Biblical Counseling Center

of Southeast Michigan

A Nouthetic Counseling and Training Center

The Role of Adversity in Knowing God And Building Faith
Dr. Marc Graham, Director
Biblical Counseling Center of Southeast Michigan

Introduction:

A. Jesus said: "In this world you will have trouble…" (John 16:33).

B. Job said: "Man is of few days and full of trouble." (Job 14:10).

C. Adversity and the accompanying emotional pain comes in many forms:

1. The heartache of an unhappy marriage.

2. Grief over spiritually rebellious or indifferent children.

3. Chronic pain or illness that seems to offer no hope of relief.

4. Anxiety over a lost job and financial difficulties.

5. The sting of unjust, unfair treatment by others.

6. The dull ache of loneliness.

7. Struggle with insecurity and the fear of rejection by others.

D. Many are tempted to cry out in the midst of frustration, "Where is God in all of this?"

E. It is important that we answer this question Biblically. The answer will bring us much hope!

I. WHY IS THERE TROUBLE IN THIS WORLD?

A. Sin is the cause of trouble in this world in two ways:

1. The general presence of sin in the world and its curse due to Adam's Fall. The existence of sin and its curse has brought:

a. Deception and lies. (Gen. 3:1-6).

b. Shame, embarrassment and insecurity. (Gen. 3:7).

c. Broken fellowship with God. (Gen. 3:8).

d. Blameshifting---refusal to take personal responsibility for one's own actions. (Gen. 3:12-13).

e. Pain in child-bearing for women. (Gen. 3:16).

f. Selfishness and power struggles in marriage between husbands and wives. (Gen. 3:16).

g. Hard and painful labor now necessary in order to provide for a family. (Gen. 3:17-19).

h. Sickness and death. (Gen. 2:17; 3:19).

2. The sin nature that is passed down to the whole human race causing resulting in pride, selfishness and constant sins in attitudes and actions by people. (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9).

a. Hated. (Gen. 4:3-5).

b. Depression (Gen. 4:6).

c. Murder. (Gen. 4:8).

d. General corruption and violence. (Gen. 6:11).

e. Idolatry (Gen. 11).

f. Greed (Gen. 13:10).

g. Wars (Gen. 14).

h. Adultery (Gen. 16).

i. Homosexuality (Gen. 19).

j. Incest (Gen. 19:33-35).

k. Slavery (Gen. 21:8).

l. Rape (Gen. 34:1).

m. Prostitution (Gen. 38).

n. And we haven't even gotten out Genesis.

3. Note the description in Romans 1:29-32 of the world we live in.

B. Without the presence of sin in this world, man would still dwell in the pain free state of paradise that God originally placed him in. (Gen. 1-2).

II. IS GOD IN CONTROL?

A. Three key truths the Bible teaches us about God:

1. God is absolutely sovereign.

a. His sovereignty extends over all nature. (Job 38-42).

b. His sovereignty extends over all nations. (Dan. 4:28-37).

c. His sovereignty extends over all people. (Prov. 21:1; Ex. 12:35-36; Dan. 1:9; Gen. 50:20; Rom. 9:16-18).

d. No one can act and no circumstances can occur outside the bounds of God's sovereign will. No plan of God can be thwarted. God does whatsoever He pleases and only as He pleases, and no one can frustrate His plans or hinder His purposes.

2. God possesses infinite knowledge and is, therefore, infinitely wise.

a. God fully knows Himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.

b. God fully knows Himself: This is an amazing fact since God's own being is infinite and unlimited. (1 Cor. 2:10-11).

c. And all things actual: This means all things that exist and all things that happen. (Heb. 4:13; Ps. 139:1-4).

d. And all things possible: There are instances in Scripture where God gives information about events that might happen but never actually come to pass. (Matt. 11:20-23).

e. In one simple and eternal act: This means that God's knowledge is not divided into parts. God is always fully aware of everything. He never learns. His knowledge never fades. It never changes or grows. From all eternity God has known all things that would happen and all things that He would do. (Is. 55:9).

f. God's wisdom means that God always chooses the best goals and the best means to accomplish those goals. (Rom. 11:33-36).

