Romans 8:16-18 "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Recently I just returned from the mission field with several other ministers and we had a tremendous time sharing Christ and His love to a people who have captured His heart. It was such a privilege to wash their feet and to minister His Word, to leaders in the Church, Congregations, Jail ministry, Crusades and Village ministry, the Radio, and serving them in any we were able to. We learned a lot in this process and were stretched in our lives, only to receive more of Him in every situation that presented itself. However, we dealt with some adversity along the way that shocked us and at times set us back in our thinking, why? When difficulties arise, how can you be sure you're responding in a way that would please the Lord? Here is an acrostic, based on the word adversity, that suggests some steps that you should take:
A- Accept the events of your life as part of how God equips you-
D- Decide to follow Jesus' ways of responding to trials-
V- Veer neither to the right nor to the left from the path of obedience-
E- Expect the Holy Spirit to help you grow through your difficulties-
R- Remember how the Lord has helped you in the past-
S- Set your face like a flint (Isa.50:7) to endure the trial without wavering-
I- Invest additional time in your relationship with God-
T- Trust the Lord, especially when you do not understand-
Y- Yearn to be made ready for the return of our Savior-
Adversity will either harden or soften us. Some people become hardhearted and resist God in times of adversity, but those who know how to respond are softened by troubles and broken. But when it is of the Lord, brokenness is a positive thing that prepares, equips, energizes, and empowers us as children of the King. We will come to know the fellowship of Jesus' sufferings and proclaim with Paul, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2Cor.4:17). When we encounter trials, let's make it a goal to "consider it all joy" (James 1:2-4), since such testing of our faith produces endurance and perfects us. No matter where in the world we, or you are today we all will experience many opportunities to grow and increase through our adversity whenever encountered. Amen! I'm still growing....how about you??