We are selling a condo unit “One Central Park”, located at Eastwood City – a Megaworld corporation developer. Our condo unit is for sale at pre-selling rate, this condo has never been use. The room… More
PSE Stock Bagger in Cement Sector for the year 2019 to 2020 – HLCM
$HLCM update 21 February 2019, Holcim completes La Union expansion ahead of schedule.
Holcim Philippines’s early completion of its La Union plant upgrades strengthens its ability to support the development of fast-growing north Luzon.
La Union to increase the annual cement production capacity there by 80% to around 1.8 million tons.
The La Union plant upgrade is part of the first phase of Holcim Philippines’s expansion program. The second phase involves improvements to its Bulacan and Misamis Oriental plants amounting to US$ 300 million to raise the company’s annual cement production capacity by 30% to 13 million metric tons by 2020.
Meanwhile, cement consumption in the Philippines is estimated to have reached ~30Mil MT, while local production is at 26.0Mil MT in 2018.
Cement Demand by 2019: 30 Million MT (Estimated)
Cement Production Supply by 2018: 26 Million MT
Deficit: 4 Million MT
This supply deficit situation is expected to persist in the medium term due to the growing construction activity in the country.
HLCM could be valued at a premium to Holcim Indonesia
HLCM Indonesia: EV / EBITDA P18.4
Potential buyers
Among the major players in the local cement industry, we believe EAGLE is in the best position to bid on HLCM given its healthy balance sheet with a net cash position of Php8.1Bil as of 9M18.
Note however that the company also has some expansions in the next few years that require funding.
A more likely scenario is for EAGLE to bid selectively on HLCM’s facilities in Mindanao, as this would allow the company to accelerate penetration of the VisMin area.
Other potential bidders may include DMC and Phinma, which
have previously shown interest in entering the cement industry. As of writing, only EAGLE’s Chairman and SMC President Ramon Ang has expressed interest in bidding for HLCM.
Bodegero : Top 7 Buyers (Buying only 3.613 Million shares volume, a total value of P32Million pesos).
Huge volume buying price at P9.50, and buying average at P8.40 to P9.47.
Tsupitero: Top sellers (No buying activity, Volume 315,300 shares, a total value of P2.757 Million pesos).
Average price selling at P9.00 to P9.57
Holcim Philippines, Incorporated Monthly Chart – Uptrend
1 – MACD crossover started
2 – Stochastic RSI (Blue line) crossover started
3 – Huge volume spike from last month (January) a total of 47.11 million shares traded, and the latest volume this month (February 21st ) a total of 37.3 million shares traded.
Top 20 buyers activities from 17 January to 21 February 2019.
Top 20 sellers activities from 17 January to 21 February 2019.
Result:
Despite of huge shares selling activities, the bulls protected the price at P9.50, as shown in the data there are Top 7 Buyers willing to buy at the price range P9.00 to P9.50 (Buying only 3 Million shares volume, a total value of P32 Million pesos) at average buying price P8.40 to P9.50 pesos.
Initial TP: P16.96
Bonus finish line price: P18.4 (as per COL disclosure HLCM Indonesia, EV / EBITDA)
Copyright © 2019 The God’s Work to Abandoned Son. All rights reserved.
Grow your money, how to let your money work for you in the stock market
When I started stocks trading in the PSE, I started from P25,000 and a monthly P10,000 accumulation in my capital, I begin with the Peso Cost Averaging and buying a recommendations. I don’t mind if the price is high, I just buy the stock that I like. My first stock was IDC which I gained P4,500 in 3 weeks.
After I digested some TAP wisdom and studied some basic technical indicators like identifying the support and resistance, buy low and sell high, RSI overbought and Oversold, I started to get-out of my shell. Which I trade on my own and gained a total of P6,705 in two (2) weeks, with 6 winning streaks and 2 losses.
After having my full confidence in my trading execution, I continued jumping in and out in my stock position which has resulted some bad outcomes in my next trading days.
It was the month of March 2018, when I found out the VUL, I saw in this stock that it has a potential of a big spike; they said “The Big Money is in the Big Swings”. And so I tried my luck. I bought the VUL when it was @ P1.00 and closed above P1.04.
On the next trading days, the VUL price is going down day by day and dropped below the lowest @ P0.60. I found out that it was a bull trap. My plan then is to accumulate more shares as fast as I can and hold it, up to six (6) months. In my vision I can see that it will swing higher soon.
