Advancing Through Adversity
Learn to grow through difficult times and rediscover God's faithfulness.
The following material is a chapter from one of Dr. Stanley's study guide series.
When adversity strikes, we are wise to engage in self-examination. As we do, the Lord may lead us in a number of directions. Self-examination is not limited to areas of sinfulness or pride; it may involve areas of strength we need to pursue or in which we need to grow. Some areas worthy of examination in times of adversity are these:
Our view of God The place of material possessions in our lives Our strengths and weaknesses A possible unwillingness to forgive others Our faith in God
We'll explore each one in this lesson. As we do, be open to what the Lord may speak to you. These are areas in which personal pride often causes us to say, "I'm all right in that area." The fact of the matter is, we can always grow in our understanding and be perfected in these areas.
Adversity Can Reveal Our View of God When adversity hits, what is your first impression of God? Do you regard Him as a cruel taskmaster who is judging you unmercifully and requiring behaviour from you that is unreasonable? Or do you regard Him as a benevolent Father who is permitting you to be chastened in a way that will result in your growth and perfection?
How do you feel when the Lord chastises you?
The first response of many people is to feel that God is dealing with them unfairly or too harshly. If that is your response, don't deny your feelings. Instead, explore why you feel that way. In your self-examination on this point, you may discover that you have been taught incorrectly about God.
As a pastor for more than forty years, I have encountered literally hundreds of people who have a negative view of God. This opinion is usually one they have been taught by their parents, either directly or indirectly, and often it is based on a child's impression of his or her father. The Scriptures portray our heavenly Father in these terms:
Loving (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8) Intimate (John 15:15) Patient (Psalm 103:8) Gentle and Gracious (Psalm 103:8) Generous (Luke 6:38) Faithful and Steadfast (Lamentations 3:23)
If this is not your understanding of God, your heavenly Father, then I encourage you to look up the references next to each of the attributes above and let the Word of God speak directly to you. Reread the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Read about Jesus, who said of Himself, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Read closely what Jesus said about the Father. Let the Holy Spirit bring healing to you in this area of your understanding about the nature of God.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, a relatively small percentage of people regard God as so loving that He would never do anything that could remotely be construed as negative toward His children. They believe that God ultimately will overlook all of their sins, as if they were of no account in His eyes. Paul wrote to the Galatians on this point, saying, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). God does not wink at sin, and neither should we. Sin is destructive and, ultimately, deadly.
The balanced view of God from Scripture is that our heavenly Father is just, righteous, and absolute, and at the same time, He is loving, generous, and available. His desire is to have warm and intimate fellowship with His children and to bless us (which is possible when we live in accordance with His laws and commandments).
Your response in adversity will reveal to you your opinion of God. Take note of your feelings and thoughts when adversity comes your way. Your understanding of the Lord and the relationship He desires to have with you may be an area in which you need to grow.
What the Word Says
What the Word Says to Me
The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.
Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt" (Jeremiah 31:3-4).
For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright (Psalm 11:7).
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. . . .
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness. . . .
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, "Glory!" The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace (Psalm 29:5-11).
The LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever (Psalm 37:28-29).
Adversity Reveals Our Relationship to Things
When adversity strikes, one of the first things revealed to us is our materialism or lack of it. So often we hear on the news of people whose homes have been destroyed by fire, tornado, hurricane, or flood, and their first response is, "We have lost everything, but thank God, we have our lives." In the end, the things that matter to us most are our health and safety and the health and safety of loved ones. People count far more than things.
Yet, in our world, many tend to use people and value things, rather than use things and value people. We are preoccupied as a culture with acquiring material possessions - in quantities far more than what we need. We only need to take a look at the national debt, and the amount of personal debt of the citizens of our nation, and come to the conclusion that greed is rampant.
It takes adversity perhaps to call us back to our sense of values about what is truly important. The intangibles of love, hope, friendship, family togetherness, health, peace of heart, creative ideas, and an abundance of energy are far more valuable than anything we can consume or put on a shelf to admire.
What the Word Says
What the Word Says to Me
The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful (Mark 4:19). Do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you (Luke 12:29-31).
