The sweetness of adversity ~ Jon Courson

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. - 1 Peter 3:12

As one who knew the Word, Peter continues quoting another who experienced brutal days ...

What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Psalm 34:12-16

With Saul out to kill him, David found himself seeking refuge in the Philistine city of Gath. But when he realized that he was recognized in the city as the one who had slain Goliath, David knew he was again in danger. So in order to make it out of Gath alive, he clawed at the gates of the city, ranting and raving like a lunatic as he feigned insanity. When the king heard there was a crazy man within his gates, David was allowed to go his way.

Psalm 34 was written while David was in Gath, running for his life, and yet what does he say? The Psalm begins, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth, for I have tasted and seen in the midst of this difficulty that the Lord is good.’

Who will love life and see good days? Society says it’s the one who can make his life problem-free, who insulates himself from difficulty, who escapes adversity. But David says just the opposite. He says it’s when you’re wondering how the next bill will be paid, or if the marriage will work out that the Lord makes Himself most real to you. He says it’s when you’re trapped in Gath that suddenly you see God.

Now, if we really embraced what Peter is saying, what David is declaring and what James is saying when he declares, ‘Count it all joy when you fall into various trials' (James 1:2), we would not try to make our life easier. Instead, we would be those who say, ‘It’s in the day of difficulty, in the years that are hard for me that I’m going to have the opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good.’

We all know people who are insulated from problems, who don’t have challenges and who have succeeded in making their lives as easy as they possibly can. But the easier it gets for them, the less joy there is within them.

Peter says something which is absolutely shocking — at least in the ears of our culture — when he says, ‘In the midst of sufferings, difficulties and challenges, don’t seek to fix the problems. Don’t seek to make it easier. Choose instead to do good and to seek peace. Don’t murmur, don’t complain — and you’ll find that you love life because God will meet you in the midst of your difficulties.’