The Advantages of Adversity – Sunday, August 28, 1983
The Lord will lead us to fertile fields and soft flowing rivers because we are His children, and He loves us. But because He knows our potential better than we ourselves do, He will also allow us to be tried and tested in this world. He will let us struggle to develop strength and to learn empathy for the suffering of others.
It is an immutable law of life that growth comes only as we apply our effort. Physical, mental, social, and spiritual growth all work on the same principle. And this applied effort must have some resistance to push against if growth is to take place. This resistance can come from the trouble, frustrations and difficulties of the world in which we live.
This is not to say that our trials come from the Lord. We bring most things upon ourselves by bad judgement, miscalculation, shortsightedness and sin.
But it is to say that the challenges we face are part of a plan given to us by a loving God to help us realize our full potential.
The late Senator Hubert Humphrey seemed to understand this principle. Even as he was dying of cancer he wrote, “The biggest mistake people make is giving up. Adversity is an experience, not a final act. Some people,” he continued, “look upon any setback as the end. They are always looking for the benediction rather than the invocation.”1
Senator Humphrey spoke with courage and wisdom. Even the benediction of this life is but the invocation of the next.
The apostle Paul was well acquainted with the trials of this world. Yet he wrote, “We glory in tribulations…knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience, and experience, hope.”2
Our Father in Heaven is conscious of our efforts, and He will walk by our side. He will lift up the hands that fall down and strengthen the feeble knees. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. We will never be forced to fail.
But neither will He deny us the opportunities of growth and development that come from struggling through tough and sometimes torturous terrain in our journey through life.
The green and restful pastures are part of His plan to be sure, but equally vital are the mountains we must scale to better appreciate those pastures.
1 Richard G. Copen, Jr., “There’s Good News for You” Vital Speeches of the Day, August 15, 1983, p, 667.
2 New Testament, Romans 5:3-4
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August 28, 1983
Broadcast Number 2,819