How to Handle Adversity

In our day-to-day experience it is sometimes difficult to determine the source of our adversity. Adversity related to our personal sin is usually easy to identify. Beyond that, though, things begin to run together. We certainly do not want to rebuke the devil for something God is behind. Neither do we want to just grin and bear it if there is something we can do to put an end to our suffering.

The Bible does  not give us three simple steps to aid us in determining the source of our adversity. This used to really bother me. For a long time, when I faced adversity, I would pray and pray for God to give me some indication as to why I was suffering. Then I realized why those kinds of prayers rarely seemed to be answered. There was and is a much more important issue at stake.

Far more important than the source of adversity is the response to adversity. Why? Because adversity, regardless of the source, is God's most effective tool for deepening your faith and commitment to Him. The areas in which you are experiencing the most adversity are the areas in which God is at work. When someone says, "God is not doing anything in my life," my response is always, "So you don't have any problems?" Why? Because the best way to identify God's involvement in your life is to consider your response to adversity. God uses adversity, regardless of the source. But your response to adversity determines whether or not God is able to use it to accomplish His purpose. . .

As much s we all want to know the answer to the why question, it is really not the most significant question. The real question each of us needs to ask is, "How should I respond?" To spend too much time trying to answer the why question is to run the risk of missing what God wants to reach us.

-From How to Handle Adversity by Charles Stanley; part of The Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version by Max Lucado

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Benefits of Being a Child of God

Image
In her book "Breaking Free", Beth Moore writes about five benefits God intends "to be the daily experience of every child of God." (p. 23) The first benefit is to know God and believe Him . Beth Moore writes that "one of your chief purposes on this planet is to know God intimately and with reverent familiarity. That intimate relationship begins, but was never intended to end, with what we call the 'salvation experience.' So the first question to ask yourself is, Have you received Christ as your personal Savior?" "One of the most beautiful elements of salvation is its simplicity. Christ has already done all the work on the cross. Your response includes four elements: 1) Acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you cannot save yourself. 2) Acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and only He can save you. 3) Believe that His Crucifixion was for your personal sins and that His death was on your behalf. 4) Give Him your life and
Read more

Fuel Up with the Holy Spirit

Image
 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26 Once we decide to get on the road with Jesus, we discover that the Bible is like a road map for our journey; helping us to live in a way that pleases God. If we spend time in the Word everyday, we will grow to be more like Jesus. A car needs gasoline in order to work. In order for you to keep going, you have to fill the tank up. Well, just like our physical bodies need food for energy, and cars need gasoline in order to go, our spiritual bodies need a kind of fuel too. This "fuel" is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and energy for life. We know that God created us. We know that Jesus saved us. But you might wonder who the Holy Spirit is. In John 14:16-17 we see that before Jesus was going to die on the cross, He told the disciples that God would send another Helper to help them. This w
Read more

A Clamorous Woman

Image
Photo Credit A foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house. . . To call to those who pass by. . . "Whoever is simple, let him turn it here"; And as for him who lacks understanding, She says to him, "Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant." But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of hell. -Proverbs 9:13-18 (NKJV) A foolish woman is clamorous. To be clamorous is to murmur, growl, roar, rage, to be troubled, in an uproar, in a stir, a commotion, boisterous, turbulent, raging. Here is a big clue for us. Every one of these definitions describes anything but a meek and quiet spirit. Usually if we women make an uproar on the outside, it's because there's an uproar on the inside. A clamorous woman lures other people into her whirlpool - or maybe a better word is cesspool. I know that the first level of application of
Read more