I took my morning walk in adverse weather conditions yesterday.
It was sleeting and blowing. My black lab was frolicking and enjoying the weather while accumulating little white frozen balls along her back. As I walked along, I was struck by how the path was really made plain by the sleet. Off to the side of the path, the sleet fell into the leaves or into the tall grass. But on the path, there was nothing to obscure the sleet. The path stretched through the woods like a bright white ribbon.
I found myself wondering, “Does adversity always make the path more plain?”
It’s an interesting idea to ponder: If you are experiencing difficulty in your life, does that difficulty make God’s way more plain to you? I can think of a couple of people for whom the adversity they experienced was the impetus to renewed dedication to God. For them, adversity was almost a wake-up call, a reminder, of how much they needed God - and perhaps how far they had strayed from the path.
For others, adversity seemed to be the final straw which caused a couple of people to abandon their walk with God totally. Still for others, adversity was almost like a distraction to deal with before they would have time to give to God. It almost seemed as if they had a fire to put out but they weren’t going to rely on the Chief Fireman for help.
So as I wandered along the path, it occurred to me that having the habit of taking that path would make it easier to see the need for the path when adversity arises. In other words, the psalmist was right when he exhorted “ . . . seek his face always” (Psalm 105:4)
God never promises His people that they won’t experience adversity; He simply promises not to give us more than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), and He promises never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5).
Maybe we need some adverse conditions every once in a while to remind us of those two promises of God - and to make His ways plain before our face.
It’s an interesting idea to ponder: If you are experiencing difficulty in your life, does that difficulty make God’s way more plain to you? I can think of a couple of people for whom the adversity they experienced was the impetus to renewed dedication to God. For them, adversity was almost a wake-up call, a reminder, of how much they needed God - and perhaps how far they had strayed from the path.
For others, adversity seemed to be the final straw which caused a couple of people to abandon their walk with God totally. Still for others, adversity was almost like a distraction to deal with before they would have time to give to God. It almost seemed as if they had a fire to put out but they weren’t going to rely on the Chief Fireman for help.
So as I wandered along the path, it occurred to me that having the habit of taking that path would make it easier to see the need for the path when adversity arises. In other words, the psalmist was right when he exhorted “ . . . seek his face always” (Psalm 105:4)
God never promises His people that they won’t experience adversity; He simply promises not to give us more than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), and He promises never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5).
Maybe we need some adverse conditions every once in a while to remind us of those two promises of God - and to make His ways plain before our face.
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