Adversity With A Purpose?

I don't believe I know anyone who would actually say that they love adversity, but the truth is that adversity is a great indicator of our level of commitment to God. When life is just flowing along smoothly and we are having very few problems come against us, it becomes way too easy to fall into the trap of depending on our own abilities and resourcefulness. It becomes so easy for us to take for granted all of God’s abundant blessings and even forget how it is He which provides for us. When life is on cruise control and problems are few, we can get to the place where our self-reliance can cause us to neglect our prayer time and Bible study... and even attending corporate worship (otherwise known as church).

An example of how adversity pulled people toward God is seen in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 7 verse 8. We read: "They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines."  You see, the Israelites heard that the powerful Philistines were preparing to attack them and fear seized their hearts as they realized they were no match for the enemy. So they pleaded for Samuel to continually cry out to God for deliverance.  So it is with us today. We are cruising along, neglecting our relationship with God, our dependence and reliance on Him and suddenly there is a bumpy road where problems come along and we turn around and cry out to God. So God will often allow problems and difficulties to arise, only because they are needful to gently remind us that we cannot do this life on our own.

My point in writing this today is to hopefully cause some folks to realize that their issues, problems and conflict that have come up in their life over and over are not simply Satan tormenting them, rather it is God trying to entice them into a deeper relationship with him where they learn to rely and be dependent on Him. Yes, there are times when we are vulnerable to attacks from the enemy, but always remember, that God hears the cries and prayers of His children when we humble ourselves and seek Him first and foremost. Just maybe you are going through the adversity right now because God is trying to woo you closer to Himself?