Push Through The Dirt

Stress is necessary in order to develop, to change, and to grow. So, you've got to be willing to go get it every day. There's a story my father tells me all the time. He said, "Every morning on the plains of the eastern Serengeti desert, arises a gazelle that realizes that he must run faster than the fastest lion, or he will be eaten, and he will die that day."

In that same desert, there arises in the morning a lion that realizes that he must run faster than the fastest gazelle, or he will starve and die that day. He said, "Son, the moral of the story is, no matter who you are when you wake up in the morning, you need to be running." And so, He taught me a work ethic and how to work.

In order to get to where you want to go, you've got to put yourself under some stress, though. You see, stress is necessary. However, a seed must be planted. A seed has to have dirt put on top of it. But, guess what?

Logically, it doesn't make sense to me to dig a hole, put something in it, and cover it with dirt to grow something. That doesn't make logical sense to me. But hold on. You see, dirt is necessary for growth and development. Dirt builds character. Dirt gives you the push-through factor.

Dirt forces you to come with it when you don't want to, and you can get dirt in a variety of ways. All of you have had dirt thrown at you, and dirt ain't always what you want. It's someone talking about you at work, accusing you of something you didn't do, telling you you're not going to make it or sharing false information about you.

Everybody gets dirt on them. But see, when you're being put under that stress, see that dirt builds character in you. When they talk about you, it teaches you how to deal with it. If you understand stress, when you put the seed in and cover it with dirt, stress isn't just dirt.

When they plant it, they call it soil rather than dirt because the soil contains nutrients. When people talk about you, dogging you, lying to you, stealing from you, talking about you, they're actually putting nutrients into you. They're building a character.

You've got character now. And now the seed, if they put a camera under the ground, you'd have seen the seed sprout open and start coming through the dirt, because the dirt is necessary so you can prove yourself.

Everything you see above ground that blossoms and plants and grows and that's beautiful was underground at one time. All those potatoes and collard greens were underground once. The apple trees were underground at one time. So, they had to prove themselves. So, you want to be successful?

Well, then you've got to prove yourself. You've got to push through the dirt. You've got to come up through here. Then you have to sprout, and then the bishop says, and then you become a tree. Next thing you know, you've got fruit. So, when you are under stress, take the stress for what it is. Don't be fooled. Don't just think, "Oh man, the Lord must not mean for it to be."

What is it you're tripping for?

What are you talking about?

How do you think you're going to be a plant or a tree, and ain't no stress?

How are you going to get to be that without any dirt?

See, I expect dirt now. I expect people to talk about me. As a matter of fact, I look forward to it now. Do your thing, because if I can survive what happened to me and my family previously, you can bring whatever you have now. There's some more stuff going around now that's about to happen. Bring it, because now I have developed a character. That is stress.