WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN ADVERSITY COMES INTO YOUR LIFE?

SCRIPTURE:
People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious 
he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 
Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, 
your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind 
you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 
(Isaiah 30:19-21)

MEDITATION:
Adversity will affect every person at some point in their life. 
It is defined as: 
trouble; affliction; opposition; anguish; testing; chastening; tribulation.
We never know where our adversity may come from.
It could come to us through our job, our finances our health, or our families.
It could be a wayward child, parents constantly fighting or divorced, 
or any estranged member of our family for whatever reason.
Adversity is an opportunity for Satan to distract us from our dependence on the Lord.
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, 
the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the 
seed sown along the path. (Matthew 13:19)

When adversity strikes, we can be so consumed with it and the cares of the world, 
that we fail to hear the voice of the Lord.
Imagine not being able to hear His voice!
The LORD will cause people to hear his majestic voice and will make them 
see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with 
cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. (Isaiah 30:30)

If we cannot hear His voice, then we cannot understand why we are having adversity, 
how we should react to it, and what we should learn from the experience.
If we cannot sense the hand of God in the midst of adversity, and realize He 
is at work in our lives, we can be devastated by the difficulty we are experiencing.

Distress can be a great motivation to grow spiritually,
or it can be our deadliest means of discouragement.
The difference in how we are affected depends on 
our understanding of God’s purpose and our awareness of His presence. 

Adversity can often come in multiples.
Job experienced many woes that came in waves.
Was Job a sinful person who deserved the problems he experienced?
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man 
was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1)
If this kind of person faced adversity, then certainly we will face adversity in our lives.

Adversity can be:
- God’s way of getting our attention.
- Our assurance that God loves us and is at work in our lives.
- God’s request for us to conduct a self-examination of ourselves.
- One of God’s ways of conquering our pride.
- A reminder of our weaknesses without God.
- Our motivation to cry out to God.
- Evidence that we are experiencing spiritual warfare.
- God’s method of removing evil thoughts and purifying our faith.
- God’s influence to increase our hatred for evil.
- Our reminder to pray for our authorities and spiritual leaders.
- A warning for us to re-evaluate our priorities. 
- God’s way of testing our faith and dedication to Him.
- Our motivation to become more like Jesus.
- Our preparation for comforting others when they face adversity in their life.
- A time of encouragement or discouragement, depending on how we react.

ACTION:
Are you experiencing adversity in your life right now?
Are you prepared to respond in the right way when adversity comes into your life?
Do you hear God’s voice and will you listen for Him during adversity?
Will adversity be a time of encouragement or discouragement for you?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to see Your hand and purpose in all my trials 
and tribulations. Remind me to listen for Your voice at all times. Teach 
me what I need to learn whenever adversity comes into my life. Thank 
You for being near me during the good times and the bad.”