STEWARDING ADVERSITY: WHY? (PART 1)
“...but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produce perseverance and perseverance, character, and character hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the holy spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5: 3-5
There are moments when adversity presses so deeply into our spirit in unbearable ways. In these moments, it’s easy to become consumed by pain, wander in discouragement, embrace misery and hopelessness, and even chase solutions outside God’s will in a desperate quest to be free from our troubles.
For example: A young man with a new family: a wife and a newborn baby, suddenly loses his job while bills are piling up. He is now left with the weight of providing for his household, and in his desperation, he begins to look for solutions that compromise his integrity and God’s standards, drawing him away from God’s will for his life.
Yet, it is precisely in a moment like this, through unbearable hardships, that God forges us in the refiner’s fire and cultivates the full stature of Christ in His vessels. The spiritually mature believer should come to an understanding that adversity is a training field that summons us to deeper intimacy with God and cultivates our maturity in Christ.
No one is naturally inclined to welcome instability in health, finance, career, or family with open arms. Yet, when such imbalances inevitably arise in life, God often uses them to reveal the true state of our soul; exposing what comfort could never uncover and equipping us with the grace and strength for perseverance so as to shape us more fully into the stature of Christ.
As our anchor scripture reminds us, godly perseverance is a hallmark that adversity, when properly stewarded, produces character. In the example we explored earlier, the man’s “perseverance” was ungodly. Even if he eventually experiences a breakthrough through compromise, the greater purpose of his trial (as all things work together for good for those called according to God’s purpose, Rom. 8:28) would have been defeated. Why? Because it became a missed opportunity for a good thing: the forging of his character.
There are certain godly traits that comfort can never produce in a man. As Apostle Peter states: In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you have been grieved in by various trials. That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6–7
It is through this faithful endurance that hope takes root in our hearts, revealing the depth of God’s love and ultimately bringing about our manifestation as conquerors through every hardship.