Roman 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
The first purpose God has for allowing us to go through adversity is to conform us. When the eyes of our heart are set on doing only what we want to do, then we will not be able to hear God. Jesus took time to be alone with the Father. He did not do this to impress the disciples, He did it because He wanted to be just like the Father. The pressures of His world were just as great as they are in our world. Jesus knew that to be like the Father, He had to spend time with Him. This is even more true for us. We may be saved by His grace, but we must conform to His image before we can reflect His love, His grace and His mercy to others.
He allows adversity to remind us of His great love for us. God loves us with an everlasting love. It is a love that is eternal and cannot be changed. God does not love us one day and then forget about the next. He loves us when we are following Him and He loves us when we get off track through sin and disobedience. Adversity is the toll He uses to guide us back to Him and get our attention when we have gone our own way.
He uses adversity to give us an opportunity for self-examination. Adversity reveals the real person you are inside. When life is going well, you never stop to think if there is anything wrong with what you are doing. When the bottom drops out of life and things start going wrong we are much more likely to stop and pray “Lord, show me if there is anything in me that is displeasing to You.” One of the most natural things for us to do when we are going through adversity is to examine our heart to see if we are right with the Lord. If the problem is not sin, then is the Lord trying to show you something?
If we respond to the situation and to God the right way, He will show us if we have taken a wrong turn or if He trying to show us something. He will give you the strength and the wisdom you need to get through the problem. The moment you cry out to God with an open and willing heart. He moves to comfort, to encourage, and to guide you.
The key to overcoming our problems is in our response to difficulties. God knows that heartache and disappointment are hard for us to bear. But He reminds us in Romans 8:28that He will work all things together for our good and His glory. This means that even when we refuse to obey Him, once we confess our disobedience and ask Him to forgive us, He will do just that and He will restore our fellowship with Him.
If you are going through a dark time, when you are attacked on every side, you know that God is on the move in your life, and He has a great reward waiting for you when you give your heart and your life to Him.
Dale
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