Taking Advantage Of Adversity
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
There was a popular song years ago that contained the lyrics “I beg your pardon. I never promised you a rose garden.”
God, of course, did create for man a beautiful Garden of Eden, a state of perfection in which man could live free of any want. But man sinned against God, and God removed him from the Garden. Yet, even now, God has promised to deliver us from all our adversities.
There are two ways to respond to adversity. We can give in and be depressed, or we can triumph over it and be joyful. The problem with giving in and being depressed is that the adversities do not go away and, indeed, seem to grow worse.
One of the best ways to overcome adversity is to praise God in the midst of your turmoil. Begin to sing to God or read the Psalms out loud. Meditate on Scripture, particularly passages like Romans 8:2–39, which includes this wonderful assurance: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Remember that our hope is not based on circumstance. “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. . . . On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Besides, as another song says, “If I never had a problem, how would I know that God could solve them? How would I know what faith in God could do?”
It is through our adversities that we learn to trust in Jesus, and through trusting, to triumph over them.
Look upon adversities as opportunities from God to grow in your faith and to become a stronger servant of His.
Our Father and our God, I praise You for Your constancy. I praise You for Your grace and mercy. And I thank You for Your selfless love that rescued me from death through the cross of Christ. You alone are worthy to be praised, O God. You are my hope and my song. Through Your Son’s precious name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).