Being a newbie trader, I am very confused and I am always asking myself if I should hold or cutloss my VUL stock. During these periods I am losing my hopes and strategy. That’s why I asked an opinion with someone is professional experienced trader. He told me to cutloss and sell. So I sell at P0.96 and in the next day the VUL price rose at P1.11. My bad. I regret.
Reminiscing the past, the VUL went peak as high at 2.46. If only I followed myself on what I believed I must be a bagger now.
I lost everything, I lost my confidence which pushed me in a very emotional distress situation which is resulted a losing streaks in my next trading days. It was very painful to me because I am losing my hard earned money. I know that nobody to blame but myself.
My losing results was 15 streak losses with a total amount of -P50,000 from P100,000 of my capital. I asked myself, why is this happening to me? Why I am suffering this very painful experienced. I wish I have not started this trading. I realized that I became greed from being distress. It was my emotion that put my capital in risk in every trading execution that I made.
As the time goes by, in four (4) months from March to July this year 2018, day and night during my work and even in my sleep I pushed to learn and studied on how to become a profitable trader. I studied the basic technical indicators which are the MACD, RSI, Stoch RSI, Williams %, Ichimoku cloud, PSAR break, Fibonacci retracement. I read news in the edge.pse, I read and try to understand how the news will impact the stock prices.
Day and night I am thinking about the charts. Thinking how on this earth these professional trader can make a money; how do they control their emotions and generate a continuous winning streaks. How they can find a bagger stocks.
After four (4) months of studying of the basic technical indicators and understanding the articles news of each stocks, I confirmed that I became more effective; and I generated 14 wins and 3 cutloss in 17 trading executions of being a tsupitero.
Being a keen observer and as an explorer in fact finding, I therefore conclude that in trading you must not trade by emotion but trade confidently with your positive thinking using the technical indicators. Trade what you see on the charts and do not trade what you hear.
On my journey in exploring the stock market, there are so many stocks that I have missed being a tsupitero and these stocks went through peak as high to the moon! I missed the big move from ATN which I positioned myself at 0.70, and this stock rose high went to peak @ P1.69.
I did found out that this stock is making a higher high and a higher low during its peak. The news were very fresh, I read everything about ATN and its future. What’s my mistake? I didn’t believe to myself. I believe by being a tsupitero. I sold early my positions. Kaya sabi nila, walang yumayaman na tsupitero.
I missed also the big move at IRC which I positioned myself at P1.49 and went to peak as high at P2.80. My mistake I sold early at P1.53. I was a fooled tsupitero. Haha.
As of now, I have one (1) stock that will return all my losses and will generate gains once it breaks the cloud. Bodega lang dudung… I cannot disclose to you. I know everything from this stock, hint? It is the one of the strongest stocks in the PSE fundamentally, good earnings, good book value, good company, everything is good. But technically never mind!
Conclusion: Being a tsupitero will not make you milyonaryo, but being a position trader will do. Set aside a money for tsupit, there must be a separate budget for tsupit like 20% to 30% of your funds and there must be an allocated budget for your bagger stock 70% of your capital.
In my 9 months experienced in the PSE, I generated a total of 62 trades, 34 wins and 28 losses. 55% gains (P145, 113.35) and 45% losses (-P104, 984.41). And a net gain of 24% (P40, 128.94).
I know that my next bagger stock will make me hopefully sooner a milyonaryo. Maybe it’s still early to tell, and too far to come.
One thing I realized when I entered the PSE, I realized that I am entering at the Bear market during end of January 2018 and the Bull market is about to end at the month of March.
I survived the Bear market. I am confident and believe that I can survive too during the bull market when it comes soon. During my nine (9) months in the PSE, the biggest thing that I learned is that I learned not to trade by emotions and by protecting my capital.
My advise to the newbies? Trade on your own, don’t mind the others port, and never ever get hyped! Hype will put you in your greatest losing position.
I am not a guru, I am not a CPA or MBA graduate, I am just an ordinary man came from a poor life from being a balut vendor, pandesal vendor, panadero, pedicab driver, and a garbage collector.
My dream is to create a wealth from nothing and to share it to the poor, to tell them on how to create a wealth from nothing if I succeed my journey in the Stock Market. Thank you.
Now this year 2019, I found out something that is very helpful for me in my investing journey here is the PinoyInvestor FREE Educational Resources on PSE Stock Trading!
