But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Genesis 50:20
Adversity is something we would like to forego. It is said, “adversity builds character.” Consider the life of Joseph. He was betrayed by his brothers, hated, persecuted, made a slave, falsely accused, imprisoned, forgotten, and punished unjustly. The Bible says, (Gen. 39:2) And the LORD was with Joseph, (v.3) … the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. After Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison, the Bible says, (21) … But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy… Adversity brought out the Lord in Joseph’s life, and he could say, God meant it unto good.
Job, a name synonymous with adversity, said (Job 5:7), Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. As a young boy, during our family camping trips, I loved to watch the logs burn on the campfire. The golden hot embers would pop, and then sparks would leap out into the darkness. The sparks are like the Christian. He is born unto trouble, but in Christ, he triumphs and rises above the fiery flames. The Apostle Paul reminds the Christian, (Rom. 8:37), Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. We are not to succumb to our difficulties, but rise above our trials. Our battles are not merely chance or circumstance.
Why would God allow adversity and trouble to come into our lives? It is two-fold. First, so we will not trust in the weak arm of the flesh. (Prov. 24:10) If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Second, we learn to trust in God. Remember, God’s plans and purposes are greater than our adversities.
(Eccl. 7:14) In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. King Solomon says that if it were not for adversity, man would soon replace God with his own gods of self-gratification.
“A sound body, a brilliant mind, a cultural background, a huge amount of money, a wonderful education — none of these guarantee success. Booker T. Washington was born in slavery. Thomas Edison was deaf. Abraham Lincoln was born of illiterate parents. Lord Byron had a club foot. Robert Louis Stevenson had tuberculosis. Alexander Pope was a hunchback. Admiral Nelson had only one eye. Louis Pasteur, was so near-sighted that he had a difficult time finding his way in his laboratory without glasses. There was Helen Keller, who could not hear or see, but who graduated with honors from a famous college.” (Unknown) What adversities have shaped your life to be more like Christ?
Pastor Horst A. Trojahn
