Proverbs 24.10
“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”
When it comes to adversity, no one is exempt. No one wants it, but everyone gets it. Bad things happen. It’s not a matter of whether we will experience adversity; it’s only a matter of what and when.
At the very end of the Sermon on the Mount, here is what Jesus said about the storms of life: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7.24-27)
When people are not prepared for the storm, that is when they flinch, faint, and fail the test. When adversity hits and you reach deep into your heart to find the courage to trust God and the strength to respond with resilience, what you will find within you is what you have built within you. If you have not “allowed the word of Christ to dwell in you richly,” you will be revealed. If you have not put on “the full armor of God,” you will be revealed. If you have not “built your house on the rock,” you will be revealed.
Even Seneca, the first century stoic philosopher, recognized the role that adversity plays in our life: “Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.”
The storms of life test you and refine you. If you trust God, the storms of life make you stronger. Therefore, we should not faint or flinch in the face of the storm. The opening verses of the book of James teaches this:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1.2-4)
Unfortunately, a significant number of professing Christians today seem to have the expectation that when a person believes in Jesus, life will get easier and more comfortable, and God will protect them from the hassles and difficulties that happen in the course of life.
This, of course, is not the gospel. The Lord makes no such promises in scripture. When bad things happen (which they inevitably do), many Christians are quick to react with: “Why me?” or “How could God let this happen?” What follows is confusion and anger and doubt.
And big time stress.
The first chapter of James goes on to say, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1.12)
Here again is the message that the storms of life are a test, and James encourages us to remain steadfast when the storm comes. Your job is to respond to those tests by trusting God, praying and asking the Lord for wisdom, and appropriating the blessings and power that God makes available to you in Christ.
Let’s be clear that it is not self-strength that gives us the ability to remain steadfast in the midst of trials; it is strength from the Lord that we appropriate by faith. This is precisely what it says in Ephesians 6: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might … Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.“
The storm is coming … how will you respond? What will you do when the test comes? Will you flinch, faint, and fail the test? Or will you trust the Lord, do the work now, and respond with strength and resilience?
