Faith In Times Of Adversity
Scriptures: Hebrews 11:1; Proverbs 18:21; Genesis 45:3-8
Hebrews 11:1 from the Amplified Bible says, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality, faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].”
The title of my message this morning is “Faith in Times of Adversity.” In Church we spend a lot of time talking about faith and its power. We tell one another that anything is possible if we have enough faith. We can move mountains, heal the sick, raise the dead and do all of the things that Jesus said we would be able to do because we believe in Him. And you know what, we should be able to do everything Jesus said because Jesus never lied. So first and foremost if we are not doing these things it’s not because we do not have the potential, but that is a message for another day. This morning I want to focus your attention solely on our faith in God when we are experiencing times of adversity because it is doing these times that our enemy attempts to use our adversity to cause us to doubt what God is able and willing to do in our lives.
Before I go further, I want you to understand something about Hebrews 11. Again it says, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality, faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” When we read this our minds goes to the promises of God based on our relationship with Him. But faith is universal and what I mean by this is that your faith will bring results based on what you believe – good or bad. Because you have freewill to choose, you can put your faith in the wrong things and thereby bring about negative results. This is why Proverbs 18:21 warns us about the things we allow to come from our mouth. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.” The words we speak powered by our faith will have results. Jesus further confirms this when He said Matthew 12:37, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” My point with this is that because our faith can bring about both positive and negative results during times of adversity we must be extremely not to lose site of the One who holds us.
Webster’s dictionary defines adversity as “a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.” Life is not easy, and regardless of what preachers preach from their pulpits about positivity and prosperity, God never promised that it would be. But God did promise that He would be with us in the trouble. God told the Children of Israel, “(1) …..Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. (2) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. (3) For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…...” (Isaiah 43:1-3) We must understand that adversity is not a sign of God’s absence, but they can be an opportunity for His refining presence. Albert Einstein said, “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” I want to read a story to you that I will circle back to throughout this message.
I ask for your indulgence if you have read or heard this story before. The story is called “Carrots, Eggs and Coffee.” “A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up as she was tired of fighting and struggling. Her mother, after listening to her, rose and took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots of water and placed each on the stove on high heat. Soon the water in each pot came to a boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last pot she placed ground coffee beans. She let them boil without saying a word.
After about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots and the eggs out and placed them in separate bowls. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’ ‘Carrots, eggs and coffee,’ she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother asked her daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, the inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water. ‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Every person and likewise every Church will experience times of adversity at some point in their life. They will experience difficult situations that, depending on how they respond to it, could change them forever. It has been said that we are all the sum of our experiences and in some ways that is a true statement. Our experiences have shaped how we see the world. Although we cannot change past experiences, we can change their lasting impact on our lives and, this is important, how future experiences impact our lives. Jesus died on the cross so that our experiences do not define us. He died on the cross so that we could live victoriously in a world that desires to destroy us spiritually. And as it relates to Churches, our times of adversity can shift the direction of the Church. They can have a profound positive impact on the Church or a negative one. What defines the lasting impact any adversity has on a congregation is dependent on how that specific congregation chooses to response to the adversity. Will it respond as a carrot, egg or a coffee bean?
If you remember nothing else from this message today, please remember this: “What God has shared with you in the Light, do not forget in the darkness.” I want you to let that sink in for a moment. When things are going right in our lives, it is easier for us to remember the words of Jesus (the Light) as we walk in our perceived blessings. Jesus said, “……I am the light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life.” (John 8:12b) Jesus is our Light and our adversity can at times represent darkness. It is during these times of adversity that we can and often struggle to remember the encouraging words of our Lord and Savior. We are not alone as we see many examples of this in Scripture. When we face times of adversity and we forget what Jesus has told us in His word we will struggle greatly with that adversity because our foundation knowledge is not enough to equip us to navigate those times. However, if we remember what the Light has taught us and we carry those words in our hearts we can successfully come through those times, bruised, but stronger.
