WEEK 3: USING ADVERSITY TO MAKE US STRONGER WEEK 3: We Should Expect Problems And Be Prepared For Them Adversity Makes Us Stronger By Bringing Us Closer To God We Can Eliminate Our Self-Created Problems My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! (Psalm 25:17 NLT; of David) With all the exciting things we could talk about, why spend time talking about how we deal with problems? Because daily problems are usually what derail us and cause us to wander away from the good life that God offers us. The way we handle problems is what causes us to struggle. The world tells us that a successful life is a comfortable, problem-free life. So we naively expect that we shouldn t have problems. If we think this way, we ll get discouraged when we encounter adversity. We re not prepared for it, we mishandle it, and then we feel sorry for ourselves that we have to go through it. We get depressed and wonder why me? The Bible tells us to think differently: Jesus said, Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. (John 16:33 NLT) Problems are an ever-present reality. The Bible guarantees that we ll have them, and tells us that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1 Peter 5:9 NIV). The issue isn t whether we ll have problems, but how we ll respond when we do. We need to: (i) Expect adversity in this life; (ii) train ourselves in how to handle it; and (iii) trust God that we won t be crushed by problems if we handle them in a godly way. The Bible says to consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2 NIV). Pure joy? Seriously? Yes, if every problem is an opportunity to learn how to navigate life in a godly way! Yes, if learning how to handle problems is how we take hold of the rich and satisfying life (John 10:10 NLT) that God offers us through Jesus. God does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone (Lamentations 3:33 NIV), but He gets our attention through adversity (Job 36:15 NLT). Adversity reveals the deepest aspects of our character and tests our maturity, as we choose how we ll respond to it. Although God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else (James 1:13 NLT), God allows us to be tested so that we learn how to deal with setbacks and extreme stress in a godly way. This is how we mature spiritually. He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food (Job 36:16 NIV). Through adversity we learn that true wisdom and power are found in God (Job 12:13 NLT). We learn how to endure the uncomfortableness of a problem while we patiently search for a godly solution. Page 1
It s never easy, but God promises to help us! God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation (James 1:12 NLT) and gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless (Isaiah 40:29 NLT). He will show you a way out so that you can endure (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT). It s our choice how we ll respond to adversity. Problems can either leave us tired and broken, or they can bring us closer to God and refine us so that we become more like Christ. So don t waste your pain! Use it to grow! The Bible says if you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you (James 1:5 NLT). Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go (Proverbs 2:9 NLT). As we learn how to lean on God and handle problems in godly ways, our adversity actually makes us stronger. Like lifting weights at the gym, the pressure is uncomfortable, but it builds strong spiritual muscle! God promises that people who trust Him will become strong, stable and productive, in spite of the problems they encounter! They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit (Jeremiah 17:8 NLT). Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots (Proverbs 12:3 NLT). We Can Eliminate Our Self-Created Problems There are two kinds of problems in this world: (i) Self-created problems, and (ii) problems that come from living in a broken world. If we embrace God s ways and train ourselves, we can eliminate our selfcreated problems. This makes us strong and stable, and very usable by God. We ve discussed that we have an adversary who is trying to undermine us. We ve also discussed that Satan has no real power or authority over us and usually relies on deception to derail us. God tells us to stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil... 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT). Our goal is that Satan will not outsmart us and that we become familiar with his evil schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11 NLT). But how do I keep Satan from outsmarting me? And what are his evil schemes? I avoid getting outsmarted by learning my opponent s playbook. Satan relies on a handful of main strategies for enticing us to ignore God s best in the opportune moments of our stress and conflict. Satan s most powerful lie is to convince people that there is no God. If I don t believe in God, I won t acknowledge Satan s existence either. Ignoring my adversary makes me an easy target. Imagine a prize fighter who doesn t think he has an opponent in the ring. How will that end up? The Bible tells us that the fool says in his heart, "There is no God"(Ps 14:1 NIV) and that the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV). Page 2
Deceiving a believer is much harder than a non-believer because a believer knows where to find God s truth. So Satan relies on several destructive thought patterns that, if we embrace them, will subtly pull us away from God. Satan slips these thoughts into our mind at opportune moments of stress and tension. If we mistakenly accept these rogue thoughts as truth and let them take root in our heart, they ll distort our thinking and will pull us away from God. They will dull our sensitivity to God s voice. Let s briefly discuss six of Satan s most potent schemes for undermining us, when and how they surface in our mind, and how we can completely neutralize their influence over us: Destructive Thought Patterns of the Adversary (Rogue Thoughts I Need to Resist and Reject!) Condemnation Doubt Pride Anger Fear and Anxiety Temptation Thought Pattern #1: Condemnation When I do something ungodly, I have thoughts that I m not worthy of God s love and that God couldn t possibly care about me. If I believe these thoughts, they ll cause me to pull away from God. That s exactly what Satan wants. Like a wildebeest on the African savannah that separates from the herd, it s when we isolate