3. God is perfect in His love.

a. God's love means that God eternally gives of Himself to others.

b. The ultimate demonstration of God's love is found in the Cross. (1 John 3:1,16).

B. Implications of these three wonderful truths:

1. God in His love always wills what is best for us.

2. God in His wisdom always knows what is best for us.

3. God in His sovereignty has the power to bring it all about.

C. God's absolute control extends to all of our circumstances.

1. His control extends to both events and people, as seen in the story of Joseph. (Gen. 37-50).

2. His control extends to the smallest details. (Matt. 10:29-31).

D. God overrules even in the wicked things men do and causes them to further His plan without in any way being culpable in or approving of man's sin.

1. The ultimate proof of God's ability to even use the wicked things men do to accomplish His glorious purpose is found in this fact: we are redeemed through a God-ordained murder! (Acts 2:22-24).

E. These great truths about God give our counselees hope.

1. Romans 8:31-39

2. We are to be "more than conquerors!"

3. John 16:33----Even though the world is full of trouble, Jesus commands that we are to "cheer up" because He has overcome the world!

F. The fact that our counselees struggle with bitterness, anger, depression and anxiety indicates that they do not know and understand these wonderful truths about who God is.

III. GOD PLANS AND USES ADVERSITY FOR HIS GLORY AND OUR BENEFIT AND GROWTH.

A. One of the chief indications of how we DO NOT THINK BIBLICALLY is how we define "trouble."

1. The flesh hates pain.

2. The flesh hates discomfort.

3. The flesh hates pressure.

4. The flesh hates inconvenience.

5. Any of the above are considered to be troublesome, bad and to be avoided at all costs. The flesh defines trouble as anything that is an "unpleasant" experience. Note that the word "unpleasant" has to do with that which is "pleasing." The Christian must ask himself this question: "Where does joy come from? Pleasing the desires of the flesh or pleasing God, no matter how painful it is for the flesh?"

B. The Bible, on the other hand, defines problems differently.

1. The Bible DOES recognize that trials are painful and unpleasant. (Hebrews 12:11).

2. The Bible, however, defines something as "bad" as that which does not bring glory to God, rather than in terms of difficult human circumstances. (1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 1:21; Phil. 1:12-21).

3. The glory of God is always the best thing that can happen in any situation. If everyone was glorifying God in this world today, we would live in a perfect world.

4. God is often most glorified in adverse situations. Think about it. What type of situations most vividly display the glory, power and majesty of God to the world? Some examples:

a. Israel's back against the Red Sea. (Ex. 14).

b. Joshua praying for the sun to stand still in the midst of a war (Josh. 10:12-14).

c. Elisha surrounded by the enemy at Dothan. (2 Kings 6:15-23).

d. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. (Dan. 3:16-30).

5. A passage that directly teaches that the glory of God is so important that God ordains adversity to accomplish it. ---The man born blind in John 9:1-3.

C. Important lessons God teaches us through adversity.

1. God prunes us so that we will glorify Him through bearing fruit. (John 15:2)

a. We tend to pour our spiritual energies into that which is not true fruit---pleasures, possessions, popularity (1 John 2:16).

b. We tend to depend upon our natural talents to get through.

c. Adversity puts pressure on us that forces us to release our grip on that which is not true fruit.

2. God uses adversity to produce holiness in us. (Heb. 12:10).

a. Adversity reveals the corruption of our sinful flesh and the lack of the presence of the fruits of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-23). When adversity comes we find we are unable to love the person who is the instrument of the adversity. We find we don't want to forgive that person.

b. Adversity reveals that we do not tend to trust God when things get very difficult. Unbelief and resentment surge within us. We feel like we are back in spiritual kindergarten again.