How many of you remember the story of Joseph? Joseph was the son of Jacob (Israel) and when he was seventeen years old God gave him several dreams about his future. The Light was showing him some things that would happen to him that he would hold on to. Now Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers who were already jealous of him because he was his father’s favorite. Remember Joseph was the firstborn of Jacob’s wife Rachel who was his first and possibly on true love. In Genesis chapter thirty-seven Joseph’s ten older brothers sold him into slavery and then lied to his father that he had been killed. In Genesis chapter thirty-nine, Joseph arrives in Egypt and was sold to Potiphar who made him overseer of his house. Now while faithfully serving his master Potiphar’s wife took a liking to him. When he refused her advances she lied on him and Potiphar had him imprisoned. When he gets to the prison he found favor with the keeper of the prison who gave him authority over everything in the prison.
Before I go further I want you to see something. God chose Joseph for His own reason and Joseph did not know why. What we do know is that Joseph had faith in his father’s God, unless his brothers. When God gave him those dreams Joseph understood what they meant. How do we know this? Because when He got to the prison and two of the inmates had dreams that they did not understand Joseph told them, “…. Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.” (Genesis 40:8b) When Joseph was sold into slavery he did not forget those dreams he had. When Potiphar’s wife made advances towards him which he rejected and was placed in prison based on a lie, he did not forget those dreams which led him to interpret two dreams while in prison. In all of this Joseph never lost sight of God and his faith in Him and what’s more important, he never forgot what God had told him in those dreams.
Now let’s jump to the end of the story because this is where we see how Joseph more like the coffee bean versus the egg or the carrot. Joseph had been in Egypt approximately twenty-two years when his brothers arrive seeking to buy food. Joseph immediately recognizes his brothers but they did not know him. When Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers they looked at him with the expectation that he would do to them as they had done to him. Do you know people will place their expectations on you based on how they would respond to a situation? This is why you cannot tell everyone about the things you are dealing with because their advice will not be from God. Joseph’s brother expected a response from him but it was not the one they received.
Genesis 45:3-8 records, “(3) Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph; does my father still live?’ But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. (4) And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come near to me.’ So they came near. Then he said: ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. (5) But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. (6) For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. (7) And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. (8) So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”
Joseph held no animosity towards his brothers. His thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment did not change who he was or his faith in God. As a matter of fact, it strengthened him. Joseph came to believe that God had orchestrated these whole events to save their lives and therefore he would not blame his brothers for what had happened to him. And this is important, he did not want his brothers blaming themselves either. If this had been you, can you testify that this would have been your response? There are Christians who have family members that they do not speak to because of something that happened years ago. Do you really believe that God is pleased with that? Joseph went through events that God used to prepare him for what he would ultimately do in Egypt – lead them through a famine. What would have happened if Joseph’s response to his adversity was like that of an egg? He had a soft heart before the adversity but afterwards he became hardened. How would he respond to his brothers with a hard heart? Or what if his response to the adversity was like a carrot? What if he was a strong confident young man before the adversity but after experiencing the adversity he became soft and weak. Would Pharaoh trust his kingdom to someone who was weak and would stand his ground? I do not think so.
Before I close I want to share four things with you to help you maintain your faith in times of adversity. First, do not deny the pain you feel when you are dealing with adversity. Denying the pain does not make it go away or make the situation better. Instead of denying it, take it to God. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 34:18, “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” We do not need to fake strength when we are facing times of adversity, real strength is found when we surrender to God. The second thing we need to do is trust on God’s timing. We want everything done instantly and are not willing to learn from the process. When we are facing adversity and are waiting on the Lord, do so by trusting Him. Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 11 says, “(1) To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…. (11) He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” Sometimes we are impatient because we want the situation over but it does not work that way with God. We must trust Him, especially when it seems like he is silent. Delays is not denial and we must remember that God is always working in the unseen.
The third thing we must do is learn the lesson in the fire. Regardless of the cause of our adversity (our own doing of the acts of others) we can learn some lessons from them. Our times of adversity can increase our perseverance, build character and through it hope. Paul wrote to the Church in Rome, “(3) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4) Our adversities can only produce this if we are actively learning from them. Peter wrote that our adversity will refine our faith. “(6) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (First Peter 1:6-7) Lastly our adversities teach us to shift our focus from the temporal to the eternal. Paul wrote the following to the Church in Corinth, “(17) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, (18) while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (Second Corinthians 4:17-18)
The last thing we can do to maintain our faith during times of adversity is to keep moving forward. The worse thing that we can do for ourselves and others is to give in to our adversity and set up camp in the crisis. Even in pain we must continue taking step to move forward. Remember what David wrote in Psalms 23:4? He wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” That valley of the shadow of death is adversity waiting to happen – the very shadow of it. But David did not say he stopped, he said he continued to walk through it and this is what we must do. Paul wrote the following, Philippians 3:13-14, “(13) Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, (14) I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” You cannot move forward if you’re focused on what is behind you.