ourselves that we become truly vulnerable. Satan uses condemning thoughts to get us to pull away from God and others. Imagine if I were a promising young tennis player who missed one shot and then got so down on myself that I said, I m a failure. I m going to quit tennis altogether! I would fail to see that the path to mastery is thousands of missed shots! The question isn t whether I will miss a shot; I know that I will. Rather it s whether I ll learn from it and continue to grow and improve. I need to let go of the error and quickly get my head back in the game. I let go of the error with God by asking for His forgiveness. When we ask God to forgive our mistakes, God promises that He will never think of them again (Isaiah 43:25 NLT) and that He will freely pardon (Isaiah 55:7 NIV). Through Christ, mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13 NIV). When thoughts of condemnation surface in my mind, I reject them by standing on the truth of scripture. I remind myself that we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9 NLT), that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1 NLT), and that not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38 NLT)! Thought Pattern #2: Pride Prideful thoughts surface when I start comparing myself to others. If I define my wellbeing by how I stack up against others, I ll end up either feeling self-pity (if I m worse off) or superiority (if I m ahead). Pride causes me to erroneously see life through a warped, self-centered lens. The Bible says that the Page 3
pride of your heart has deceived you (Obadiah 1:3 NIV). Prideful thinking causes me to believe that I don t need God. Pride leads me to judge others and to lack compassion for their problems. Prideful people are unteachable by God and won t accept His direction. The Bible warns us that pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall (Proverbs 16:18 NLT) and that God opposes the proud but favors the humble (1 Peter 5:5 NLT). Satan himself rebelled against God because his heart was filled with pride (Ezekiel 28:17 NLT). The way to remove pride is to practice daily gratitude and to compare ourselves against Christ, not against others. Nothing creates a humble, teachable heart faster than comparing ourselves to Christ. No matter how bad our circumstances are, Christ went through much worse to save us. No matter how great we might think we are, our accomplishments pale in the light of who Christ is and what he s done for us. Thought Pattern #3: Fear and Anxiety Fear is based on a negative future projection of my current bad circumstance. Although my current circumstance is real, my negative projection of the future is not. It hasn t happened yet! When I m fearful, I m trusting that the undesirable future outcome is guaranteed. In this sense, fear is the opposite of faith. I m ignoring the fact that God promises to help me and that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28 NLT). God tell us, Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT) The Bible says that God is love (1 John 4:8 NLT) and that there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18 NLT). Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe (Proverbs 29:25 NIV). Godly people do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them (Ps 112:7 NLT). The Bible says don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done (Philippians 4:6 NLT). When I feel fear and anxiety rising up within me, how do I break my anxious thought pattern? I flip my anxiety into a prayer request. I take God seriously when He tells me don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything (Philippians 4:6 NLT). I ask God to help me with whatever it is that I m worried about and I rest in my belief that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us (1 John 5:14 NIV). I divide my day into small enough increments that I can stay in faith. Do I believe God can get me through the next hour? Not sure. OK, do I believe that God can get me through the next 10 minutes? Yes. OK, then I m going to trust God and not worry for the next 10 minutes. As the day progresses, my faith begins to build. Page 4
I magnify my God and minimize the problem. Fearful thoughts magnify the problem and minimize God! I break the mental pattern of fear by focusing my mind on how big, powerful and trustworthy God is. I keep a journal and use it to remember all the things He s done for me and others. I repeat scripture in my mind all day long and crowd out the fearful thoughts. I replace the debilitating thoughts with the powerful, positive truth of God s Word. I remind myself that if God is for us, who can ever be against us? (Romans 8:31 NLT) I remind myself that I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13 NLT). Thought Pattern #4: Doubt Doubt is literally the oldest trick in the Book! Satan used doubt to get Eve to question God s character and instruction. Unbelief sets God aside and enthrones self-will. That s what Satan wants, because when we doubt that God will help us, we don t seek God s direction and start implementing our own game plan. Every time I face a difficult problem, I experience thoughts that question whether God will help me this time around, even though God has been there for me hundreds of times in the past! How do I combat my doubt? I tell God "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24 NLT) I listen to great sermons and dive into God s Word to stir up my spirit. I remind myself of God s trustworthiness by gratefully recounting every time that God has helped me in the past. Thought Pattern #5: Anger Someone does something hurtful to me and feelings of anger swell up inside me. I feel violated and want them severely penalized for their injustice. I have angry thoughts that insist I have the right to act as judge/executioner and hurt them back. When I m highly emotional, my mind stops acting as a gatekeeper and whatever thought enters my mind passes right into my heart, with little or no scrutiny. That s exactly what Satan wants, because I m extremely vulnerable to bad advice at that moment. God values relationships, and anger can destroy them. God says that an angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins (Proverbs 29:22 NIV). God instructs us to not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27 NIV). So how do I resist anger? I recognize that I m yielding to my emotions and not to God s instruction. I remove myself from the volatile situation so that I can steady myself. I shift my focus back to God s way of handling it, and I ask God for strength and direction. When I come back, I control my emotions so that I am quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19 NIV). I remember that the Bible tells me Don't say, "I will get even for this wrong." Wait for the LORD to handle the matter (Proverbs 20:22 NLT). Page 5