As you know, PinoyInvestor is the most comprehensive source of stock market information, research reports, and analyses in the Philippines. Because of the wealth of information in PinoyInvestor, you might not know where to begin or how to use it the right way.
The guide contains four sections which discuss how you can fully benefit from PinoyInvestor. Click each header below to find out how to use PinoyInvestor!
- The Basics: Before You Start Investing
- How to Use PinoyInvestor: For Long-Term Investors
- How to Use PinoyInvestor: For Short-Term Traders
- Summary: PinoyInvestor and Applicable Time Horizon, Personal Requirements and Investment Strategy
In the link I provided you can get the free guides on your investing journey.
- Get FREE stock analysis, special reports and brokers’ recommendations!
- Get Stock Picks, Target Prices and Buy/Hold/Sell Recommendations!
- See all awesome STOCK REPORTS in PinoyInvestor!
Do not waste your time, energy, and effort by finding out which ways are the most useful tools in making money in the Philippine Stock Market.
Copyright © 2019 The God’s Work to Abandoned Son. All rights reserved.
What Happens When God Wants You to Give Up Your Dream?
“Abraham, when hope was dead within him, went on hoping in faith . . . He relied on the word of God” (Romans 4:18 Phillips).
By Pastor Rick Warren
How do you know when hope has died in your life? You start using the word “never.” I’m nevergoing to get married. I’m never going to graduate. I’m never going to get well. I’m never going to get out of debt. I’m never going to be able to let go of my past and forget all of that shame and heartache. I’m never going to be able to change. I’m never going to see this situation turn around. That’s when hope has died.
What do you do when your hope dies? Romans 4:18 says, “Abraham, when hope was dead within him, went on hoping in faith . . . He relied on the word of God” (Phillips).
When you are at a dead end, you need the Bible. Read it. Study it. Memorize it. Think about it. Write it down on little notecards, and go over it. The Bible is full of promises. You rely on the Word and trust in its promises, and it will revive you emotionally. Nothing else is going to encourage you like the Bible. When you rely on the Word of God, you don’t panic because you’re reminded that even though something is out of your control, it’s not out of God’s control.
A dead end is a test of your faith. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:17a, “While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac”(TLB). God said he wanted Abraham to sacrifice his son, and Abraham didn’t blink an eye. He didn’t panic because he remembered what God could do, and he relied on what God had promised him.
What happens when God takes your most precious dream and wants you to give it up? Can you do that in faith? You’re at a dead end, and God’s going to deliver you if you give the right answer.
You may be at a dead end now, and it seems there is no way out. But things are never as bleak as they seem. You’re looking at it from the human viewpoint rather than God’s viewpoint.
Romans 4:20 says, “Abraham never doubted. He believed God, for his faith and trust grew ever stronger, and he praised God for this blessing even before it happened” (TLB).
A promise is only as good as the character of the person who makes the promise. The Bible says God cannot lie because he is complete truth. If he makes a promise to you, he’s going to fulfill it. It will happen exactly as he has said. When you’re at your dead end, trust in God’s truth.
Talk It Over
- Even if you’re not at a dead end right now, how can you use God’s Word to prepare yourself for this phase of faith?
- What promises from God encourage you when you are at a dead end?
- How do you think God will respond to someone who turns to his Word when facing a dead end?
Disclaimer: The intention of posting the daily hope is to promote Pastor Rick Warren. No other intention other than this.
Jesus Turns Your ‘Hopeless End’ into ‘Endless Hope’
“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us . . . and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:9b-10 NIV).
By Pastor Rick Warren
Paul knew that God works in our lives according to our expectation. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:9b-10, “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us . . . and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us” (NIV).
The purpose of the dead end is to teach you to trust in God. Why does God let things get so bad and so out of control? So he can force you to learn to trust in him instead of trusting in your own ingenuity and cleverness.
What’s the promise when you trust God? He has delivered you, he will deliver you, and he will continue to deliver you. God uses three different kinds of deliverance:
1. God uses circumstantial deliverance. Sometimes God miraculously alters the circumstance, and the Red Sea splits. That will happen many times in your life, but it’s not going to happen all the time.
2. God uses personal deliverance. Instead of changing the circumstance, God changes you from the inside. You get a new dream, a new vision, a new attitude, and a new perspective.
