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Adversity…what a word.  Who wants it?  Why do we have to have it in our lives?  How do you heal afterward?  Is it possible to find joy after walking through adversity let alone during it?  This will give you 5 ways to find joy during adversity.  However, to understand the how to find joy during adversity, we must first define adversity.  

Webster defines adversity as…

1.  a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress  
2.  an adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance

Have you ever walked through a long season of difficulty or distress and then have God ask you to do something you can’t even imagine doing….thank Him for it?  Seriously!?

I have felt God pressing on my heart to thank Him for a situation that has made my life a living H-E-double-hockey-sticks this last year.  This has been my struggle for a long while.

There was someone, well actually, two someones, who had made my life miserable these last few years.  I was holding a grudge and that grudge was becoming worn out from me going over it and over it.  That mess could come out at any time.  I could work it into every conversation.  I mean I was hurt!

There had been horrible and unfair things said about me that were completely untrue.  I felt betrayed.  I had every right to be hurt and angry.  Right?

Well, maybe at first…but I couldn’t let it go.  It was eating me alive.

Lately, God has been telling me enough is enough.  God gets it.  I wasn’t treated fair but I needed to get over it.  It’s bad when even God is sick of you complaining about something. You know you’ve got to get past it WHEN GOD SAYS it’s enough!  

How do we do that?  Do we have to forgive even if the other person isn’t sorry?  Ummm…YES, we do!

How can you be thankful for heartache and difficult times, for goodness sake?

Here are 5 key things I learned walking through adversity.

5 Ways to Find Joy During Adversity

#1 Count Your Blessings

1 Thess. 5:16-18 Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Yep! We must even be thankful for the bad things.  That is exactly what God wants. He started this morning telling me to list my blessings.  So, I started listing all the things that are actually pretty awesome right now.

You should do it.  I dare you.  Really do it.  Say it out loud if you have to so that you hear it in your ear.  It is healing.

Thank Him for food, shelter, a car, clothes, for health and for the health of loved ones….I could go on and on.  We are so blessed.  When you sit and start listing all of your blessings out it is hard to stay upset.

#2 Acknowledge that God is God – Not you!

Is. 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways”, declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (NIV)

After giving thanks, God made me realize my life wouldn’t be as great as it is right now if those people had not done what they had done and redirected my life from a course I thought was best.  Silly me, I thought I knew better than God. Wow, I’m actually sitting here shaking my head as I type this. When will I ever learn that He is God and not me?

After all, I am His and nothing can touch me that doesn’t go through His fingers first.  He knows what is best.

#3 Realize God has a Better Plan

Jer. 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future.”

Even when we are hurt and have been treated unfairly by people, God has a plan to prosper us not to harm us, a plan to give us a hope and a future.  Sometimes He has to put up roadblocks to get us where He wants us to be.

I think of Joseph from the Bible.  (Read Genesis 37-50)  You know, the guy with the coat of many colors? His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt but that is how God was able to save the remnant of the Jewish people from starvation during a severe drought.  When Joseph was in prison and being mistreated for no reason, things didn’t look so great for him at that time but God had a bigger plan.

Later, he was promoted to the head of Pharaoh’s palace.  He was able to care for his father and brothers during the drought because he had all of the riches in Egypt at his fingertips.  God’s ways are not our ways.  He sees the bigger picture and has a better plan than what we could envision for ourselves.

#4 Singing God’s Praises is Healing

Psalm 101:1-2 I will sing of Your love and justice, to You O Lord, I will sing praise.  I will be careful to lead a blameless life… I will walk in my house with a blameless heart.

Sing out loud.  Sing to Him and he will heal your heart.  

We have to be careful about bringing all of that mess into our homes.  It isn’t healthy to carry that burden of hurt around.  We aren’t hurting anyone but ourself and our family.  God is good to us.  He is God and He has an amazing plan for our lives.  We have to forgive and be thankful even though we don’t understand and can’t see the big picture sometimes.  We have to trust that God does.

#5 Stop Dwelling On It!

Phil. 4:8-9 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think on these things…. And the God of Peace will be with you.  

Take your thoughts captive.  Don’t dwell on the hurt.  Renew your mind with positive and pleasant thoughts from God’s word.  Don’t give that person power over you any longer.  What is the song from the movie Frozen?  “Let it go”!  

We don’t have to stay around an abusive person but we do have to forgive them.  It’s ok to be mad and hurt.  It’s NOT ok to STAY mad.  That is a sin.  We have to forgive because He forgave us.  Maybe that is the thing we are to learn through it all.  Forgiveness.  So, let’s learn to thank God for adversity.  He is strengthening us and growing us into overcomers.  

There ya go…5 ways to find joy during adversity.

I hope this helps the next time you come in to unfortunate events or distress because you will.  It is part of life.

 Let’s count our blessings, acknowledge God is God, realize God has a better plan, sing His praises because it is healing, and, finally, let’s stop dwelling on on old hurts.  We have to be intentional about forgiveness.  You can do it.  I did.  

When we do, God will restore our joy even through adversity.  

Love,

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