The Uses of Adversity – Sunday, March 20, 1983
“Sweet are the uses of adversity,”1 wrote Shakespeare. That is counsel we might well keep in mind. The adversity and sorrow we go through may be bitter, but the experience may leave us wiser and more compassionate human beings.
The greatest lessons of this life are gained from experience. The finest doctors are not those who have only studied medicine but those who also understand suffering. The staunchest fighters for freedom are those who have been in bondage. The most dedicated teachers are those who have felt the stifling handicap of ignorance. And the wisest spiritual counselors are those who have seen the sad effects of sin. We are in this world to learn and grow through experience, and sometimes that growth is painful. Even Jesus Christ we are told, “Iearned…obedience by the things which he suffered.”2
Likewise, each of us will experience some grief and sorrow in this world. The richest, most powerful, most intelligent, most resourceful of us cannot escape what Hamlet called, “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”3 Physical disease, accidents, the inevitability of age, darkness and depression, sorrows of the spirit and emotions, troubles and tragedies—any or all of these can strike us. Ultimately there is no insulation against the stresses, strains and sadness of this life.
These trials can be to us a crushing burden; or they can be a refining fire to purge from us the trivial cares and concerns which can cloud our vision of what is really important in our lives.
This kind of learning will not come easily, but the truly valuable things in life never do. The adversity will not be sweet, but the uses and results may be if we triumph over our tribulations.
May we remember this when sorrow strikes us in large or small measure. Remember that God is still in His heaven. There can be a purpose in our pain, because some of our most priceless wisdom comes only through experience. And if we endure it well, eventually our grief will be turned to gladness.
1 William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene I, The Words of William Shakespeare, Black’s Readers Service Co., Roslyn, New York, 1965.
2 New Testament, Hebrews 5:8.
3 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 11, Scene I, The Words of William Shakespeare, Black’s Readers Service Co., Roslyn. New York, 1965.
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March 20, 1983
Broadcast Number 2,796