3. God’s ultimate deliverance is Heaven. God has not promised to remove all of your pain in this world or solve every one of your problems. Because we are on earth, there is pain and sorrow and suffering. The ultimate deliverance will be one day in Heaven where there will be no pain, no sorrow, no suffering, and no heartache.
There is only one way to get to Heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV). When you’re at a dead end, Jesus can take that hopeless end and turn it into an endless hope.
Are you at a dead end? I invite you to take that problem, that situation, and your own life and give them to Jesus Christ. Jesus always looks out for your best interests.
Talk It Over
- No matter what phase of faith you are in right now, what are you expecting God to do in your life?
- How does trusting your life to Jesus Christ change the way you face a difficulty or dead end in your journey of faith?
Disclaimer: The intention of posting the daily hope is to promote Pastor Rick Warren. No other intention other than this.
God Tests with Stress Before Trusting with Success
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3 NLT).
By Pastor Rick Warren
You could watch a million hours of television and movies without finding a story as thrilling as the story the Bible tells about Daniel. Think Raiders of the Lost Ark and Mission Impossible all rolled into one.
The Bible follows Daniel’s life from the age of 15 until he’s 85. And every step of his story is breathtaking. Over the next few weeks, we’ll study Daniel’s life and explore key truths that we can apply to our lives today.
When Daniel was still a teenager, the Babylonians put down a rebellion in Judah and took some of the Israelites into captivity. Because Daniel was healthy, knowledgeable, and perceptive, he was taken as a prisoner to be trained for service in the king’s court (Daniel 1:1-7).
And then God tested him because God tests us with stress before God trusting us with success. God had big plans for Daniel. There are only two men in all of history that God told what the end of the world would be like: Daniel and the apostle John. God gave Daniel the job to communicate that message first to Israel and then to the whole world through the Bible. But before God could trust Daniel with this message, God gave him stress. God gave Daniel a test.
The Bible says in Proverbs 17:3, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart” (NLT).
If God’s going to use you, he’s going to test you first. He wants to be sure you’re ready to handle the power, the blessing, the influence, or whatever else he wants to give you.
The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, put Daniel and other young men into a three-year indoctrination program. He wanted to wipe out their memories of Israel and to secularize them. They were taught a new language, a new culture, a new religion, and new habits. The Babylonians were trying to reprogram Daniel and these other young men, and prepare them to serve in the royal court.
But the king faced unexpected opposition when he tried to change Daniel’s diet, which he followed in obedience to God’s commands.
The Bible says, “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way” (Daniel 1:8 NIV).
In essence, the king told Daniel to forget God and the spiritual values he’d followed his whole life. But Daniel wouldn’t do that, and so he passed the test.
God will give you a similar test. It won’t look exactly the same. But God will test your character. God wants to know if he can trust you with success. And the good news: God is right there with you helping you to succeed.
Talk It Over:
- When have you faced a test similar to the one God gave Daniel?
- Why do you think God tests us with stress before trusting us with success?
- Why was it so important for Daniel to remain obedient to God while in Babylon?
Disclaimer: The intention of posting the daily hope is to promote Pastor Rick Warren. No other intention other than this.
Chapter 3.5 – I am out of school youth
One day, I talked with our college dean and I told him that it will be my last day at the school, the college dean helped me to make a resignation letter.
May 2005, I resigned as a student assistant and quit studying because of financial capability.
I applied for the Manila Banker’s Life Insurance as a sales agent; I passed the licensure examination, but my job, as an agent didn’t work. I didn’t make sales. I think I don’t have a passion to do it, to find a client and interact with them to discuss the financial matter.
My questions are: “how can I function well as a financial advisor if I don’t have the experience on my own?” I don’t know what needs means, and what wants are all about. How can I sell something if I don’t know what I am selling? I disregarded this job.
After one month, it was June 2005; my college dean called on my mobile phone and asked me: “if school personnel can trust me with regards to money”.
One second, I stop and think for a second. “Why he asking me this kind of question, I asked myself”
I replied: “Yes you can trust me,” our discussion continued and he said that he already endorsed me to the school Vice President of AIE College.
The Dean told me that I will be working as a full-time Library Clerk, and I will be receiving a minimum salary of 3,500 pesos ($70) per month at the same time as a regular student with 100% free for all tuition fees and miscellaneous fees.
