Adversity or Opportunity

Adversity Or Opportunity-When I first became a born-again Christian, for the
first few weeks, I was in state of euphoria. Despite my cruddy
circumstances, life was wonderful. There really was a God and He was going
to heal me. I guess every new Christian is the same. We figure that nothing
will ever go wrong for us now that we Christians. But, eventually, the
euphoria wears off and adversity sets in. Some adversity, like mine, is
obvious but there are also kinds of adversity that are known only to the
individuals themselves. Whatever the case, all Christians are going to face
some sort of adversity. Which can also be an opportunity.

First of all, adversity is a perfect soil for faith to grow in. When
everything is going well, we don't need to use our faith as much as when
adversity hits. The more we use our faith, the stronger it gets. As much as
I have had to use my faith, I figure my faith must be pretty darn strong by
now!

Adversity provides us with an opportunity to depend on God. Let's be honest.
We all depend on ourselves to do things that we are capable of doing for
ourselves. Or should. But, when adversity comes and we are not able to
"fix"the problem on our own, and other people can't "fix" it either, then we
have no choice but to depend on God. Only, God knows what is in our hearts so
He knows if is genuine dependence on Him or mere lip service.

Adversity gives us an opportunity to develop certain Christian characteristics that we don't usually have to develop when things are all going the way we want them to be going. Everything is sailing along just fine when, out of the blue, some form of adversity hits. Whether it is physical, emotional, relationally, financially or whatever, it is in adversity that we are forced to develop traits such as patience, endurance and longsuffering. Qualities we all need if we are going to be like Jesus.

Adversity gives us an opportunity to please God. As Christians, one of things that we aim at is pleasing God. When we face adversity and can still maintain a godly character, I know that it pleases God. This is something that I haven't yet mastered. At least, not all of the time. Far from it. At times, mostly out of frustration, my behavior is anything BUT godly.

I think that adversity is a golden opportunity to show Jesus to the world. The fact is non-Christians watch Christians and, rightly or wrongly, expect us to be "better" than they are. They may not pay much attention to our church services and gatherings but they sure watch when adversity hits. Do we fall apart like they might or do we just go through it and maintain godly character? Times of adversity are also good times to tell people about Jesus. People are more likely to listen when they know you are facing adversity and still praising God.

Nobody likes adversity. I don't like adversity. But I have had enough of it in my life to understand that it is a necessary part of our lives if we are to become the people God wants us to become.