Controlling my emotions can be difficult, but I can do it because the Spirit God gave us gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT). The more I yield to God s way, and the more I resist yielding to anger, the easier it becomes to control it. Thought Pattern #6: Temptation Something feels good in the moment and I want to do it, even though it might create negative consequences for me and for others. Thoughts come to me suggesting that I m entitled to it, or that it s alright this once, that nobody needs to know, or that I ll make amends for it later. God asks Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? (Proverbs 6:27 NLT). Obviously not! So how do I gain the self-discipline to resist the slippery slope of temptation? I remind myself that God s ways aren t designed to deny me enjoyment. They help me avoid choices that create unintended consequences which ultimately lead to pain and heartache. I remember that there are many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9 NIV). I yield to the internal check I get from the Holy Spirit, recognizing that no discipline is enjoyable while it is happening it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way (Hebrews 12:11 NLT). I realize that my long-term comfort will be best served by not yielding to the short-term enticement. I remind myself that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41 NIV) and I avoid putting myself in situations where I ll be tempted. If I m struggling with drinking, I don t watch a football game in a bar! Overwhelming Victory is Ours As we become familiar with Satan s main methods for derailing us - all via destructive thought patterns - we get better at quickly flagging and rejecting the rogue thoughts when they surface within our mind. We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV) and we stand on scriptural truth for strength. By refusing to yield to them, we extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16 NIV)! We fight the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV) by enduring the discomfort of problems while we patiently search for godly solutions, trusting that God will show you a way out so that you can endure. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT). As we learn to do this, our lives become increasingly strong, stable and productive. Our trust in God grows as we gain experience in yielding to Him, and our sensitivity to His voice increases. We become increasingly stable, reliable, confident, unmoved by circumstances, and overflowing with love and joy. We become very usable by God. As we let God work through us, He guides us down extraordinary life paths paths that make our life beautiful, meaningful and significant! Overwhelming victory is ours (Romans 8:37 NLT), as we take hold of the rich and satisfying life (John 10:10 NLT) that God offers us through Christ! Page 6
Questions to Ponder: 1) Which destructive thought pattern trips you up the most frequently? Condemnation? Pride? Fear/Anxiety? Doubt? Anger? Temptation? 2) Proverbs 12:3 uses the metaphor the godly have deep roots. What does this really mean? 3) How does adversity reveal the deepest aspects of your character? 4) No one loves problems, but is there a way that you can maintain a positive attitude when adversity surfaces in your life? How will you do this? Which scriptural truths will help you stay strong and remain confident that you ll get through it? Actions to Consider: 1) Develop an action plan for how you ll handle the next time you come under attack from one of Satan s destructive thought patterns. Think about the one that most frequently trips you up: a. How will you quickly identify this rogue thought pattern when it surfaces within your mind, so that it doesn t sneak up on you? b. How will you hit the pause button when you catch the rogue thought pattern creating inner turmoil? c. Identify one or two scriptures that will help you resist and reject the thought pattern. d. Make sure that your key scriptures are readily accessible when you need them for strength. Memorize them, or keep them in your purse or wallet! Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 7:3 NIV) Page 7
Week The Big Ideas LIVING THE SPIRIT-LED LIFE Week 1: We guard our heart by managing our thoughts. o God s Word turns our mind into a powerful gatekeeper. We must identify the author/source of our thoughts. o If it seems like God is the source, then pay close attention to it (but also test it against scripture), and think about what it might mean. o If it s a rogue thought that s inconsistent with scripture, then resist it and quickly discard it. Learning God s Word removes life confusion and helps us recognize God s voice. o The Holy Spirit often teaches us the deeper meaning of scripture as we apply it to daily life situations. As Rick Warren has said, The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. Week 2: God s ways are higher and better than our ways. o If we ll follow God s direction, He will lead us down extraordinary life paths. o By their very nature, extraordinary paths make us feel vulnerable and not in control. (Because we aren t!) We have to embrace God s ways to avoid limiting God s help. o God s ways help me to avoid unintended consequences that lead to pain and heartache. We gain courage by trusting God s promises. o There are over 7,000 promises scattered like gems throughout the Bible. o Most of God s promises are conditioned upon living the way that God calls us to live. Week 3: We should expect problems and be prepared for them. o We must trust God that we won t be crushed by problems if we handle them in a godly way. o Our trust grows through experience with God. Adversity makes us stronger by bringing us closer to God. o Don t waste your pain! Use it to grow! We can eliminate our self-created problems. o Our lives become increasingly strong and stable, and we become very usable by God. o As we let God work through us, He takes us down extraordinary life paths that make our lives beautiful, meaningful and significant! Page 8