I said: “WOW!” It’s great, and I was very blessed. This is the work of God. Thank you! Praise the lord. I reported at AIE College, and start working as Library Clerk from June 2005 – December 2005.
Being out of school youth is difficult, day and night I did drinking liquor. I thought that I will be an out of school youth forever. Imagined that I gave up going to school because of my financial capability.
But God is really powerful and creative, imagined what he did to me? He used a person to bring me back to school. I am not expecting this.
And now I know that God is working to me, to you, and for us. Mostly there are things that out of our control and we gave up those things.
But God is secretly working for us if you really have a desire to achieve the things that you wanted to do for a better life, in good faith.
“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us . . . and he will deliver us again. On him, we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:9b-10 NIV).
If there is one thing I would like to do, this is to return back to God everything good that he did to me. To reach out those out of school youth. Because those out of school youth are stuck.
Copyright © 2017 The God’s Work to Abandoned Son. All rights reserved.
God Is in Control Even When Your Plans Stall
“Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing” (Romans 4:17b NLT).
By Pastor Rick Warren
There are certain dead-end words in life, including “cancer,” “divorce,” “bankruptcy,” “infertility,” and “unemployment.”
How do you know when you’re at a dead end? You know it when things get out of your control and you can’t do anything about it.
When you’re stuck and waiting for deliverance, you need to remember what God can do. The situation may be out of your control, but it’s not out of God’s control. When you face a dead end, don’t focus on what you can’t do. Focus instead on what God can do.
Romans 4:17b says, “Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing” (NLT).
Here are two things God does that you can’t do: He can give life to the dead, and he can create something out of nothing. If God can give life to a dead man, he can give life to a dead career. He can bring life to that dead marriage. He can bring life to that dead dream. He can bring life to that financial dead end.
It wasn’t just positive thinking that helped Abraham. Positive thinking works fine in situations you can control. But positive thinking is not faith. They are two very different things.
In situations that are out of your control, positive thinking is worthless. It’s just wishful thinking. It doesn’t change the situation. When you face things that are out of your control, you need something more than a positive mental attitude. You need faith in God, because he can control it when you can’t. Most of life is beyond your control, so you need faith far more than you need positive thinking.
Jesus says in Luke 18:27, “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (NIV). God specializes in the impossible. It’s called a miracle, and he can do it in your life! He is ready to turn your dead end into deliverance.
Talk It Over
- What dead end are you facing today?
- Why is it sometimes difficult to admit that something is out of your control?
- What’s the result of having faith in God even at a dead end? How does it change you? How does it change your circumstances?
Disclaimer: The intention of posting the daily hope is to promote Pastor Rick Warren. No other intention other than this.
In Difficult Times, What Happens in You is Most Important
“Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 27:31 NIV).
By Pastor Rick Warren
Life is not fair. You will have problems, difficulties, and hurts that will make you better or bitter. You will either grow up or give up. Either you’ll become who God wants you to be or your heart will become hard. You have to decide how you are going to respond to the tough times in your life. How will you handle it?
When you go through those difficult times, what happens to you is not nearly as important as what happens in you. That’s what you take into eternity — not the circumstances but your character.
In Acts 27, we learn three ways you shouldn’t respond in trials:
1. Don’t drift. “The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along” (Acts 27:15 NIV). The ship carrying Paul and other prisoners to Rome was in the middle of the Mediterranean and hadn’t seen the sun for 14 days, so they couldn’t get any bearings, and they started to drift.
When they face difficulty, some people start drifting through life. They have no goal, purpose, ambition, or dream for their life. Today, we call this “coasting.” The problem with coasting is that you’re headed downhill. Life is not a coast. Life’s tough. Don’t lose your ambition or your dream just because life gets hard.
2. Don’t discard. “We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard” (Acts 27:18 NIV). The men in charge needed to lighten the ship, so they threw the cargo overboard, then the tackle and the food. They were discarding things they needed because the storm was so tough.
When you get in a storm and the stress gets unbearable, you tend to start abandoning values and relationships you would not let go of in better times. You say, “I’m giving up on my marriage. I’m giving up on my dream to go to college.”
God says, “Stay with the ship!” For example, have you done that in your marriage? Have you said, “Divorce is not an option for us; we’re going to make it work”? If you haven’t, you’ll always be tempted to walk out. If you don’t throw away the key, you’ll never develop the character God wants you to have. God can change situations and personalities. He can change you. I’ve learned from personal experience that it is never God’s will to run from a difficult situation. God wants you to learn, grow, and develop, and he is there with you all the time.
