Adversity makes us stronger. The lesson isn’t a tough one to grasp intellectually. It stands to reason that going through things that are difficult makes us better equipped to deal with life. We gain perspective, we develop patience and mental toughness. I’ve thought about this and written about this plenty over the past year. But a few days ago I had a new spin put on the idea for me. We were talking in a group about doing what’s commanded in James chapter 1, “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds”, and Romans 5, “we rejoice in our sufferings”. We all agreed that being able to joyfully handle adversity is a learned behavior, something God develops in us over a period of time, usually years. We talked about some of the really tough stuff we’ve all dealt with in our lives.
But then one of the guys in the group threw this out there. He talked about how in his experience, we tend to focus on the major issues and really, really difficult situations in our lives when we think about this idea. And while there’s no doubt that major tragedy is included in the adversity discussion, little annoyances are covered too. In my own life, I tend to want to give God the big stuff and handle the little stuff on my own. I realize He gave us brains and abilities to handle situations, and we certainly have a role to play in the process. But what I’m talking about is my tendency to think I’m the one who is in control when I’m trying to fix what I consider a small problem. I want to be the one responsible for making things right. I don’t often even think to pray or ask for guidance from God unless the situation is one I consider big enough to bug Him with. On the other hand, I’m usually more than happy to get frustrated or “vent” to whoever happens to be within earshot. It happened again just a couple days ago. Some minor logistical issue at work had me complaining to myself and a coworker about how things needed to change. I never even asked God to help fix it.
The problem with that attitude is it’s a clear indication that I don’t realize how completely dependent I am upon Him for absolutely every single thing in my entire life. I can’t provide my next breath. So to think that He wouldn’t want me to at least acknowledge His ability and desire to provide guidance or even intervene is just silly. Absolutely silly. Learning to trust Him and grow through life’s ‘minor’ issues can help develop the maturity and perseverance that we’re looking for just as well as the big, major stuff that comes our way.