✝️ Redeem Your Pain for Purpose

Good morning, my brothers! Happy Saturday! Sam Perossa is an early member of the More The Man fraternity. To meet him today, you’d never know the trials he endured growing up or the pain he’s experienced in business. His life and his outlook can teach us much about a true Biblical man. Let’s go!

This week: 5-minute read

 🔥 YOU ARE INVITED Our next MTM Digital Campfire, with Sam Perossa, the focus of this week’s article, is this Tuesday, October 21st, at noon Eastern. See details below the article. LAST CHANCE - SEE YOU THERE!

GROWTH
Redeem Your Story

Sam Perossa grew up the son of immigrants who arrived in America in the late 1950s with little more than grit and hope. His mother was Catholic, his father Jewish, and their household was far from ordinary. Yet what shaped Sam most wasn’t the mix of faiths but the tension of an angry, abusive father.

From a young age, Sam heard the same words hurled like stones: “Sam will end up dead in a ditch or in prison by the time he’s twenty.” Instead of rejecting them, he owned them. Football became his outlet; fighting became his defense. Rebellion defined him—until one night behind bars changed everything.

A few days before his eighteenth birthday, Sam sat in a crowded jail cell surrounded by chaos. At 2:30 a.m., a voice cut through the noise: “These are your people.” Then another: “If you are running from Me, who are you running toward?” It was the voice of God. In that moment, Sam saw that every decision he’d made had led him there—and that God was offering a different way forward.

From that night on, the journey was uphill. Professors doubted him. Bosses dismissed him. His father walked out, leaving only debt. Later, Sam lost his father-in-law, the man who had become the father he never had, and twenty-five years of work in a family business vanished overnight. Each season tested his faith, yet each one proved the same truth: adversity isn’t wasted in God’s hands—it’s where faith is refined, biblical men are forged, and life is redeemed.

The Biblical Foundation of Adversity

Scripture never hides from hardship. In fact, Jesus counseled that we should expect it:

And James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Pure joy, really? Yes, it can be.

It’s not sentiment, it’s strategy. God uses adversity to mature us. Paul echoes it in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Even when life feels broken beyond repair, God is building something better beneath the surface.

Joseph told his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). David ran for years before sitting on a throne. Paul, beaten and imprisoned, called his suffering “light and momentary” compared to eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). Every story of faith includes struggle, because struggle is the classroom of spiritual growth.

Three Pillars for the Battle: Faith, Family, and Fitness

Sam Perossa chose to join God in His work and become an overcomer. He created a framework for himself as he and Brandi walked together through their trials.

Three pillars built on a simple principle: move forward every day, even if just slightly. His pillars:

1. Faith – Cling to God in the Trial

When the family business collapsed, Sam could have stayed angry. Instead, he and his wife Brandi turned to prayer and Scripture. They began seeking a deeper relationship with God, not a transaction with Him. Their home shifted from Sunday religion to daily dependence. They could have run away, but instead they chose to cling tighter to Him.

Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Jesus promises, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Faith isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the courage to trust God in the middle of it.

The principle: One step closer to intimacy with Jesus, each day.

2. Family – Lean on Those God Puts Beside You

Though Sam’s father abandoned him, God surrounded him with brothers—his father-in-law, fraternity brothers, and men of faith who walked beside him. Brotherhood became a shield against isolation. The Lord also provided him with his perfect helpmate, his wife Brandi.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 reminds us, “Two are better than one… If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” Proverbs 27:17 adds, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Every man needs brothers who will pray, challenge, and remind him who he is in Christ.

The principle: do one thing each day to show love to one person closest to you

3. Fitness – Train Mind and Body for Battle

Sam learned that caring for his body and mind wasn’t vanity, it was stewardship. Discipline produced focus and resilience.

Paul wrote, “I discipline my body and keep it under control” (1 Corinthians 9:27). 1 Timothy 4:8 says, “Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things.” And Romans 12:1-2 calls us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices and renew our minds. Strength—physical, mental, and spiritual—equips men to endure adversity with clarity and courage.

The principle: start simple and build as your body allows.

Practical Lessons for Every Man

Redefine the struggle.
Stop asking, “Why me?” and start asking, “What is God teaching me?” God’s refining fire forms maturity. “These trials have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith… may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:7).

Stay anchored in the Word.
Feelings shift; truth does not. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Make God’s Word your daily anchor.

Invest in others.
Isolation breeds weakness; community builds strength. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). Find men who sharpen your walk with God.

Do something physical.
Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and we need to treat this temple with the respect it deserves. Start simple if you’re not active currently. Schedule a daily 15-minute walk. Ramp it up as your fitness levels allow and keep the temple healthy!

Move forward every day.
Faith is forged in daily obedience, the small steps, choosing integrity, forgiveness, and service. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). The small steps prepare you for the big ones.

Keep eternity in view.
Perspective changes everything. “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). The pain of today shapes the glory of tomorrow.

Living as More The Man

As guys seeking to live biblically, we believe adversity is not a detour but the path itself. Being more the man God has called you to be is not about avoiding struggle but embracing it through faith, brotherhood, and perseverance. Sam Perossa’s story reminds us that scars are not symbols of defeat - they are proof that God redeems pain for purpose.

Brother, you may be walking through the fire of adversity right now. But take heart. God never wastes a wound. The same fire that feels unbearable today is forming endurance, humility, and strength that will serve you tomorrow. Stand firm. Stay faithful. Let perseverance finish its work—so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Sam Perossa’s story and the lessons the Lord taught him through all of his challenges, and his three pillars, will be the focus of our next campfire (our word for a webinar) on Tuesday, October 21st, at noon. Register here to join us on Zoom!

Reflection Questions

1. What adversity are you facing right now, and how could God be using it to strengthen your faith?

2. Which of the three pillars—faith, family, or fitness—needs the most attention in your life this week?

3. What small step of obedience can you take today to walk closer with God?

4. Who are the brothers walking beside you? Who could you invite into the fight?

5. How will your perspective shift as you see your current struggle in light of eternity?

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