School of Adversity

Adversity

I have been thinking a lot about adversity lately.  Probably because I find myself buried so deep in it right now. Adversity is hard to ignore and I'm not sure how this works, but it always seems to attract more adversity. I think it is called the "Rule of Threes".  Trouble always seems to come in threes! This is not a new idea, Job describes this situation when he says, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. (Job 14:1) Now is a time full of trouble!

While I was out walking with my son the other day the topic of discussion was his plans for school now that he had completed his Associates Degree.  We talked about the challenges that he had overcome to get to this point and what might lay ahead. As we talked I started to get an idea for my blog regarding adversity. This thought came to me:  Life is the school of adversity.

When we are young we are sent to school to be educated.  There we are taught lessons each day that help us master reading, writing, arithmetic, science and several other topics. As we become proficient in a topic we are given the opportunity to expand our knowledge to the next level.  The work gets harder and our abilities get stronger.

This pattern of learning in a school setting carries with us into other parts of our lives. If we want to be more marketable in the workforce, we further our education with the college experience. If we want to learn to fence, we take classes at our local recreation center. If we want to learn more about the scriptures, we attend church classes that focus on the scriptures.  It seems pretty straight forward.

It makes sense then, that if we want to learn to be more like Christ, then we need to be schooled in adversity.  We are very fortunate to have a God that is the perfect instructor.  He knows what we need and tailors each adversity we face to help us increase our knowledge.  We have a textbook. He has given us instructions in the scriptures to aid us in our lessons on adversity.  We even have 24 hour tech support.  He has given us a personal hot line (prayer) we can use to call on Him for advice to get us through our adversities. 

As I thought about this more, I began to wonder if it is possible to flunk in the school of adversity.  We shouldn't spend too much time and energy on ways to fail, but it is important to know what NOT to do.

How to fail the school of adversity:

1. Get confused by adversity. (D&C 122:7)
2. Become bitter because of problems. (Moroni 7:11-12)
3. Fall apart, completely disintegrate. (2 Tim 1:7)
4. Respond with anger and be filled with hatred. (Pro 15:18)
5. Give up, abandon all the good things you come across. (D&C 63:20)
6. Backslide. (Jer 2:19)
7. Make statements of failure by wrong speaking. (Eph 4:31)
8. Be discouraged. (Deut 1:21)

The Lord does not want us to be a failure in the school of adversity. So what can we do to succeed at defeating adversity in this life.
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1. In time of peace, prepare for war. Put on the whole Armour of God as the scriptures say. It may seem awkward at first as we learn how to place each piece of armour on for maximum coverage.  It may even seem like the armour is too big or too small, but the Lord assures us that it is just the right size. It just takes practice to get it right. (Eph 6:10-18; D&C 27:15-18)

2. Don’t be distracted. (1 Cor 7:35) There are many distracted people around. They take their minds away from the most important things.  There are also many people who will try to distract you from your education on adversity.

There is a story of a young king, who wanted to kill an old king.  The young king said to the old king, “I will give you a test, if you pass, l will not execute you." The test was this, he was to carry a glass full of water from the top of the palace to the market place. The young king arranged two rows of people on either side of the street. The people on one side were praising the old king while the ones on the second side were criticizing and abusing him. He carried the water, moved on, and successfully took it to the market. When he was asked the secret of his success he said, “I just concentrated on the water because I knew my life depended on it." He did not care about the praises or the abuses. Great lesson for us!

 3. Be cautious about comfort. (Zephaniah 1:12)  Are you comfortable?  I hope so. You should be. Comfort and peace are great blessings from the Lord.  However, sometimes comfort can be a stumbling block. Sometimes comfort can rob us of our strength and dependence on God.  Comfort can make a person become spiritually lazy. (D&C 64:33)

Think of a man who is so comfortable in his life with so few problems that he doesn't do much of anything let alone worry about anything. He relaxes and enjoys life. He also becomes weak and dependent upon his routine and life. So too the person who is very comfortable in his life, can also become weak and dependent upon the securities of life instead of the Lord. There is nothing wrong with being comfortable, unless that comfort makes us depend on God less and causes us to become complacent about what's going on around us.

4. We never face adversity alone. (John 14:26) There is strength in numbers and two is better than one. We are taught that even if it is just us and God, that is enough to overcome anything. We cannot lose with God on our side. What better ally could we have? 

This makes me think of Daniel in the lions den.  Because he had God on his side he was not truly alone when the people threw him into the den.  The Lord provided a way for him to remain safe by sending an angel. We may not have a heavenly angel appear to save us, but the Spirit will prompt those we need to be there when necessary.  We all have earthly angels in our lives.

5. Don't be afraid to ask questions. (D&C 75:11) We are admonished to pray always. If you have questions that only God can answer, then you need to pray and ask Him. Ask and you shall receive (James 1:5). The key to this is learning to ask the right questions!

If you want to know what questions to ask God read the Psalms.  You might be surprised what you learn, I was! The questions asked in the Psalms aren't about what God is trying to teach the person through adversity, but questions that allow the full release of the anguish which is in one's soul. They are questions based on the reality of human frailty and our lack of understanding.  The honesty modeled in the Psalms is the way to improve the effectiveness of our communication with God.

6. Crack open the books. (Joshua 1:8) There is no adversity that we can face today that has not been faced in the past.  What a blessing this is!  The scriptures are filled with the stories of people and their adversities. We are given examples of the right way and the wrong way to deal with our challenges.  It's like the Lord gave us the answers before the test! 

To make it easier on yourself you might want to mark those scriptures that pertain to your current challenge so that when it comes up again you will already have a reference.  If you do this with each challenge you face imagine the improved usefulness your scriptures will be for you and for those that the Lord has placed in your life! 

Whether you are still in the beginning phase of your education on adversity or you are working on your PhD, this advice works. Try it and find out for yourself. The school of adversity is tough and with each level we master, there is yet another to overcome.  It helps to remember that our Instructor knows us better than we know ourselves and will never give us more than we are ready for.  Just be the best student you can be!