How do you respond to adversity?  Adversity is described as affliction, opposition, pressure, testing or tribulation.  Adversity usually comes in more than one problem.  If we don't see God's hand in the adversity, it could be destructive.


God is competing with our attention every day.  This competition comes from the cares of the world.  They seem to diminish or choke out God's Word.  God promises us rest if we come to Him in times of adversity.


While we're going through adversity, Satan will try to convince us that God has forgotten about us; He doesn't care.  When we learn to recognize God's love in adversity, we're able to lift up our heads and rest in the assurance that God is near.  


Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

This world is filled with hopelessness.  You see it every day; every time you walk down the city streets; people begging for money, anything.  This is where you see the hurting people, but what you don't see is the professional coming into the office every day with a pain so deep on the inside of their soul that they can barely get out of bed in the morning.  I pray for people like that every day, because even though we can't see their pain, God can.  All it takes is for them to reach out and ask God for help in their hopeless situation.


But rejoice my Christian friends!  We also can be hurting today, but we on the other hand we have hope!  Hope is one of our deepest virtues as Christians.  We should be known as a hopeful people.  Yes, we have trials also, but those trials are there to produce character, which in turn produces hope.


Are you hurting today?  There is hope.  It is in the King of Kings and His name is Jesus!


Romans 12:12 - "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

We can't fully understand the beauty of grace until we understood the depths of our needs!


What a profound statement, but very true.  Grace is given freely by God every day to those who love Him and keep His commandments.


Grace is from God and it means several things, but one of the most important definitions is 'the unmerited favor of God to those who are under condemnation.'


None of us ever deserve the grace that God so freely gives us every day.  Our feeble minds cannot comprehend the magnitude of this free gift.  And, we will never come close to understanding this until we look at ourselves and see how much we need God and how much we depend on Him.


We can't earn grace.  We can't be 'good enough' to deserve it.  


Grace is a beautiful thing and I hope those of you that are reading this have received grace in your life today.  Grace must be deeply appreciated, but never manipulated or distorted.


Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Many times in my life when I've been let down by someone else, or have been treated unfairly, my first instinct has been to lash out; to make them feel bad for hurting me.  But, forgiveness is necessary for healing.


Unforgiveness builds up resentment, anger and you then dwell on how much someone hurt you.  It's a huge barrier in finding healing and peace.


We can't do this on our own.  We can do nothing without God's grace, let alone forgive someone.  


Let God in the midst of the turmoil; trust that He is reliable and that in this trust, we can find peace and healing, and eventually the ability to forgive.


Luke 23:34 - "And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  And they cast lots to divide His garments."

Have you ever thought about the above statement, as far as it is with God in our lives?  I'm guilty of getting too comfortable in my life, and spending less time with God.  It's usually when tragedy strikes or things aren't going my way that I look to God for answers.  We should ALWAYS seek God.  In good times and bad times.


Think about the relationships you have here on earth.  If the only time we spoke to the other person that we were in a relationship with was when we were in trouble, it wouldn't be much of a relationship would it?


God should be so constant, so imminent, that whether we're coasting along in life, or on the verge of tears, we can talk to God, go to Him for comfort.


So the next time you're coasting along in life and everything is going your way, get on your knees and thank God for your blessings.  Thank Him that He's always there, no matter what!


2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

What if someone asked you when you woke up this morning: "What is the most important first thing that you are going to do today?"  Most people will have a to-do list a mile long.  Others will say: "I just need to get through the day."


In my opinion, as a Christian, the most important 'first' thing that we need to do is to thank Jesus.  Thank Him for dying for us and for saving us from a world of sin and shame.  But, do we do that?  Just think, if Jesus hadn't died for our sins and took all our sins to the cross for every one of us, then we would all have no hope.  We would have no real reason for living each day.


So, the next time you wake up in the morning, have Jesus on your mind, and silently thank Him for dying for you so that you can live today.


Gratitude and appreciation are important, especially when it comes to our creator.  Jesus pulled us all out of the gutter when no one else could.  Thank Him as you wake up tomorrow.


Philippians 4:11 - "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

I saw this on the internet today and it's relative to my world right now.  It said "Jesus walked this earth at three miles an hour.  He saved the world at a walking pace - a pace of knowing and being known."


Am I doing this?  Have I gotten so wrapped up in this worldly pace that I've forgot the most important thing in life?  Jesus.  We are supposed to want to become more like Him, and I do, every day.  So, why am I rushing through life?


My prayer is that I do slow my pace down.  I want to not rush through life and pass by the important things of God; His beauty in everything.  God's purpose in our learning is that we become Christ-like.  He doesn't want us to become information databases.  The world may be impressed with your knowledge of the Bible, etc., but God is more concerned with how much we've been transformed into the image of His Son.


Slow down at God's pace.  You'll be surprised at how much more peace you'll have!


Matthew 11:28 - "Come to me, all who labor and are heaven laden, and I will give you rest."

There have been times in my life, like today, when I can't see how God's Will is being worked out, but that doesn't mean that I can't trust that His plan for me is good.


The only way to understand God's Will for us is to read the Bible.  God's word is perfect and we can discover God's plan for our lives through our study of it.


God's promise to us, His children, is that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.  Study scripture and strive to live holy before God.  He then will reveal His plan for us in His perfect time and in a way that we can understand and know that it came from Him.


His plan is ALWAYS better than ours.


Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."