Adversity

When everything is going well in our lives, we sit back in our proverbial rocking chair sipping on tea watching the sun set. We sit in comfort and go about life normally. When we hit a wall of adversity though, we tend to fall into a "woe is me" attitude. We are great when things are great and we are bad when things are bad. We either blame God for our adversity or we blame the devil for it but we never except it for what it is. The system set in place is an equal opportunity offender. Rain falls on the just and the unjust the same. A magical umbrella doesn't appear keeping the Christian shielded from the rain when it comes. Instead, we are to go through the rain with a different perspective and attitude about it. 

My wife and I have gotten a head cold on Christmas Day. We were sneezing on Christmas then had sore throats and stuffed up noses by the end of the day. The day after Christmas, we both were down for the count. We didn't leave the house or do anything but be couch potatoes the whole day. Now, I could wonder, why me God or I could say thank you for being with me during this. Thank you for being my cloud by day and fire by night while I go through this. Did I ask for relief? No! Why? Because I need this adversity to do one thing in me. To prove my faith. If our faith isn't proven then it's not faith. 

People think that being a Christian qualifies then for an easy life. They think that if they pray a prayer and do church that their life should be good. In that head space, they cannot process adversity as being a good thing. They will always believe that Satan is attacking them and that they need to get on some prayer list at church. They believe they are victims of a crime. With that kind of thinking, it is impossible for them to grow up in Christ. If this way of thinking is correct, then Paul wouldn't have been singing and proclaiming Christ in jail. He'd be sitting in the corner praying, Oh God why has this happened. I thought it was going to be easy and that you'd clear my path of all problems. Why am I here? If you heard that coming out of Paul's mouth, you'd seriously wonder about his relationship with God.

Why do we put these Bible figures up on a pedestal and say, well they were called, anointed and placed there by God to do those things. They were put there as examples of how we should be. They were the forerunners. They aren't the exception but the rule. We have the same Spirit in us that they had. We are capable of being just like them. Christ Himself said in John 14:12 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." He didn't say, those who I choose but He said those that believe, which involves faith. 

We cannot be thrown about like a ship in a storm each time adversity comes our way. We cannot be thrown into a well of doubt or a pit of despair every time something comes our way that we don't find comfortable. Look at our society today. We have drugs galore to mask pain and symptoms, either legal or the illegal type. We have people telling us that we need to change who we are so they will not be offended. Our society is now all about removing the pain and suffering from their lives. It's a "ME" culture that has spawned from internet social media platforms. Everyone has an opinion and everyone thinks they are right. 

Christians cannot be taken in by this attitude of self. We cannot be bed buddies with thoughts of no pain and all gain. The miraculous is to walk through the pain, the discomforts, the hurt and the problems without so much as a care and a smile on our faces. If someone goes through cancer and smiles the whole way through it without one word of anger or grief then the world will stand in awe and wonder who that person is. They are a child of the living God is who and they will be an example of who God is to them. God did not promise that our life here on Earth would be a bed of roses. He did say that He would be with us and never forsake us. How then, if we have the Spirit of the living God dwelling in us, do we have the right to complain about anything. 

Most hear the promise of Heaven and how when we get there, we won't feel pain and everything will be so awesome. That's true. However, we have adopted the hurry up and wait mind set. Let's bide our time here, complain about everything and look forward to better days when we die. That is a disgusting thought process. Why would God send His son to die for us so we can be miserable unto death. It doesn't add up. Jesus said, "The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” and Paul said this about the kingdom, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit."

That being said, we have the kingdom in us as long as we have righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Which also means we can overcome the world and our circumstances through those means.

Never does it say the kingdom is avoiding situations that make us feel uncomfortable. Instead we overcome circumstances with what dwells in our hearts. That's why Jesus said the kingdom has come and will come. He was the image of God's kingdom and that image was to be passed on to those that believed in Him. 

 Adversity is always going to be there pounding away at our selfish side, the flesh. If we let our flesh have its way, it will complain and throw a fit every time. If we overcome the flesh with the understanding that we are of God, He lives in us, we are His children and He has given us all the tools  to conquer the situations we go through with joy, peace, love and happiness, then we will prevail. Can we not stand on the promises of God day in and day out. The promises Jesus came and preached and died for. If we look to Christ as our conqueror then we never become conquerors ourselves. Christ tried to show them back then that He was there to change their hearts and not overthrow Rome. Do we still want Christ to overthrow our situations or can we not instead let Him change our hearts? 

To God be the Glory!