Accepting Adversity
Most people in America hate any level of discomfort or pain. We have been so conditioned to think that we should never suffer physically or materially. We think that it will hurt us or cause us to be weakened. The opposite is actually the truth. God allows us to experience adversity, or He sends it to us Himself, so that we can become stronger as we trust Him to handle the situation. His purpose is to increase our faith not to hurt us.
My verse for today is from Job 2:10. It is a question that Job poses to his wife right after she tells him to curse God and die. Her statement is very foolish, but his response is very thoughtful. "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" Think about that question for a minute. We love to get blessings from God. We pray for them all of the time. In fact, we expect Him to give us good things, and we are disappointed when He doesn't send them. Well, if we like the blessings from God, why won't we accept the adversity He sends, knowing it comes from the same Loving, Heavenly Father? If He knows the blessings will help us, doesn't He know the adversity will help us, too? Of course, He knows just what He is doing. He loves us, and He is giving us what we need, not what we want.
I am sure that if we will be honest with ourselves, we can think of many good things we have learned through adversities we have endured. I would venture to say, the best lessons we learn come from the hard times, instead of the good times of life. God knows that, so He sends the pain, so we can benefit, not to hurt us. We learn the most when we accept the adversity and ask Him to teach us through it. That is why James 1:2 says that we should count it all joy when we fall into various trials. The trials come to give us endurance and greater faith. Let's accept the adversity like Job did and become more like Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 6-9.
My verse for today is from Job 2:10. It is a question that Job poses to his wife right after she tells him to curse God and die. Her statement is very foolish, but his response is very thoughtful. "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" Think about that question for a minute. We love to get blessings from God. We pray for them all of the time. In fact, we expect Him to give us good things, and we are disappointed when He doesn't send them. Well, if we like the blessings from God, why won't we accept the adversity He sends, knowing it comes from the same Loving, Heavenly Father? If He knows the blessings will help us, doesn't He know the adversity will help us, too? Of course, He knows just what He is doing. He loves us, and He is giving us what we need, not what we want.
I am sure that if we will be honest with ourselves, we can think of many good things we have learned through adversities we have endured. I would venture to say, the best lessons we learn come from the hard times, instead of the good times of life. God knows that, so He sends the pain, so we can benefit, not to hurt us. We learn the most when we accept the adversity and ask Him to teach us through it. That is why James 1:2 says that we should count it all joy when we fall into various trials. The trials come to give us endurance and greater faith. Let's accept the adversity like Job did and become more like Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 6-9.