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James
1:1-8 Review: ●
Faith is the ability to look honestly at your confusing and often painful
life-circumstance and see something else! Herein
lies the chance for maturity (wholeness)… finding
joy in unexpected places. ●
The reason we don’t typically find joy in adversity is because we are not looking! But,
even though it’s not the most obvious place, maybe it’s the best possible
place to find it! *
I asked you to respond to (2) questions concerning your experience with
adversity (suffering; pain):
1) “What have I discovered about myself?”
2) “What have I discovered about God?” *
Having studied your responses, I would like to present the results and my
summation: ►
No matter how many times it happens, we always “flinch”! Even
though we know that it’s inevitable, it’s always somehow unexpected. [i.e.
like standing in front of the snake tank in the reptile house; knowing that as
it strikes, it cannot actually reach you. No matter how many times it happens,
we always “flinch”] ►
Adversity nearly always has a negative connotation. We
rarely see it as a positive, or something with redeeming value; at least not
initially. ►
We get pre-occupied with pain. It
becomes so intense and so consuming that we can no longer ignore it. All of our
energies are directed toward eliminating the painful circumstance (or,
medicating ourselves to numb the pain); it skews all of life. ►
Adversity causes incredible instability. Especially
whenever who or what we are trusting proves unreliable (quote: “…
the structure I had built for my life crumbled to nothing”). ►
Adversity often numbs us to God. Once
the resentment resides we’re left with indifference (it’s what people mean
when they say that they feel ‘nothing at all’). ►
Adversity isolates us. If
not logistically, at least emotionally and mentally. It is accompanied by a
loneliness that is associated with ‘darkness’. We
sometimes isolate ourselves, convinced that no one has or has ever experienced
what we are experiencing. ►
Adversity suffocates us. We
feel helpless because we realize that we are unable to change our circumstance. ►
Adversity makes it hard to hope. Because
everything is ‘disproportionate’ during adversity. 1
Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-7 and 1 Peter 1:6-9 (read) *
Adversity, and the pain that accompanies it, seem to be, at the very least,
undeniable indicators that you’re still alive and you’re human! Reflections… Healthy
responses to adversity ♥
Admit you don’t understand and ask God for clarity. It’s
OK to question God. Questioning simply says, “God,
I don’t understand”. Just
be cautioned that your questioning is not a subtle form of accusation. *
Sometimes it’s better not to know. “Man,
I wish I knew what was going to happen!” (I
have discovered that medical professionals make the worst patients… they know
too much). Information
does not always lead to understanding! Sometimes what we need is not more
information, but wisdom (knowing what to do with what we know). ♥
Then, rest in his sovereignty. Believing
that God is sovereign is the conviction that life makes no sense apart from God! To
accept the fact that God, despite some pretty disturbing evidence, is in control
should lend itself to confidence. ♥
Ask God to remove your painful life-circumstance until it becomes clear that the
answer is “no”. (one of
the truest test of maturity). “Not
now”… words that none of us, in a hurry to achieve or experience, desire
to hear. Isaiah
43:1-3 “But
now, O SOMETIMES, THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY
THROUGH! ♥
Don’t wait to trust God until it appears that you have no other choice! Often,
we are only willing to trust when it appears that we have fewer options. See
adversity as an opportunity and an invitation to trust more. Adversity is always
an occasion for fear which requires courage. Quote:
“I hate pain, and I am a chicken heart. I prefer to run, to hide, and
to quit. I pray often that I will make the choice of courage, in spite of
myself…” ♥
Commit yourself to God, not to making sense out of your circumstance . You
may never get the answer; or, left to yourself, you may reach the wrong
conclusions (wisdom). *
If you are demanding an answer concerning your adverse circumstance which will
make sense to you now, you might be disappointed. The immediate answer will only
make sense in the larger context of life… later! Quote:
“God allowed this adversity to touch my life so that I could relearn that he
is the one who is in control of my life and he has a plan for me”. ♥
Even when everything’s going wrong, you may be right! If
you have to suffer, suffer the right way!
*
The presence of painful and unfair circumstances doe not necessarily indicate
the presence of sinful behavior. If
you’re wrong… repent. If not, keep doing what you’re doing! [discovered
that most of our wounds are ‘self-inflicted’] ♥
Relinquish control and refuse to doubt his love. Anxiety
appears to be the response of those who refuse to admit they have lost control
and think that their situation is ‘manageable’ without God. ♥
In the end, you get more than explanations, you get God himself (influencing
your heart: grace). Maybe
it’s not so much that we over-estimate adversity, but that we underestimate
God (his love). *
In adverse circumstances, there’s something more powerful than logic; more
valuable than explanations… it’s God’s presence WITH you (not changing
your circumstances, not offering you answers, just calming your heart). And
I can’t explain that! Quote:
“In that very instant when you thought you would buckle, you do not. Instead,
there is an infusion of something, someone greater than yourself. One who
cares.” Habakkuk
3:17-19 “Even
though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even
though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though
the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice
in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign LORD is
my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains”. *
When you are unwilling to ‘abandon God’ in the midst of some pretty
confusing life-circumstances, that’s trust; and the result of trust is hope. Living
with hope is not emotionally projecting yourself into the future in order to
avoid your present pain. It’s trusting for something different; something
better! It’s
only as we live with hope that we can live effectively in the present. |
