Life is full of good and bad, of pleasant and unpleasant. The moments in life we enjoy are good and pleasant. We love those moments. We celebrate those moments. We wish life was all about these moments. The adversity, the unpleasant moments, are not as well received. Certainly, we want one and not the other: the pleasant but not the unpleasant, the good but not the adversity.
In Jeremiah, we read: “Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we are sending you so that it may go well with us. We will certainly obey the LORD our God!” (42:6 CSB). The pleasant is easy to obey. The unpleasant is difficult. Most people aren’t going to be willing to obey the Lord through the pleasant and unpleasant. Most people won’t continue to praise the Lord through both good and adversity.
Remember Job’s wife? She wanted Job to curse God. His response: “‘You speak as a foolish woman speaks,’ he told her. ‘Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?’ Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said” (Job 2:10 CSB). Job was able to accept the pleasant as well as unpleasant, the good as well as the adversity. Even if that adversity cost him his family, his property, his health, etc. He still worshiped the Lord. He did not turn from the Lord.
Today, you might be going through adversity. You might wonder where good can be found, because things are looking anything but good. It is not easy to see the blessings in the adversity, the grace of God in the unpleasant. Nonetheless, God is good and you can trust in His faithfulness. He promises that nothing will snatch you from His hand (John 10:28). You might not always be able to see the good, but you can trust that it is coming. You may not realize His provision through adversity, but it’s always there. May we continue to accept not only the good from God, but both the good AND adversity. Stand firm friends.
Tania Gutekunst 