GROWING THROUGH ADVERSITY

James 1: 1-12 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Through my years of growth as a Christian, I have learned some truths that are hard to practice. In fact, as a preacher of the gospel I have learned that many concepts found in the Word of God are easier to preach than to practice. One of those truth is the subject matter for this week’s CHALLENGING CONCEPTS.

One truth that I have taught and preached for many years is how to handle problems, trials and adversity. There are two methods of action: You either REACT to the issue (which is a work of the flesh) or you RESPOND to it (which is the fruit of the Spirit). In the first action, it causes a person to either plateau in his Christian life or regress. But on the other hand, when a person RESPONDS to the issue, problem or adversity, he takes a step forward in his growth. Notice verse 4 again “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Notice also verse 12 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

God never intended for the believer to stop growing in his spiritual condition. His desire for the child of God is found in II Timothy 3:17 “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” Notice what Paul wrote to a young preacher in II Timothy 2:21 “. . . he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” That’s God desire for each of us as we continue to grow in the things of the Lord.

In his book entitles “Be Strong” Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote “It is impossible to stand still in Christian life and service; for when you stand still you immediately start going backward.” God’s purpose is that the child of His does not go backward but to go on to a new height of maturity.

It would be wonderful if all our growth could be developed through good and prosperous times, but that’s not the case. There is some growth that can only come through adversity. It’s through adversity that a believer learns the extent of the deliverance of God. Notice what we read in Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”

It’s also through adversity that we as believer learn to run to God for protection. Notice Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Years ago my adult choir would sing a very moving song entitled “Underneath The Shadow Of His Wings.”

There are times my soul becomes confounded and distressed
There are times my heart no longer sings,
It is then the Spirit bids me come to Him and rest,
Underneath the shadow of His wings.

Underneath the shadow of His mighty wings,
Peace and joy are waiting me
There is blessed victory,
How my soul is thrilled to be eternally
Underneath the shadow of His wings.

There are many other lessons we learn when we go through and face adversity with the help of Almighty God. Bottom line is that God has a purpose for every trial that comes into our life. Nothing happens by accident. Every trial or adversity has to cross God’s desk and get His stamp of approval. Paul tells us that trials and blessings have a purpose for us. We read in Romans 8:28 “And 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’s through adversity that we learn some things about God, but it’s also a time when we learn some things about ourselves. In his book “Be Strong” Dr. Wiersbe also wrote “What life does to us depends on what life finds in us, and we don’t always know the condition of our own hearts” Jeremiah 17:9 states “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked who can know it?”

We will discover our true view of God. We may be surprised what we really think about God. We will also learn our true strengths and weaknesses. Did you know that most of us can have some extreme blind spots? We will also come to grips with what are our real priorities. We may think that we really want to do God’s will but when God’s will is for us to go through trials, why do we complain and murmur?

There are many, many other things about ourselves that will come to the surface.

In the next three issues of CHALLENGING CONCEPTS we will examine the REALITY of Adversity, the REASONS for Adversity, the RESPONSE to Adversity, and the REWARDS of Adversity. Don’t miss any of these blogs. I think they will be a real blessing to you and you can use them with others who may be going through times of hardships in their life.

That’s my view; how about you?