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“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!” -–Luke 6:22 If you and I are determqined to live for God, we will face times of adversity. The words of Jesus in today’s verse make it clear that we will face persecution for our faith. That was certainly the case of Joseph who lived a godly life in front of his family and yet he was sold into slavery. He lived a godly life inside Potiphar’s house and yet he was falsely accused, maligned, and imprisoned. And Joseph even lived a godly life in prison and yet was forgotten and left there to die. Miraculously, through all these hardships, Joseph never became angry or bitter. He trusted God’s purpose in his life. So Joseph grew in wisdom, courage, character, and endurance through the prison of his circumstances. In fact, Psalm 105 says that God put iron into Joseph’s soul through those difficulties. Listen! Hard times are ahead for us, too. We need the iron in our soul that comes from walking through adversity God’s way. When adversity comes your way, trust God with your life. Don’t let adversity make you bitter, but allow it to make you a better follower of Christ Jesus. WE NEED THE IRON IN OUR SOUL THAT COMES FROM WALKING THROUGH ADVERSITY GOD’S WAY.

God’s Way or Our Own?

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”
Psalm 25:1–5

We live in a society that glorifies self-guidance. Those who go their own way are often held up as heroes, despite the fact that such a path often leads to pain if not complete destruction. Christians are just as subject to this temptation as those around us. We look for “loopholes” and ways to make the Bible say what we want it to say so that we can do what we want to do. All kinds of sin are justified from verses taken out of context and doctrines constructed out of thin air.
Rather than trying to force our will on the Word of God, we should take it as is and ask the Holy Spirit to help us rightly understand and apply it to our lives. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “It were well for many professors if instead of following their own devices, and cutting out new paths of thought for themselves, they would enquire for the good old ways of God’s own truth, and beseech the Holy Ghost to give them...teachable spirits.”
There are only two ways available—our own way and God’s way. Those who insist on setting their own course in opposition to God’s plan and wise advice from others can have it, but only at great cost. “And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof” (Proverbs 5:11–12).
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Wisdom seeks to learn and apply the truths of Scripture rather than getting its own way