Adversity Reveals Our Strengths and Weaknesses
When adversity strikes, we find out what we are made of. I'm sure you have heard people say in the aftermath of a crisis or in a long-term hardship, "Before this happened to me, I never would have thought that I could deal with something like this."
Gideon had that type of understanding about his ability. When the angel of the Lord came to him and said, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour!" Gideon's automatic response was, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles? . . . The LORD has forsaken us" (Judges 6:12-13). Gideon saw himself and all the Israelites as being weak and unworthy. The Lord responded to him almost as if He hadn't heard him: "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" (v. 14).
And again, Gideon replied with an extremely low view of himself, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house" (v. 15). And the Lord again encouraged Gideon, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man" (v. 16).
Friend, when the Lord calls you strong, don't proclaim yourself to be weak! When the Lord says you are forgiven, don't dwell on your past sins! When the Lord calls you healed, don't dredge up your past list of ailments! When the Lord says you are righteous, don't see yourself any other way! On the other hand, you err if you see yourself as powerful in your own life to the point that you have no need of God.
Never try to cope with an adversity on your own. You need the Lord's help. Adversity brings home that lesson to us again and again. We cannot help ourselves, any more than Daniel could help himself in a den of lions or Peter could release himself from prison or Paul could save himself and his companions during a shipwreck.
The lesson, of course, is that we can't help ourselves at any time. We need the Lord's help every hour of every day of every year if we truly are to live our lives successfully - in spirit, mind, body, and in healthy relationships. He is our ever-present help.
We must come to the conclusion that our strength lies in the Lord and not in ourselves. As 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, "The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." In other words, there is no comparison between God and humankind when it comes to wisdom and strength. He is infinite; we are finite. When we rely on the Lord, we have access to His unlimited power and wisdom, and therefore, we will not end up in failure. When we attempt to rely on ourselves in adversity, we usually will fail miserably and may even bring about more adversity.
What the Word Says
What the Word Says to Me
Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore! (1 Chronicles 16:11).
The spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (1 Corinthians 15:46-49).
But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them (Psalm 5:11).
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will exalt Him" (Exodus 15:1-2).
Adversity May Reveal Our Unwillingness to Forgive
As stated in an earlier lesson, the Lord in His righteousness and goodness can have no part in sin, and He cannot ignore sin's presence. The Lord moves against sin continually and with the full force of His omnipotence. Only by the mercy of God, manifest at God's discretion, are any of us spared. Those who believe in Jesus Christ and put themselves into a position to receive God's forgiveness are spared the wrath of God, even though they may be the beneficiaries of the Lord's chastisement and discipline.
Those who receive forgiveness from God are expected to extend forgiveness to others. And those who extend forgiveness to others are in a position to receive God's forgiveness. Jesus said,
Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses (Mark 11:25-26).
Adversity sometimes reveals to us that we have not forgiven others, and therefore, we must stand in our own sin and are subject to its consequences, which are never pleasant.
Jesus told a parable to teach this lesson:
There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward." Then the steward said within himself, "What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses." So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, "How much do you owe my master?" And he said, "A hundred measures of oil." So he said to him, "Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty." Then he said to another, "And how much do you owe?" So he said, "A hundred measures of wheat." And he said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty." So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light (Luke 16:1-8).
Jesus called this steward unjust, which he certainly was in his cheating and stealing from his master, but He also noted that the master commended him for his shrewdness. And what did the servant do that was so shrewd? He forgave the debts of others to his own advantage.
The Lord calls us to like behaviour - not to the poor stewardship, but to a willing forgiveness of others. When we forgive those who may have wronged us, we are in an advantageous position to receive forgiveness from the Father.
To fail to forgive is to harbour resentment, which can grow into bitterness, which in turn always brings us into adverse relationships with others. To fail to forgive is also to harbour a desire for revenge - to make certain that the person who has wronged us is punished according to our standards of what is right and wrong, or according to our standards of what is a fair punishment. The Scriptures teach that we are to leave vengeance to the Lord and not take it upon ourselves (Romans 12:19). Anytime we attempt to act as the judge, jury, and law for another person, we are in danger of being judged ourselves.
