When The Going Gets Tough

How do you complete this statement? When the going gets tough? Right, I heard it a few times. The tough get going. That was pretty weak though. Not many tough folks around here this morning, that's for sure. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Yeah, right. Okay. But how do you really answer that? That's my concern this morning. Not how the expression is typically finished or completed, but how do you really answer that? When the going gets tough in real life, how do you respond? How do you complete that statement in the reality of adversity? When things are going bad, what do you do? How do you respond? Solomon in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 is focusing our attention on the proper response to adversity. Now, in the larger context in chapter 6 through 8, he's talking to us about God's perspective on life. What God believes in those life is and how we should have that perspective on life. So he's already told us things like this. Prosperity isn't always bad or isn't always good. And he's also told us that adversity is not always bad. There is a good side to adversity. That's what we saw last time in the opening of chapter 7. But here's the problem. It's possible to understand that and still respond wrongly. It's possible to have a head knowledge that okay, adversity is not always bad. God uses it for good things. It's possible to have a proper view of adversity versus one through six and have the wrong response to adversity. And so that's the reason why Solomon follows up his teaching on our perspective, our view of adversity with okay. Now that you know it, let's do it. How are you really responding when the going gets tough? How do you really finish that statement in your life, in your experience? What he's going to tell us today is that we must train ourselves to respond as God would have us to when we face adversity. And I want to emphasize it requires training. It requires reprogramming of our mind, our whole way of thinking, and our whole approach toward life, our perspective on life. We have to reprogram that. We have to rethink how we respond to adversity. And so we must train ourselves. This is not easy. This is hard work. We must train ourselves to respond as God would have us to when we are in adversity. How do we do that? Well, Solomon first of all gives us the negative side and then he tells us what we should do. He first of all gives us some foolish responses and then he'll describe the wise response to adversity. Let's look first of all those foolish responses to adversity. Here's the way Solomon says, the Bible says, God says, the fool responds to adversity. Verse 7, the first one is compromise. By compromise, look at verse 7, extortion turns a wise person into a fool and the bribe corrupts the heart. Now what Solomon is saying basically is that sometimes when we are under pressure, because this is following right on the heels of talking about adversity and how God's perspective on adversity, how we should view it. So in that context of adversity, sometimes under pressure, we compromise our integrity. We make choices that we know are wrong. We do things that we know are wrong because it looks like to us at the time that's our best way out from under the pressure. That's the best way to get out from under the adversity. So sometimes our response is to compromise and Solomon talks about a couple of different compromises of your integrity. The first one he says is extortion. The word translated extortion in the NIV really is a Hebrew word which most often is translated oppression. That's the way it's translated in the King James of the New American Standard oppression or something like that. That really is the idea. I think that's what Solomon is getting across here. Extortion can be a kind of oppressing of other people. But the broader idea is oppressing someone of responding with a striking back at someone or retaliating against someone or in a sense insinuating something about them or putting them in a bad light. For many of us, that's how we respond to adversity. When the going gets tough, when things are not going like we think they should, our default response many times is to blame someone or to make someone else look bad or to retaliate or attack someone. That's what Solomon is talking about here. That kind of oppression. The second kind of compromise of our integrity of our character, he calls a bribe. Now, you know what a bribe is? A bribe is to use financial resources to get your way illegally or illegitimately. And whether you're talking here about taking a bribe or giving a bribe, using a bribe to get something or taking a bribe because it'll help you and then you let somebody else get their way. Regardless of which end it's on, the idea basically, the broader idea is using financial resources to your advantage in a way that compromises your integrity. That's the idea. And so although you may not be literally guilty of taking or giving a bribe, think of other ways that you might compromise your integrity by using financial resources to your advantage. Cheating on the income tax. With holding something from someone to whom it is due. Maybe in the workplace, taking things that are not yours from your employer. Many other ways that we use or can use financial resources to our advantage in a way that compromises our integrity. And sometimes when people are under pressure, that's where they turn to. They'll do anything that cut any deal, any angle, compromise themselves in the area of money or finances to try to get out from under the adversity. What Solomon says is when you go down that road, when you start making those choices to compromise your integrity, you begin a process of deterioration of your moral fiber. It does something to you on the inside. It begins a dry rot of your soul. Notice how he says it. He says extortion or oppression, retaliation, striking back, so forth. That turns a wise person into a fool. And he can change your character and turn you from a wise person into a fool. And then he says bribe or illegitimate improper use of finances to get out of adversity. Corrupts the heart. It does something to you on the inside. The wise person turns into a fool. A person's