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People ask us a lot, “what do you do when you’re trying to rest in Christ, depend on Him, and walk in freedom…then all HELL comes against you?” We usually answer with a question, “What were you expecting?” It seems that for some reason most believers have a Hebrew view of God. It goes something like this…If I am really walking with God then I will incur blessing as a result. If I’m not experiencing good things, then obviously I am not pleasing God.  This just isn’t the good news. As a matter of fact, you might expect that if you really do walk with God, you most certainly will face some of the greatest adversity that you ever seen.

Here’s what Paul said about it…”I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”II Cor. 11:23-28  Some of these awful things came from his own doing, some came through acts of nature, and some came through persecution. But let it be known…if you walk with Christ as your Life, you will face some grueling adversity. It is to be expected, and James says it should be imbraced as your FRIEND.

Paul goes on in II Cor. 12 to say, ”Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

   My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
   My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” The Message

Watching our mentors, we see this to be absolutely true. They have gotten slammed for years in their ministries. Of course they have had many blissful moments, as we have, but let it be known that when God is on the scene so is our enemy. It might even be said that the more Christ begins to express Himself in us the more pressure comes our way. Just like Jesus experienced after His baptism and the voice came from Heaven, “this is My Beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased”. Then the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. He got to PROVE that He was who His Father said He was. And we get this same privilege of walking through pain, turmoil, and agony (at times) in order that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of of US! Hallelujah! It’s our weakness and inability that leads us to our greatest dependency. Only the unable need Another’s ability.

In the world that we influence, one of our greatest testimonies is how we love God, pursue Him, adore Him and trust Him even when we should (in their opinion) curse Him. It is what Paul calls, “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus so that the Life of Jesus may be clearly seen in our mortal flesh.” By the struggle and adversity of this life the Treasure of Christ in us can shine brightly into the darkness. It’s hard sometimes to tell, but it appears that much of the time our Father SENDS the adversity. All we can say for sure is that we know our Father knows how to utilize every situation to His greatest glory and our highest expression of Him.

If you’d like to learn more about how to live in freedom through adversity, read THE HOLY BUT on our website from the book The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel has worn you out.