Gifts of Adversity
February 3, 2002
Dear Friends,
I am sure that most of us have had a t least one bad day in the last year. Probably some of us have had a few really bad days.
Imagine if you can, having a day like Abraham had. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” I can imagine a day much worse than that.
What are we to make of days like these? The Bible says “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4 – NASB)
What kind of crazy person “counts it all joy” when they have a day like Abraham had? Hopefully, you and me. Look at the apostles reaction to a bad day at the office in the book of Acts. “…when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” (Acts 5:40-41 – KJV)
I am not going to try to convince you that you should relish, enjoy or otherwise celebrate adversity, but simply to realize that it is good for you. Because we grow in our faith and develop our characters, therefore we can have a sense of joy in adversity. In a way, each trail we go through is a gift from God – a gift of adversity. Some of these are small gifts while others are big gifts. They are all gifts in that God is working with us as we shall see as we examine this topic.
What we are promised in the Bible is that we can get through the trial. Maybe we will not get through it with our life, our sanity, our wealth or our family, but we can make it through with our salvation. We are promised in I Cor. 10:13 that “No trial has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able, but with the trial will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” What does this mean? Can we survive all trials? Yes and no. Eventually, one trial is going to take each of our lives. The promise is not that we can survive physically or emotionally, but spiritually. During the first century, as the Apostles were being murdered one by one, they did have a way of escape from their torturers. Their escape was death. Perhaps we long for a little better escape path than death, but in some cases, that is all that is provided. The promise is that each trial will be conquerable from the point of view of our salvation – period. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt: 10:28)
What is the key to surviving the trial? FAITH! Faith that we can overcome the trial. Faith that it is for our good or the good of someone else. Faith that God loves us and knows what is best. Faith that our self worth is not tied to the trial. It is the faith that allows us to read Romans 8:28 and believe it with all of our heart. “…we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” It does not say “some things”, or “many things”, but ALL THINGS “work together for good.” Abraham believed this. We have to believe this.
We will continue with this thought, Lord willing, next week.
Have a great week!
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