Lessons from Adversity (Part Three)
He leads me …
We have been looking at what Charles Stanley has to say about the benefits of adversity based on what we see about Paul throughout the New Testament. We will now look at one more way that we are better off, after which I will add a couple of comments.
12 LESSONS FROM ADVERSITY - Growing Closer to God Through Trials and Troubles[1]
Through tribulation and difficulty, Paul learned:
The Lord was the source for all his needs. Philippians 4:19 says, “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” When we fully rely on the Father, He will provide for us.
It is probably not necessary for us to be reminded that the verse says that God will supply our needs. Most of us know that He is not there for us so that we can name it and claim it.
Perhaps we should be like the little girl, who misquoted the 23rd Psalm, saying: “The Lord is my Shepherd, that’s all I want!”
The Lord provides our needs, spiritually, emotionally and physically. For this we should be thankful for what He has given us and use what we have to bless others. We should remember that we are blessed to be a blessing.
In this way, we become a channel of blessing for the Lord. Unfortunately some Christians have become containers, complete with a lid. They hold on to what God has given them, but the Christian that is a channel allows the blessing God has been pouring into them to flow out to others.
The abundant life that we have with the Lord is not about the material things that we have. Ultimately, abundant life is being thankful about what we receive from the Lord[2] and living as stewards of God’s blessings.[3] Let us consider just three of His blessings.
Our Family – With all its ups and downs our family, and let us include the extended family, is what the Lord has given us. Are we actually thankful for each one of them? And do we invest ourselves into their lives in a positive way? Any time with family is quality time and it provides positive outcomes in all sorts of ways.
Our Job – Because we are Christians we will always be watched by those around us, and this is particularly true at work. It is interesting that when we treat others the way that we would like to be treated, we usually find that we are blessed in return.
Our Relationship with God – We have so much to be thankful for when we consider the work of Jesus on the cross. The new life that we have by faith is incredible. We read in Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (NLT) The more we seek Him and His ways in our lives, the better the relationship gets, which just deepens what we already have.
The Lord blesses us in so many ways – small and not so small - and when we are good stewards of what he has given us, we find that the rewards can be amazing. Is it worth the down times? Absolutely. Because overall we can look back and see how we have benefitted from both the good and the bad with the Lord’s guidance through it all.
[1] https://www.intouch.org/Read/Blog/12-lessons-from-adveristy
[2] 1 Thessalonians 5:18
[3] https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/march/what-does-it-mean-to-have-abundant-life.html
