STEWARDING ADVERSITY: HOW? (PART 2)
Stewarding adversity is not an unconscious act. To fully embrace all that God intends to produce in us through our hardships, we must intentionally posture our hearts and actions to engage specific divine principles. Through these conscious and deliberate engagements, we become ready and yielded vessels, cooperating with the outpouring of God’s abundant grace toward the manifestation of our victory.
Through the Word.
The Bible says that the Word of God is Spirit and Life, the very expression of God Himself. It is the divine reality manifest on earth. This same Word created humanity and the entire universe. Scripture further describes it as living and powerful, sharper than any double-edged sword, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart, dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12).
We must therefore meditate on the Word with reverence, shedding any trivial or casual stance, and engage it with awe and intentionality. A practical way to do this is to seek out scriptures that reveal God’s perspective on your circumstances and meditate on them daily, even when it feels like the ground beneath you is collapsing.
The truth for believers is that we do not focus on what is seen, for it is temporal. We focus on the unseen, which is eternal. So even if the ground beneath is collapsing on every side, Christ is the solid rock on which we stand, and he never fails! The reality of our victory in Christ begins in the spirit.
Through diligent stewardship of divine principles, like meditating on the Word, we first establish them in the spiritual realm. This, in turn, propels their manifestation in the physical realm. In doing this, God is quietly and effectively, building his precepts into our hearts.
Through Worship.
According to Acts 16:25, Paul and Silas were imprisoned with their feet in chains. Despite their dire circumstances, they chose to sing praises to God until a miraculous earthquake shook the prison, broke their chains and opened the doors. To glory in tribulation is to exalt the authority of God over circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us.
Thanksgiving anchors our hearts in God’s sovereignty even amid trials. It strengthens our confidence and reinforces our convictions in God’s sovereignty over our situations.
Philippians 4:4 reminds believers to “rejoice in the Lord always. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
A practical application of this might look like this: you’ve just received the eleventh rejection to a job application in two months, despite putting in your best efforts. Frustration would be an understatement. Yet, because we are not of this world, we hold on to God’s word, knowing that he is able to make all grace abound toward us, providing sufficiency in all things (including an excellent job) and enabling abundance for every good work. (1 Cor, 9:8)
As a result, you sing songs of worship and praise, rejoicing in this reality that is already established in the spirit and is on the way to manifestation in the physical. Others may call it delusional, but the wisdom of God is foolishness to men. So stick to what God says and let worship anchor your faith amidst trials.
Through Prayer
In the same vein, prayer is essential and cannot be discredited or treated lightly. “The effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much” (James 5:16). Prayer is communication with God; it primes our spirit, clears our minds, and aligns us with His perspective and power over our circumstances.
The Bible also teaches that failure in times of adversity reveals the smallness of our strength, and one of the ways we build strength is through prayer. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” Waiting here is not passive; it is active engagement with God, searching his heart and opening ourselves to receive His thoughts, encouragement, wisdom and strength.
In God’s design for us, adversity was never meant to be escaped but walked through, so that a greater glory can be revealed in us (For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, Romans 8:18).
These consistent practices of meditation on the Word, worship, and prayer through trials and tribulations, ultimately work towards renewing our minds, strengthening our spirits, and building us into the stature of Christ, while providing the rewards of faithfully glorifying God through our trials.
We join you in prayer, asking that God’s strength would equip you to persevere through every adversity. May you grow into the full stature of Christ, becoming a living epistle of God. And may everything the enemy intended for harm be transformed into gold and testimony for the glory of God in your life. Amen.
Shalom.