James 1:2-3 wrote “(2) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” The word “temptations” in this verse means “tests or trials.” We know that Satan will use any and every situation to test our faith as he tries to get us to abandon the promises of God. Now I didn’t say that Satan causes the test; I said he will use the test in every way imaginable to get us to doubt God’s love and His faithfulness towards us. I am not going to belabor this point, but it is important: sometimes the trials or tests we face are the results of the decisions we have made. But even in this, REMEMBER! We know that some seasons in our lives will be more trying than others and it will be hard to find joy in those seasons, but James tells us that it is possible to have that joy. So, if James said we could have joy in the midst of our trials (tribulations) it had to have been for a reason – it had to be because it was the truth.
I started this message with a story, so I think it’s appropriate that I end it with that story because truly it demonstrates how we can maintain our faith in times of adversity. All of us face adversity – dark days, and sometimes that darkness causes us to forget what the Word has told us about our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Because we forget, sometimes that adversity (darkness) causes us to become weak and sickly. The strain of always having something thrown at you; of always having to fight to get ahead can take its toll. In the story, consider the carrots. If you take a carrot out of the refrigerator and bite into it, it is hard, solid, and crunchy. It takes some strength to cut it with a knife. But when that strong, solid carrot was placed in the boiling water, the boiling water made it soft. The boiling water kept attacking it until the carrot finally gave in. When all was said and done the carrot was changed, yet the water remained the same.
But there is another side to this carrot story. You see, there are many people who are so strong and hard that God cannot use them. They are so full of pride that they believe that they do not need God. Yet when they are faced with such adversity and are forced to call on Him, it is only then that they realize that they do need God. It is at that moment that they become soft, more humble, and more willing to allow God to use them. Paul records what Jesus said to him when he was complaining about his adversity in Second Corinthians 12:9. It says, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” If our adversity beats us down to the point where we turn to God and rely on His strength versus our own, then it is okay to become like the carrot.
Now when the egg went into the boiling water, its shell protected it against the water - the water could not seep in. However, its shell could not protect it against the heat and when it was over the egg had changed yet the water was the same. There are many people who experience adversities and become hardened by them on the inside. Whereas before they were loving, kind, and willing to help others, after experiencing some adversity, they became hard, bitter, and unrelenting. This is not what Christ would have us to become when we face adversity. If you have changed your outlook on life based on the challenging times you have experienced and you are not allowing the love of God to flow through you to others, it is not too late. Accept the love that Christ has made available to you; allow Him to provide the healing you need from your past experiences.
Finally, we return to the coffee bean. When the coffee bean went into the boiling water, it embraced it. Its embrace was like what we read in James earlier, “(2) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” The coffee bean’s embrace of the boiling water was also like Paul saying, “…. I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” after Jesus told him that His power was perfected in weakness. The coffee bean did not fight against the boiling water; it did not fight against the adversity. The coffee bean embraced it, and not only was it changed, but it changed the adversity also. Remember, not only did the boiling water cease to be boiling water, but the coffee bean also ceased to be a coffee bean. The coffee bean allowed itself to be changed in order to change the adversity (its response to the darkness.) The coffee bean knew that by embracing the boiling water, it would achieve its purpose. Sometimes when adversity comes God can use it to work out something within us. The adversity can change us for the better. When we recognize that through our weakness Christ’s power is perfected, it changes how we see our weaknesses.
As I close this morning, remember what God has shared with you in the Light (through His spoken Word) do not forget in the darkness. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ chose to die so that we could live. Through His death and resurrection we are now children of God. Isaiah 41:10 promises us the following, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Although there are times when we might feel alone we are never abandoned. As David said, God walks with us through the valley - not around it. May God bless and keep you.
Until next time, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14)
