Proverbs 17.3
“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”
Today we examine the first of four principles for how to respond when you are in the crucible of adversity:
When it comes to adversity for a follower of Christ, the message is this: Don’t be surprised. Be prepared. Peter communicated this very clearly in his second epistle: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (2 Peter 4:12). I am amazed at how clear and straightforward this passage is, and yet how many Christians are surprised when they experience adversity.
It’s an uncomfortable reality, but it is true nevertheless: Bad things happen. It’s not a matter of whether. It’s only a matter of what and when. Because God is loving and all-powerful, people throughout history have struggled with why the Lord allows bad things to happen. Why does a loving, all-powerful God allow suffering and pain?
The primary stumbling block in answering this question is the self-oriented assumption (and expectation) that God should exercise his love and power to protect us from bad things. We have the extraordinary benefit of a God who has spoken, who has communicated to us through the verbal propositions of scripture, and in the pages of scripture the Lord gives us truth about Himself, truth about the world he created, and truth about our place in the world.
Scripture tells us why bad things happen: God created the world, created man in his image, and placed man in the world to have dominion. As part of the image of God, God gave man the ability to choose. When God completed his creation, he called it good (Genesis 1 & 2). Unfortunately, man made the choice to reject God’s authority. The consequence was that sin and death entered the world. As a result of man’s rebellion against God, the world was no longer good. It was “broken.” From this point onward, man no longer lived in a perfect world. He lived in a world where bad things happen. (Genesis 3)
Many people want to debate the details of Genesis 3, but scripture makes it quite clear: Man’s sin created the fallen world. Could God have prevented it? Yes, but then man would not have had free will. Remember, God created a cause-and-effect world where choices have consequences. Man chose badly, and there were negative consequences.
The good news, of course, is that God has made provision for man’s sin through the sacrificial death of his Son. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). However, the bible is very clear that when we trust in Christ, the Lord does not take us out of the broken world; rather, he redeems and transforms us so that we can live as His ambassadors in the midst of the broken world. And that means that Christians will continue to experience trials, difficulties, and adversity.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.'” (John 15:18-20)
The Lord did not save us to take us out of the broken world. He saved us to send us into it. When Christ returns he will heal the brokenness of the world. In the meantime, we are to live and work in the world in a way that displays the reality of Christ in our lives. And that includes how we respond to adversity.
When you experience adversity, don’t be surprised. Be prepared.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
