I'm not that good, but I know people who are

Some people are incredibly brilliant, insightful, and resilient. They can feel the pangs of disappointment or defeat and pop right back up and keep on truckin. Others, pour themselves a cocktail and turn on E!. Using trashy entertainment television to minimize your sorrows as you compare hollywood trivialities (read: bullshit) to your own life dilemas can only get you so far. One can only handle the ridiculousness of a Jake Gyllenhall sighting at Fred Segal or the latest Heidi Montag (of MTV Hills fame) drama for so long. It's then that you actually realize the emptiness of your wasted fame-whoring, hour. So, as my financial downsizing (um, can you tell I cancelled cable TV?) rages on, I have been forced to seek out more intellectual and responsible outlets. Hence my latest foray into Joel Osteen's new book: "It Is Your Time." I came across a really powerful and inspiring passage this afternoon that was just to good to go unshared. Now, I am probably breaking all sorts of copyright laws, when I straightup COPY (paraphrasing just wouldnt do this justice)--so I'm resting on the good-natured benevolence of one of my readers to front my bail money while I jet-set to Mexico and hideout. No, just kidding. But anyways, I am sharing this bit in hopes to inspire and breathe faith into others the way it was breathed into me. Please enjoy and feel inspired:

"The fact is that any time God is about to take you to a new level, you will face opposition. There will be new battles to fight, new obstacles to overcome, maybe people who doubt you, or speak poorly of you. I once heard someone say, ' New level, new devil'. It's easy to let negative voices discourage you. It's tempting to think, 'Why is this happening? Why did they doubt me? Or, Why did I get laid off.? Or Why am I hit with one thing or another?' But right beyond today's challenges are tomorrow's victories. New level of success are just on the other side. Whenever God is about to take you to a higher level, you will face stronger opposition. There will be new battles to fight, new obstacles to overcome. The adversity can actually be the tool God uses to promote you. Many times our enemies will do more to catapult us to success than our friends. I know in my life there have been times when I was down. i didn't see a way out. It looked impossible. But I thought, I can't give up now. It would make my enemies too happy. Sometimes we can smile, but not becuase we want to, not becuase we feel like it, but becuase we will not give our enemies the pleasure of seeing us down. On the inside, you may be hurting. But on the outside you should wear a smile. Do not let them see you defeated. Not out of pride. Not out of spite. But out of a quiet confidence, knowing that you are a child of the Most High God, and He would not have allowed it if He did not have a purpose for it."

So there you have it. Spoken like a messenger. Receive it like a listener.