3. Don’t despair. “We finally gave up all hope of being saved” (Acts 27:20b NIV). After 14 days in total darkness and after giving up their cargo, tackle, and food, the passengers finally give up hope. But they’d forgotten one thing: Even in a storm, God is in control. He hasn’t left you. You may not feel him, but if you feel far from God, guess who moved?
God is with you in the storm, and he’ll help you through it. He is testing you to see if you’ll trust him.
Talk It Over
- How do you demonstrate that you trust God when you’re in a storm?
- What difficult situation have you been waiting on God to change?
- How might God be waiting on you to start changing instead of changing the situation? How will you respond?
Disclaimer: The intention of posting the daily hope is to promote Pastor Rick Warren. No other intention other than this.
Every Storm Is a School, Every Trial a Teacher
“This small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble” (2 Corinthians 4:17 GNT).
By Pastor Rick Warren
When we go through difficulties in life, the first thing we often try to do is blame somebody else. But it doesn’t matter where your problem came from — God still has a purpose for it in your life. Even when you do stupid things, God can use it. Even when other people hurt you intentionally, he can use it. Even when the Devil plans bad things for your life, God can bring good out of it.
God’s purpose is greater than your problems and your pain. He has a plan! You need to look past the temporary pain and look instead at the long-term benefit in your life.
Romans 5:3-4 says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that . . . they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady” (TLB).
What’s the purpose of your problems and difficulty? God wants you to learn something. Every storm is a school. Every trial is a teacher. Every experience is an education. Every difficulty is for your development.
Most of us are slow learners. If you don’t learn something, God will bring it up again in your life. It will come back, because God is more interested in your character than he is in your comfort. He is more interested in seeing you become more like Christ than he is in making things easy for you.
Maybe you are facing a major difficulty right now. It may be an illness or guilt or a financial problem or strain in a relationship. Does God have a word for you while you’re going through your difficulty? Absolutely. God is saying to you, “Don’t give up. Grow up.” Fulfill the purpose of your difficulty — becoming more and more the person he created you to be.
“This small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble” (2 Corinthians 4:17 GNT).
Talk It Over
- How does placing blame affect you spiritually and emotionally?
- What steps can you take to grow spiritually so that you can fulfill the purpose of your difficulty?
- How might you respond to someone who asks, “Why is this ‘good person’ experiencing such a hard time?”
Disclaimer: The intention of posting the daily hope is to promote Pastor Rick Warren. No other intention other than this.
Three Mistakes to Avoid in the Face of Difficulty
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b NIV).
By Pastor Rick Warren
In Acts 27, Paul set sail for Rome with other prisoners, and they faced great difficulties on their journey because the winds were against them. Paul warned the men on one leg of their voyage that if they set sail, they would be caught in a major storm and the results would be disastrous. They decided to sail anyway, making three common mistakes that we also tend to make that get us into trouble.
1. We listen to bad advice. “[They] followed the advice of the pilot” (Acts 27:11b NIV). God had already said not to do it, and Paul warned them not to do it. But because the “expert” said it was okay, they did it. If God tells you to do one thing and all the experts in the world tell you to do something else, don’t listen to the experts. Listen to what God says.
2. We follow the crowd. “The majority decided that [they] should sail on” (Acts 27:12b NIV). The majority is often wrong! The majority of the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt, and they were wrong, too. Peer pressure keeps a lot of people from doing what God wants them to do.
3. We rely on circumstances. “When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity” (Acts 27:13a NIV). Paul warned the others that they were heading into a storm, but they sailed anyway. You should not go through every open door you see. You should not take advantage of every opportunity given to you. You should not accept every job that is offered to you. You should not date everybody that asks you out. Satan can arrange circumstances, too, so you need to ask God for his direction.
Trouble is a part of life. You will have difficulties! Jesus told us so in John 16:33b: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (NIV).
But knowing how to avoid these three mistakes will help you navigate through the difficulties you faced on your journey of faith.
Talk It Over
- Why do you think God allows you to experience difficulty on your journey of faith?
- How have you gotten into trouble because you made one of the three mistakes discussed in today’s devotional?
- How did God deliver you in that situation?
Disclaimer: The intention of posting the daily hope is to promote Pastor Rick Warren. No other intention other than this.
The Gods Work 