Finding God's Grace in Every Challenge and Adversity

Finding God’s Grace in 

Every Challenge and Adversity

“There is no failure in God!”  The spiritual and gospel song by that title often sets a congregation ablaze with affirmation, praise and excitement.  Most disciples assent to this spiritual maxim.  Living in the will of Almighty God inherently means that one cannot fail.  Yet, the question remains, “What do you do when things do not work out?”  How do you respond when challenge and adversity seemingly conspire to derail your God given dreams and goals?  How does one resolve negative circumstances that spew forth like the relentless, destructive, merciless and annihilating lava of a fomenting volcano?  Bewilderment is the natural reaction for the child of God who finds himself or herself in such a situation after he or she carefully confirmed that God led him or her in this direction.  Does God set us up for failure and then sadistically laughs at our humiliation in the process?  Consider the book of Job and his self-righteous indictment of the will of God in Job’s predicament.  Nevertheless, the eternal attributes of Almighty God and His unquestionable faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23) in every scenario substantiates the foregoing saying.  They further explain the continual chorus of “Amens” to the idea, “There is no failure in God!”

In his phenomenal and recently renowned lecture, “The Last Lecture,” Professor Paul Rausch, in discussing successful methods for actualizing one’s dreams, speaks consistently about the necessity of responding appropriately to the “Brick Walls” of life.  A Computer Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA until last fall, Dr. Rausch recently discovered that he is dying from an incurable form of pancreatic cancer.  Invited to give his very last lecture, Professor Rausch shared intimately from his personal experience of pursuing his five heartfelt childhood dreams.  In the process, he encountered several brick walls.  Ironically, he utilized that occasion to reveal for the first item publicly that initially he had been denied admission to the doctoral program at Carnegie Mellon; eventually, he became one of the most distinguished and popular members of the faculty.  Nonetheless, he persevered beyond that brick wall.  Professor Rausch posits that we encounter brick walls to determine whether we really want what we say that we want.  Further, he says that brick walls separate the people who possess heartfelt dreams from those persons who merely had a fleeting thought.

In spiritual and biblical terms, brick walls afford us the opportunity to pause and renew our commitment to the necessity of inner spiritual transformation and the practice of spiritual discipline.  I reiterate the seven practices of SPAMBID: self-evaluation, prayer, affirmation of the Word of God, meditation, Bible study, imaging a new and triumphant life, and daily quiet time.  Admittedly, this is not an exhaustive list.  Most assuredly, it is not meant to comprise a full-proof formula.  Rather, it portends a suggested method of strengthening one’s relationship with our Lord as one humbly, earnestly, and diligently seeks His guidance in the face of challenge and adversity.  Put quite simply, brick walls enable us to find the grace of Almighty God in everyday life.

Finding God's Grace in Every Challenge and Adversity Part II

Finding God’s Grace in Every 

Challenge and Adversity – Part II

Failure befalls those persons who uncritically accept the brick walls as road blocks and dead ends.  Second, failure emerges in the lives of people who surrender hope.  Third, fear certifies failure for people who allow a few defeats to paralyze them.  Simply, they stop trying to achieve their dreams and goals because they are so afraid that they will fail continually.  The lack of faith in God is another reason some people fail.  “Accordingly to your faith be it unto you.”  Jesus warns a person who entreats Him for a miracle about the spiritual maxim of living a self-fulfilling prophecy of faithlessness.  If you expect nothing in life, you usually get it.  Equally, important, self-questioning and self-doubt inevitably results in the loss of dreams and goals.

In the first chapter of Ephesians, the apostle Paul prays that God opens the eyes of the hearts of the church so that they may be enlightened unto the “good, pleasing and perfect will” Almighty God.  This prayer endures for contemporary Christians.  When we face challenge and adversity, we have the further and perhaps greater test of finding the unending grace of God in every situation.  In His mysterious, mystical, majestic and magnificent way, God embeds grace into every potential failure.  In everything, He sows the seed of providence.  Accordingly, “every exit is an entrance.”  Whenever one door closes, God immediately opens another door that leads toward the fulfillment of His will which usually coheres with the actualization of our heartfelt dreams and goals.

Tunnel vision ensues when we doggedly pursue success even when our present activities do not equate with God’s situational will for us.  Myopia is the natural outcome of unwavering focus.  The loss of a panoramic view regrettably leads us to struggle and persevere within losing predicament.  Why should “failure” surprise us?  Yet, this commendable determination often blinds us to the unnecessary burdens that we may carry when our energies, talents and abilities could be used elsewhere.  As God opens the eyes of our hearts, we are able to see how He graciously closes doors and opens others.  Moreover, He releases us from burdens and frees us to assume other tasks.

The Bible offers us tremendous encouragement as we seek the grace of God in every challenge and adversity.  Isaiah 40:29 states, “He giveth power to the weak and to them that have no might, He increaseth strength.”  In Matthew’s gospel, the Lord Jesus invites the heavy burdened and ladened masses to come to Him.  He says take my yoke upon you and learn of Him.  He is gentle and humble.  His burden is light and His yoke is easy. In 1 Peter, the apostle recommends that believers cast their cares and anxieties upon the Lord for He cares for them.  Finally, the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians that he discovers that the grace of Almighty God is sufficient regardless of the test or tribulation.  Inexplicably, God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.  How incredible it is that overwhelming obstacles and perplexing problems equip us with the very best view and position to find myriad opportunities fruitful possibilities to receive God’s favor.