Adversity is supposed to.help you grow there are things you have to allow god to burn off just like the young men who were put into the burning furnace
When you ignore your own growth it doesn’t just affect you it affects others around you as well
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Hi @shaquille,
I wish there were a way out of adversity, but it seems to be part of our shared human experience. As long as there is sin, suffering will follow.
I appreciate your reflection on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They chose faithfulness to God over compromise. I love how they put it (Daniel 3:17-18):
If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.
No matter the outcome, they had already decided to be loyal to God!
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Absolutely im all for going through the adversity i can withstand the trails and tribulations i need those to grow without them you’ll never grasp the lessons God brings our way
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Hi @shaquille, you’ve made a really great point. In fact, I think we can so often underestimate the good that God can bring from our situations of adversity. In the moment of trouble we can often only see the trouble. It is a lifelong lesson to lift our eyes above the adversity and see the sovereign God who is working in our trials. I loved your example of Shadrach, Mescach and Abednigo.
I am also reminded of the adversity that Paul so often underwent in his ministry. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18-20, Paul states that Satan continually hindered their plans, because God was at work in the Thessalonians church and Satan wanted to hinder the encouragement that could be shared between the church and Paul, Silas and Timothy. It’s amazing that God overrides the adversity in this story, and has a continual purpose to advance the gospel of Christ. Paul was able to write “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and affliction, we were encouraged about you through your faith”. This encouragement brought great joy to Paul.
I feel challenged by examples like this to pray more for joy when I face adversity.
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