Devo 41: Comfort in Adversity

There are several things most humans have in common. We do not like pain. We do not like difficulty. We do not like struggle. When push comes to shove, there is not a human being that really likes those things—at least I have never met one.


When difficult things happen to us, we begin to blame God. We complain. We want to quit. We try to look for a way out. We try to come up with verses that make us comfortable, and we look for something to explain the pain we are feeling.

Yet, most of the time, we have no answer and we do not understand. We are required to trust God and rely on Him to be our source, but that option is much too difficult. So, we look for something else to occupy us in hopes of forgetting about the pain we feel.

This reality is evident throughout the history of the world—Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Abraham and Sarah, the children of Israel…yet, it still seems to take us by surprise.

In Psalm 10, the writer says of a wicked man, “His [a wicked man’s] ways are always prospering, Your [the Lord’s] judgments are far above, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he sneers at them. He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity” (Ps. 10:5-6, NKJV, parentheses added).

This is a surprising truth. Believing that we will never be in adversity is a lie. Exposing this lie makes us face our beliefs about the reality of who God is and what it means to follow Him. Again in Psalm 50, God is speaking to the wicked and says, “You thought I was altogether like you” (Ps. 50:21, NIV). In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Lord says, “My thoughts are higher than your thoughts and my ways higher than your ways.”

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus called His followers to “take up their cross” and follow Him. He said, “Those who love their life, will lose it, but whoever loses his life will find it” (Mk 8:34; Mt 10:38, 16:34; Jn 12:25, Lk 9:23).

In Hebrews 12, the writer speaks of how the Lord disciplines those He loves and we are called to “run the race with endurance.” In Philippians 3, Paul says that he must “press on for the upward call of Christ Jesus.”

All of these teachings implicate struggle, pain, and hardship, but here is the paradox…I say all of this to comfort you. Throughout our lives, we have been fed falsehoods that our life should be easy, pleasurable, and free of difficulty. Therefore when trouble comes, we despair. We think something is wrong with us, or we try to find answers and become bitter and angry when nothing can explain what happened to us.

Imagine what Jesus, as a man, was feeling the night before He was hung on the cross. Was He blaming God? Was He bitter and angry? Was He looking for answers? I am sure He was tempted with all of those things, but ultimately, He said, “Not my will but Yours be done” (Lk 22:42).

If we begin to line up our thinking about who God is and realize that the way He leads is not the way we lead, then we will be able to trust Him no matter the circumstance. We will begin to find comfort in Him when pain surrounds us and nothing is comfortable. Our thoughts about Him will begin to line up with who He says He is. We will realize that the majority of our reward will not be found in this age, but in the age to come, and in that place, we will find comfort.

This week, ask the Lord to teach you who He is. Ask Him to expose those false ideas about comfort in this life. Ask Him to strengthen you to run the race. Read several psalms this week—especially psalms of David, and notice how he continually runs to the Lord in the place of pain and despair. Notice how the Lord brings comfort to him and ask the Lord to comfort You.

Lord, I ask that you would expose every idea in us that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. I ask that you would refine us, mold us, and shape us into people that love Your name and know who You are. Come and teach us, Holy Spirit. We love You! Amen.

I love you all.

Amanda
 
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