understanding. You're going to grow in knowledge. You're going to grow in education. You're going to have more not long after this particular phase of your life than what you have right now. Your house is going to be a better house, a newer house. You're going to have nicer cars. You're going to have nicer things. God is not going to leave you where you are. Don't dare pitch a tent where you are and try to make the best out of a bad situation as if you need to accept things the way they are and then just begin to live with it, because that's not God's best for your life. What God wants you to do is not be moved by your conditions but continue to maintain your position. Don't be moved by what you see, only be moved by what you believe. Don't be moved by what you're going through, just stay focused on where you're going to. It's just a chapter. What you ought to tell people who's trying to judge you from the outside is, baby, this is just a chapter. Don't stop right there. Keep reading. Keep going through my book. Keep reading the book of my life and you will find that my latter end is going to be better than my former. You will find that all things are going to work together for my good. You will find that my test becomes my testimony, my mess becomes my message, my battle becomes my breakthrough, my breakdown becomes my breakthrough, my stumbling block becomes my stepping stones, and whatever I'm going through right now, it's all part of the story. Keep reading. It's just a chapter. It's not the end of your book. It's not how your story ends. It's not how your life ends. It's not how your marriage ends. It's not how your finances ends. It's not how your health ends. Keep reading the book because right now they're only stuck on a chapter. But if they flip the page, they will find that what the devil meant for evil, God has worked it together for your good. Man, I love reading, and I love the book that God is developing about my own life. And guess what, y'all? What? Your life, your story, I already know how it ends. You want to know how it ends? Here's how it ends. In the end, we win. Praise God. You know how it ends? In the end, they all live happily ever after. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't throw in the towel. Pull back on filing that divorce. Pull back on quitting that job. Let God turn things around for you and put you in a good position to have your story told and to have your glory shown. It's just a chapter. I'm Rico, and I gotta go. Talk to you later. I got some more reading to do.
