At the Door of Adversity

It is an unpleasant feeling to wake up to the reality of how dark and dangerous is the world we live in: when the confidence during our childhood fairyland, under the protection of our elders, seems to have fled away and give place to doubt and dread. We hear news or see signs of nearby conflicts in communities, disasters we thought only existed in the movies, and wonder if we are next. Around every corner of life we suspect danger lurks, an accident waiting to spring upon us and our loved ones. And perhaps at the root of our uneasiness is the fear that the universe is governed by chaos, that God is not in control, or else that he is a merciless demon who will bring disaster upon us where it will hurt the most.

But though it may seem God didn't take these fears into consideration when he ordained the Scriptures, I think what we read there shows otherwise.

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” (1 Corinthians 11:24-29)

As often as we equate theology with the magi in the ivory tower, we tend to forget the trials that the people of God went through.

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:35b-38)

“To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.” (1 Corinthians 4:11-13)

And yet they persevered. They ran the race to the end, and at the last received the crown of life.

“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. But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

We may not understand yet, and may grow faint thinking about future troubles we may face, but we can pray for peace, and trust him as through our struggles we are “transformed into his image from one degree of glory to another,” (2 Corinthians 3:18), from seedling to sapling, and from sapling into a strong young tree, able to withstand the storms of life that threaten to uproot it, and from there into a mighty oak, unperturbed by the tempestuous winds of trial: a point when we can, like Job, when he learned he had lost everything, do nothing but worship God and praise him.

Not that the winds won't shake us: even Job had his doubts. And Jesus, when in Gethsemane, underwent much stress and struggled in his mortal body. “The spirit indeed is willing,” he told his sleepy disciples, “but the flesh is weak,” (Matthew 26:41). However,

“God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God will not allow trials to come upon us he will not bring us through, but will patiently guide us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

And he is with us in other ways. It is important to make a distinction between the trials he ordains for his people, and the calamity to which he abandons sinful nations. In those cases, we have the confidence of his unfailing protection.

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and a buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

And so whenever the fear comes upon us, let us say with confident assurance: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.” (Psalm 56:3-4)