When you experience adversity, ask the Lord to reveal to you whether you are in a state of unforgiveness toward someone. If you are, forgive that person and seek to make restitution. Then ask the Lord to forgive you and free you from any consequences of your unforgiveness.
What the Word Says
What the Word Says to Me
Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven (Luke 6:37).
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
You ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. . . . Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:7-11).
If anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do (Colossians 3:13).
Adversity Reveals Our Faith Level
When hardships and trials come our way, we are wise to analyse the state of our faith in God. Is our first response, "God, I trust You to bring me through this and to work this to my eternal good," or is it, "Oh, my, I'm doomed and there is nothing anybody can do"?
Could it be that the storm on the Sea of Galilee was for this precise lesson in the lives of Jesus' disciples? Jesus said to His disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side" (Mark 4:35). The disciples should have taken that statement as a sure sign that Jesus expected to arrive safe and well on the other side of the shore. But then a great windstorm arose. The waves began to beat against the boat, and the boat began to take on water and was in apparent danger of capsizing. Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat, oblivious to the storm in His faith that God had called Him to the other side of the lake and would ensure His safe arrival there. The disciples awoke Jesus in their fear and said, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
How many times have we said the same thing to the Lord in our adversity? "Don't You care, Lord, that this is happening to me? Don't You love me enough, Lord, to do something about this hardship or trouble I am experiencing?"
Jesus arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Then He turned to His disciples and said, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40).
God has given to each one of us a measure of faith (Romans 12:3), and He expects us to use our faith to overcome our fear. Why is this important? Because fear is always a component of adversity. A degree of fear is part of what makes a situation an adversity instead of just another experience. Fear is part of the negative dimension of an adversity.
What do we fear? Usually, an irreversible loss of some sort. We may fear a loss of life, limb, or sanity. Or in most cases, we probably fear things that are more subtle: loss of reputation, loss of status, loss of opportunity, loss of a valued relationship. Fear causes us to project the very worst that can happen - that we will never recover, that all hope is lost, and that we will never have, enjoy, or experience something again.
Faith tells the opposite story. Faith says that God is in control, and when He is in control, all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28). Faith says that we will recover and that our final state will be better than anything we have experienced or been thus far. Faith says that whatever Satan steals from us, he must restore, and in virtually all cases, he must restore more than what he stole.
Adversity may call your faith into question, but above all, it calls your faith to action. Adversity reveals to you areas in which your faith is weak and needs to grow. Adversity reveals to you areas in which you need to act in faith and not fear. When hard times come, say to yourself, "Now is the time to use my faith in a new way." The more you use your faith, the greater it grows.
What the Word Says
What the Word Says to Me
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
The testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:3-8).
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Important Revelations for Our Growth
Each of the areas discussed in this lesson - our view of God, a revaluation of our attitude toward material things, an appraisal of our strengths and weaknesses, an awareness of an unwillingness to forgive, and a look at our faith - is important to our spiritual growth.
It is only as we examine ourselves and re-evaluate our view of God that we can begin to grow in our understanding of God's vast love and righteousness and, out of that understanding, to grasp more fully the relationship that God desires to have with us.
It is only as we confront our materialism that we can shift our priorities to things that are eternal.
It is through a study of our strengths and weaknesses that we see more clearly who the Lord created us to be in Him, and we understand with greater depth how the Lord desires to work through us.
It is when we face our unwillingness to forgive that we free ourselves from the consequences of our state of unforgiveness.
It is when we come face-to-face with the true nature of our faith level that we can begin to conquer our fears and to develop our faith.
Adversity acts in our lives as a mirror of sorts. It reveals the areas in which we need to improve, from God's viewpoint. What a benefit there is for us to gain!
Never waste an adversity. Learn all you can from each one. Truly, you can advance when you are willing to examine more closely the attributes in your life that are revealed in hard times.
What new insights do you have about the role that adversity might play in God's desire to perfect you?
Can you recall an experience in your life in which adversity caused you to re-examine your view of God, your materialism, your weaknesses and strengths, an issue of unforgiveness, or your faith (or lack of it)?
What area of your life do you believe the Lord may be challenging you to confront right now?
Congratulations!
You have finished a study on advancing through adversity.