Lessons from Adversity (Part One)

He leads me …

As any of us who have been Christians for a while know, when we go through hard times the Lord is with us in interesting ways. Like the time when there was not much food and the Lord provided through an unexpected source. Or the times that we have waited and waited for a breakthrough, only to find that when it did come, it was in the Lord’s perfect timing.

Some of us are at the stage of our lives where we can look back on some of the hard times and ask, ‘Was it manageable?’ No. Not without the Lords help. ‘Was it worth it?’ Yes.

 Really? We say ‘Yes’ with cautious optimism, because we know that there have been benefits, but we are not really sure how to put them into words.

 Over the next few sessions we will look at what Charles Stanley has to say about these benefits based on what see about Paul throughout the New Testament. After each point I will add a comment or two of my own.

12 LESSONS FROM ADVERSITY - Growing Closer to God Through Trials and Troubles[1]

 Paul’s life is one of the best biblical examples of how adversity can be a bridge to a deeper relationship with God. His closeness to the Father came as the result of loss and hardship. He wrote, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord . . . that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3:8,10).

Through tribulation and difficulty, Paul learned:

      He could know peace even in adversity. Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:11-13).

As we go along in our Christian journey we find that the more we struggle with problems in our own strength the harder life is. But when we actually hand over the issue to God the weight comes off us because it is now His problem.

 Any why not trust Him? After all we have the promise – ‘And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:19 NKJV)

 What we then need to learn is that when the Lord does not respond when we want Him to, we do not take the problem back and try to sort it out our way. We not only upset what He was doing and His timing, but we put ourselves back into that place where all the pressure comes back on us.

 We have to trust Him to get the right result. With practice we eventually learn this, and when we do we can finally experience the peace that comes with knowing that with the Lord ‘all things work together for good’ (Romans 8:28 NKJV).

[1]   https://www.intouch.org/Read/Blog/12-lessons-from-adveristy