“……so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” – 2 Corinthians 4:10
INTRODUCTION
We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. The only thing that will enable us to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in us. No matter how difficult something maybe, we must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.”
From our first day on earth until our last, we face different levels of adversity. Adversity may be sickness, a property loss, or the loss of a family member. It may be a lost career promotion or a business setback. How we handle these adversities defines how we achieve greatness in our lives.
If God puts us into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all our needs” (Philippians 4:19).
Each of us will face trials and tests, and as in this simplistic example, it is how we react to those difficulties that will determine our success and happiness.
- The Apostle Paul taught an interesting lesson when the Saints in Rome were to face some of the most violent persecutions of any Christian era. Paul reminded the Saints that “……… in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” – Romans 8:28. Our Heavenly Father, who loves us completely and perfectly, permits us to have experiences that will allow us to develop the traits and attributes we need to become more and more Christlike. As we understand this doctrine, we gain greater assurance of our Father’s love. We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience.
- Now, I realize that it is much easier to look back when a trial is over and see what we have learned from our experience, but the challenge is to gain that eternal perspective while we are going through our tests. To some, our trials may not seem great, but to each of us who are passing through these experiences, the trials are real and require us to humble ourselves before God and learn from Him.
- Sometimes we pass through pain and sorrow that we might grow and be prepared for potential trials in the future. This question goes to us mothers: “Would we ever do something that would cause pain and bring tears to our children when they have done nothing wrong?”Of course we would! When mothers take young children to the doctor to receive immunizations, almost every child leaves the doctor’s office in tears. Why do you do that? Because you know that a small amount of pain now will protect them from possible pain and suffering in the future. Our Father in Heaven knows the end from the beginning. We need to follow the example of the Saviour and trust in Him.
- When we are faced with trials, we must learn to not complain or murmur. We must always attempt to correct the problem and overcome the trial, but instead of asking “Why me?” or “What did I do to deserve this?” maybe the question should be “What am I to do? What can I learn from this experience? What am I to change?”
- When we face challenges, we must seek greater help from God. Even the Saviour of us all found a need to pray “more earnestly” as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane. We can learn to gain great faith if we do this. We must remember that often the answers from our Heavenly Father do not remove the trial from us, but instead He helps strengthen us as we pass through the experience. In our trials, let us not become bitter or uncommitted, but let us follow the Saviour’s example of becoming more earnest, more sincere, and more faithful.
- We must also learn to serve and think of others even in our times of trial. Christwas the epitome of service. His life was filled with examples of helping and serving others, and His greatest gift of all was what He did for us. We must repent and then follow His example of service. When we serve others, we forget our own problems, and by working to relieve the pain or discomfort of others, we strengthen ourselves.
- There is a tendency for the natural man to pass blame to someone else so as not to be accountable for his or her own actions. Sometimes we like to say, “If they had not done this, then I would not have reacted the way I did.” The Saviour looked at those who had nailed Him to the cross and pled with His Father in Heaven to “forgive them; for they know not what they do” – Luke 23:34.Can we not be more forgiving?
As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, “all things [will] work together for good to [us] that love God – Romans 8:28”. I bear a solemn and certain witness that our Father loves us and He sent His Son to show and pave the way for us. He suffered, He died, and He resurrected that we might live, and He desires that we “might have joy,” even in our trials of life.
Here are a few things to ponder over as we journey through adversity to greatness:
Many times we face adversities and say, “if only I can make it through this.” It may be a sickness, loss of a loved one, job loss, etc. By remaining focused, determined, and concentrating on the positive, many times we can become stronger.
Adversity develops unknown talents. In this way, once the door of adversity closes one opportunity to us, the door of greatness often opens another. When experiencing adversity, let’s ask ourselves, “what positive thing can come out of this?” When adversitycomes, don’t avoid it; but attack it with all our resources. The way we manage adversity will define who we are and make us ready for future opportunities because adversity can be our seed of greatness.
Finally, let’s keep our soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on our memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in us.
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