Overcoming adversity

 I recently preached a funeral service for a young lady whom I did  not know. I had learned very little about her before the service except that she had battled a number of illnesses for much of her life and what I learned from the obituary. My approach to a funeral message is to include personal information about the individual so my lack of knowledge was a concern before the service. Fortunately, three people asked to speak prior to my message. All of them spoke with passion about her courage and positive attitude. They spoke of her encouragement to others, her desire to serve others and of her faith in God. By the time it was my turn to speak I thanked them for making my job easy!

We seem to live in a time when everyone's a victim. There seems to be no lack of things to protest and complain about. Almost everyone is offended about something, and they demand some type of satisfaction. Billboards and commercials suggest that many people "may be entitled to substantial compensation." Nothing is the fault of the individual. It's always somebody's else's fault. 

As I thought of what the people were saying about the lady whose funeral service we were doing I thought how easy it would have been for her to have become a perpetual victim. She could have used her illnesses as an excuse for developing a bitter attitude, to announce that she was helpless and needed others to care for her, but she chose not to do any of those things. She understood her calling in life, pursued a degree that helped prepare her for that calling, and then lived it. When illness set her on the sidelines for a season she accepted it with courage and told all who would listen that "Things will get better."

I cannot tell you how much I came to admire this woman I had never met. She overcame every adversity life threw at her with dignity and a joy that spoke to all who knew her. I have no doubt that her faith in God was a major reason she lived her life as she did.

There is nothing in the Bible that suggests that becoming a Christian provides us with an escape from life's problems. In fact, Jesus makes it clear that to follow Him is to enter a life that is often challenging and difficult. The One who wore a crown of thorns never promised us a rose garden. What He did promise is that He would never leave us when we walk through the valleys we will encounter in life. The God Who spoke this world into existence promises to be with us every step of the way throughout this life and to receive us into the life to come. Such a promise does not make adversity easier, but it does make it possible to overcome every adversity.

Few people, if any, will escape adversity in this life. Some will be overwhelmed by it. Others will overcome it with faith and courage. We each get to choose which group we will be in.