Adverse Circumstances & Faith

There's no hiding the fact that people of faith often struggle with adverse circumstances - circumstances that are difficult, so difficult, in fact, that we question God and are even tempted to abandon our faith. After all, if God's not going to help us, if He's not going to answer our prayers, if life is THIS HARD with faith, why should I even make the effort to serve Him?

In other words, we often allow our circumstances to determine our faith. If we're facing a lot of hardship, we might stand strong for a little while...but soon our resolve weakens and we begin to blame or question God. We become focused, not on God, but on our suffering and we give into the doubts and anger that Satan plants in our heads.

However, instead of allowing our circumstances to determine our faith, we need to allow our faith to determine our circumstances...and when the circumstances are beyond our control, we need to remain focused on what we can control...our faith in God.

Sometimes, we can control our circumstances. After all, we make decisions that have rewards or consequences. When we treat people poorly, our lives are naturally going to be filled with a greater degree of conflict. The book of Proverbs is filled with these kinds of warnings (10:12, 19; 11:2, 13; 14:16, 29; 15:1, etc). We must allow our faith to determine how we talk to others, speak to others, speak about others, think about others, treat others, and so on. That we can control. The same is true with the company we choose (Prov. 12:26). If we make immoral decisions such as to have sexual relations outside of marriage, there are consequences (Prov. 5:3-5), but if we work to maintain a strong marriage, there are rewards (5:15-20). Again, these are things we can control. If we live by faith and pattern our lives after the word of God, our circumstances will improve, generally speaking.

But there are certain things that are out of our control. We cannot keep loved ones from dying. We cannot keep the economy going strong. We cannot control what others choose to do to us. We cannot necessarily control our health (no matter how hard you try, you WILL sometimes get sick). We can't control the weather. We can't control...well, you get the point, don't you?

When the circumstances are outside of our control, we must focus on the only thing we can control - our reaction. Rather than blaming God or abandoning our faith, rather than growing bitter and angry, we need to turn to God and seek His help - true - but in the end, no matter what happens, we need to trust the Lord.

King David dealt with a lot of hardship (some of which came about because of poor decisions on his part), but he was still a man of tremendous faith who had a very tender conscience. There were times when David sought answers from God...and even when he was confused.

"Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?" (Ps. 10:1)

"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will You hide your face from me? (Ps. 13:1)

"My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from the words of my groaning?" (Ps. 22:1)

But in each case, despite David's questions and struggles, and despite his adverse circumstances, he never stopped trusting God. David always laid aside the confusion and reminded himself of what He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt: no matter what is happening, God is in control and He is Mighty! Each of the above psalms begin with David's distress, but they end with praise.

"But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief...The Lord is King forever and ever..." (Ps. 10:14, 16).

"But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me" (Ps. 13:5-6).

"My praise shall be of You in the great assembly..." (Ps. 22:25).

When the circumstances are beyond our control, all we can control is how we react, and like David, we must react by focusing, not on our circumstances, not on our suffering, not on our pain, but on God, and our faith in Him!

God has blessed us so much more than we deserve. Even if you doubt that, God's gift of Jesus Christ and the salvation that we can have through His sacrifice and resurrection is enough for any of us to be blessed more than we deserve. Things may not always happen as we expect them to. We may have questions and doubts from time to time, but let's not forget that God is the Creator and Sustainer.

Do not allow what you can't control to distract you from what you CAN.