3. Adversity teaches us complete dependence on God. (John 15:5).

a. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9.

b. We learn of God's sustaining grace in chronic trials. (2 Cor. 12:7-10).

4. Adversity equips us for service to others. (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

5. Jerry Bridges writes: "Every adversity that comes across our path, whether large or small, is intended to help us grow in some way. If it were not beneficial, God would not allow it or send it, 'For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men' (Lamentations 3:33). God does not delight in our sufferings. He brings only that which is necessary, but He does not shrink from that which will help us grow." (Trusting God, NAVEPRESS, 1988, p. 177).

D. The Scriptures command us to do everything for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31).

1. God's glory and our good are inextricably bound togther.

2. That which is for His glory is always for out good.

3. Conversely, the best thing that can happen to us is always when God is glorified.

IV. THE ROLE OF ADVERSITY IN THE CRITICAL WORK OF BUILDING OUR FAITH.

A. How do we trust in a God we can't plug into with our physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, etc.)?

B. Faith is the dynamic, the vehicle that God has designed to enable us to connect to the supernatural realm of God, a realm we cannot plug into with our physical senses.

1. Faith is designed for the invisible, the unseen. (Heb. 11:1).

2. Saving faith is trust in a Christ we have never seen and a Gospel story that we did not personally observe. (John 20:29).

3. Faith is the vehicle which convinces us of the very existence of God and that His Word and promises are true. (Heb. 11:6).

4. Obviously, then, without faith it is impossible to know God, serve Him and please Him. (Heb. 11:6).

C. We are convinced by faith as Christians that Jesus Christ truly came into this world, live a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, rose bodily from the grave, and bodily ascended back to Heaven where He reigns on High. Yet none of us saw any of this with our own eyes. How do we know it is true? By faith, the sure and unshakeable conviction in our hearts that the Gospel account in the New Testament is true, though we saw none of it with our own eyes. (John 20:29).

D. The same faith with which we have placed our trust in God for salvation, is the same faith He calls upon us to rely upon to trust in Him for our daily provision and care. (Matt. 6:25-34; Phil. 4:6-7, 19; Psalm 46:1-3,10; Psalm 27:14; Gal. 2:20).

1. We should pray each day for this faith we so desperately need to trust God for all things, as the Scriptures clearly teach that faith is a gift from God. (Eph. 2:8).

E. Adversity is the only way our faith can be built, and God knows this. We tend not trust God in times of ease, but rely on ourselves. It is only when God puts our backs against the wall and we see no human way out of our dilemma that we tend to cry out to God in faith. Therefore, adversity, though painful and difficult, is not our enemy but our help in stripping us of our self-sufficient pride, and helping us come to know God better. (Job 42:1-6).

1. Moses warned Israel of the tendency to get self-sufficient when there are no battles to be fought. (Deut. 8:10-20).

F. Review the great stories in Scripture and in more recent times of how God did His mightiest works in the lives of His people in times of adversity.

1. The Exodus from Egypt.

2. The story of Joseph (Gen. 37-50).

3. Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego). (Daniel 1-4).

4. Paul's ministry, particularly the wonderful story of the conversion of the Philippian Jailer. (Acts 16).

5. The ultimate work in adversity, the life of Jesus and the great, eternal work accomplished at the Cross. (Acts 2:23; Heb. 12:1-3).

6. Fox's Book of Martyrs.

7. The five slain missionaries in Eduador (Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, etc.) resulting in the worldwide ministry of Elizabeth Elliott.

8. The life and testimony of Joni Earckson Tada.

Suggested Reading:

Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts, NAVPRESS. (Every Christian
should read this book).

Paul Tripp, War of Words, P & R Publishers (read chapters 5 & 6---excellent).

Joseph Stowell, Through the Fire, Victor Books.

R.C. Sproul, Surprised By Suffering, Ligonier Ministries.