heart is corrupted to where you become insensitive to greater compromises. Don't compromise your integrity to get out from under difficulty. Solomon says that's the first foolish response. Second foolish response is impatience. Impatience, verse 8. The end of a matter is better than its beginning. And patience is better than pride. These are wonderful proverbs that Solomon is giving us short, pithy, true principles of life that really carry a lot of meaning to them. Here he's talking about impatience. And in the first part of the verse he basically says that the final outcome is more important than any early setbacks that you may suffer along the way. The final outcome is more important. The end of a matter is better than its beginning. Sometimes when there's a ball game on I want to watch, I pray real hard that God will allow me to get all my work done so I can do it. He was so good yesterday and I was able to get everything done by the time the Ravens and Broncos started playing. So I watched part of that game. Watch more of the end of it. And the Broncos had that game. I mean the Ravens were down for the count. And with 31 seconds left in regulation. The Ravens have the ball way back in their own territory on 30 yard line and Joe Flacco drops back on third and third. I mean if they don't get a first down they're done. The game is over Broncos of one. That's where it looks. Flacco drops back and throws just a heave ho as far as he can throw it. And miraculously one of his guys catches it. Two Denver Broncos guys fall down and he washes into the end zone and the game is tied. In the overtime you put the ball in the hands of the most reliable consistent quarterback maybe in NFL history, Peyton Manning. And he makes a dumb play and throws an interception. The Ravens get the ball back, kick field goal and they win the game. I mean what looked like a lost cause. The Broncos had it in the bag. The end of the matter is better than it's beginning. The final outcome is more important than early setbacks along the way of getting there. Now that's not a football principle that Solomon's talking about although that may be an illustration of it. That's really a biblical spiritual principle of life. And here's what Solomon's talking about. With God, God is working toward a final outcome in your life and my life. He is working toward a goal in your life. Sometimes there are setbacks along the way of getting there. But what's more important is the final outcome. The result, the goal toward which he's working. Yeah, we're all going to go through some adversity and difficulty. And sometimes in God's providence, that's a part of the process. That's a part of what it takes to get us to the ultimate goal. But the ultimate goal is very clear and scripture. God tells us what it is. So we know what he's working toward. It's in those familiar verses in Romans 8. We go back to them over and over again. Don't we at least to the first one. Romans 8 verse 28 and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose. So in all things, both bad things and good things, God is working them all together for our good. But then he goes on, don't leave out the next verse. He goes on to tell us what that good is. What he's working toward, what the goal is for or because those God for new, those that he said his love on, he also predestined. That means simply to mark out ahead of time. So God was already, God was already marking out before you were ever born, before time ever began. In eternity past, God had already marked out what the goal was going to be for you when you got saved. And that goal is to be conformed to the image of his son that he, the son Christ, might be the first born, the most important, the one of highest rank and priority among many brothers and sisters. In other words, others like us who look just like him. That's God's goal. God's goal is in all things. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever. In all things, he is working all life circumstances together to mold you and shape you into the image of Christ so that you look like him. You think like him, you act like him, you speak like him. You are becoming more and more like Christ. That's the goal. That's what God's shooting for. Now, there are lots of setbacks along the way. There are lots of hardships and difficulties and adversity. And in God's providence, that's a part of what He uses. And we need to understand that it is the final outcome, the end of a matter that's better than the beginning. It's what we're headed toward that's most important in God's mind and should be in hours too. So what He's saying is, have patience with that. Have patience with that process. The end of verse by saying patience is better than pride. Now that seems like an odd contrast. Patience is better than pride. You might think patience would be better than impulsiveness or patience is better than anger or patience is, you know, something else better than pride. What's that about? You see what Solomon is getting at is that anytime you begin to lecture God about how He should be doing your life. Anytime you say, God, I don't understand this. I don't like this. I believe you don't love me anymore. I don't think you have any concern for me anymore. What are you doing in my life anyway? There is no greater arrogance in the universe than to lecture God about how He should be doing your life. What He's saying is, have patience with God. Trust Him. Be patient with that process that God is working out to make you more like His Son and when it includes adversity, when it requires in God's wisdom, adversity. Be patient with that. When you get to where you can't wait, where you can't weather the storm, where you lose your confidence that God is in control, you're basically saying that God you're no longer in control. I want my life back. I want to run it. That's pride. That's arrogance. You know, when I'm often reminded of that, when I'm sitting at a red light, seriously, sometimes God really drives this lesson home to me when I'm sitting at a red light. I don't know how many moments, minutes, maybe when you put it all together, hours of my life, I have spent fuming at red lights. I keep trying to remind myself the light always turns green and you will get to your destination. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it happens. But you know what it's like when you're coming up to a light and the thing turns yellow? You know what that's like? I've gone through a lot of pink lights. They were just right on the verge of red. They were turning. You know what that's like? You just don't like that. But think about it. How many times, you know, the guy beside you that's gun in his engine and the wheels tire squeal when he pulls out? How many times have you caught up with him at the next red light? You know, life is a lot like that. God sends red lights in our way, along our path. We'd like a straight, smooth life without any interruptions, without any difficulties, without any problems. Without any stops, without any having to slow down. And God says, no, no, no, I'm going to throw a few of those along the way. Be patient with me. It will turn green. You will get to your destination and the destination is more important than the bumps along the road or the red lights along the way. Patience. Inpatience is a foolish response to adversity. Third foolish response, Solomon says, is anger. Look at it in verse 9. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit for anger resides in the lap of fools. What an interesting proverb. Don't be easily provoked. Don't have a hasty spirit, Solomon's talking about, but the Hebrew word really has the idea of exasperation or resentment or indignation. It is anger that is settling down into your spirit. That's the idea of the word here. And when anger begins to settle down in your spirit, it causes you to have a hasty spirit. You're vexed easily. You're upset easily and you have a tendency to blow off steam easily. I'll never forget the story. I read one time about Harry Ironside. Dr. Harry Ironside was for many, many years the pastor at Moody Church in Chicago. During his ministry there, the church grew rapidly. He became a very well known Bible teacher. He became a very well known Bible teacher. He began to write a lot of commentaries and so forth. One day, he was driving home from church. He and his wife were in the car. His wife said something and he snapped back at her. There was an awkward few moments of silence. Then finally, he said, I'm sorry, you have to understand. I've preached five times today. I'm exhausted. She said, that's okay, dear, but you need to understand I've listened to you five times today. And I am exhausted. Tuché. Tuché. Anger. That hasty spirit, that vexed spirit. Solomon says that is a foolish response because it leads us to rash conclusions about God and about others and even about ourselves and about our circumstances. So that vexed spirit is wrong and here's why he says, he says, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Again, it's an interesting expression. If you were to take the Hebrew words and translate them very literally, the NIV tries to smooth things out in language that we use, but if you were to translate it very literally, it would sound something like this. Anger remains in the bosom of a fool. Now think about that for a moment. What are you saying here is basically if you entertain anger, if you begin to develop anger as your response to adversity, a vexed hasty spirit that's upset and angry, you will begin to nurse that. It will end up in your lap. It will be like you are nurturing and nursing a child and you will hold it close and it will find its way into your heart. That's the picture here. If you don't deal with anger, anger becomes a nurtured, nursing response that you begin to cherish and hold dear and don't want to let go of. And it deeps, it seeps down into your heart. Hebrews calls it with, he saw a root of bitterness. It took root in his heart and it began to develop bitterness. And when that happens, you're in deep weeds, you're in trouble when that happens because your heart is compromised. So Solomon says, no, when you're in adversity, don't respond with anger or it will end up in your lap like a little child comforting and nurturing it and it will find its way into your heart. Anger. But notice interestingly enough, the fourth one is one we might not expect, but when you think about it, it's a very common response to adversity. And that is nostalgia. Nostalgia. He says in verse 10, do not say why were the old days better than these for it is not wise to ask such questions. You know, sometimes when we're disappointed in the present, how things are going in our lives, what's working out the adversity we're facing, we tend to look backward with this warm glow of how the past used to be to the good old days, the good old days. You know, that was true, even of a group of Jewish people who had suffered 70 years of adversity had been in captivity to a foreign country called Babylon. And God brought many of them back to their land, 50, 60,000 of them, a small foothold, but nonetheless a strong presence rebuilding their nation. And as the first symbolic evidence of rebuilding their nation, they rebuild the temple which had been destroyed by the Babylonians, as a rebel, the first leader to lead a group of Jews back to the land. That was the first thing he did. He started rebuilding the temple. But there were some older people in the group, some older priests who remembered what the temple looked like 70 years ago. They were probably children, teenagers, maybe at the time, but they remembered Solomon's temple. And this one, they could tell even from the foundation, was not going to measure up. And they started responding with tears, with sorrow. Here's how Ezra describes it in his book, Ezra chapter 3. He says, but many of the older priests and Levites and family heads who had seen the former temple wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping because the people made so much noise. The sound was heard far away. You imagine that scene. Here are older folks weeping because what they were thinking of when they saw this puny little foundation, they were thinking Solomon's temple, one of the wonders of the world in its day. Younger people who had never seen Solomon's temple were just excited that a temple was being built. They were back in the land so there was a lot of joy, there was a lot of sorrow, the two were mixed. The older folks are looking back to the past. God sent two prophets to challenge that generation to stop doing that, stop looking back at the past. One of them was the prophet Haggai. This is what Haggai says, the message God gave him in chapter 2 of his little book. Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? He just puts it right in their face. Come on, raise your hands. Anybody left over Saul's Solomon's temple? How does this one look to you? Come on, let's get the truth out here on the table. How does this look to you? Does it not seem to you like nothing? And then he drives home his point. But now be strong, zerevable. The political leader that was leading the charge on building the temple. Now be strong, zerevable, declare the Lord. Be strong, Joshua, son of Joseph, the high priest. Be strong. All you people of the land declares the Lord and work for I am with you. Declares the Lord Almighty. And then he goes on to say, next slide. This is what I coveted with you when you came out of Egypt and my spirit remains among you. Do not fear. You see, God's not looking back to Solomon's temple. That's gone forever. God's looking at this little foundation. And he says, come on, zerevable, come on, Joshua, get the work. My spirit is among you. Come on, people of land. Get the work. I'm pleased with this. This is going to be my dwelling place. Through Zachariah, the other prophet who ministered alongside Haggai, Zachariah is the young man, Haggai is the older guy. Zachariah said, who dares despise the day of small things? Since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth, a symbolic expression of the infinite wisdom of God, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth, will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerevable. When Zerevable puts the finishing stone and touches on this new temple, God will rejoice. God's not looking back. So what he's saying is, we shouldn't either. Now, can we learn from the past? Yes, of course. We can learn from the past. But we can't live in the past. We can't long for the past. Solomon says, if you're asking yourself, why were the old days better than these? He says, it's not wise to ask such questions. Two reasons why it's not wise. It's not wise because that kind of longing for the past can be a substitute for action. It can be basically our way of saying, I'm not going to face up to the challenges of today. I'm just going to dream about yesterday. I'm just going to live in and long for the past, which causes us to escape the challenges of the present and doing something about them. How many times have you heard it said, those of you who are younger? How many times have those of us who are a little older said this? Well, when I was your age, we launched into our story. You know, I've violated this a few times, but I have asked God, please, Lord, help me not to talk about walking back and forth to school two miles each way in the two feet, deepest snow uphill both ways. Please, Lord, help me not to tell those kind of stories. That doesn't do anybody any good. That's just the glow of yesterday. It just doesn't help anything. Come on. Let's get where we are now and attack the difficulties of now and forget about the glow of yesterday. We have the tendency to do the same thing spiritually. We have a tendency to think, oh, if we can only be like the early church. Listen, the early church is gone. Certainly, we can learn from the scriptural principles of the early church, but we will never be the early church. We're not living in the first century. We're not in Jerusalem. We will never be the early church. Oh, if we can only be like the Reformation guys, those guys were, man, they were great. Yeah, they were. And let's learn from them. Let's build on what they did. But let's not live in the 1500s. Or if we can only have the revivals like we used to in the 1700s and 1800s that spread across this country, I would love to see that too. But rather than longing for the past, let's do something about it now. Let's cry out to God now that He will show up and do what He did then. Or even greater things or whatever He wants to do today. It's awful easy to look to another church or a time in the past in this church or whatever and live in that and long for that again. That day is gone. Today is today. God is out of God. Is not out of date. He is up to date and He's capable of working today. So don't live in the past. Learn from it. Yes, but don't live in it. Don't long for it. It is unwise. It's a substitute for action. It's also a substitute for proper thinking because it overlooks the problems of the past. The past had problems too. It's just we have a tendency to forget about those. Someone has said that the good old days really is a combination of a bad memory and a good imagination. A lot of truth in that isn't there. God is not dead. God is not sick. God is not inactive. He is alive today. And today is today. We ought to be doing what we can today and longing for the future of what God will do. Not longing for the past. Somehow that warm glow of the memory of the past sometimes solven says that's not wise. Don't do that. Don't do that. Not wise to ask why were the old days better than these. Deal with these days and let's deal with them in a way that will glorify God. But that's the way some people respond to adversity. Oh, it's just so hard today. I just wish it could be like and there you go. Launching back into the past. Today is today. Let's live today and let's live for tomorrow and see God do great things in our lives and our church and our world. Yeah, we got a lot of problems in this country and in this world. But I don't want to go back. I want to go forward. I want to go forward for Christ and see him do something in this day and in the days ahead. That will knock our socks off. Talk about being on Holy Ground. Do that. Those are the foolish responses. What is the wise response? What is the wise response? Solomon gets to that in verses 11 through 14 and he begins by describing the value of a wise response. Look at it in verses 11 and 12. He says wisdom like an inheritance is a good thing. Could even translate this and I think even more literally wisdom is as good as an inheritance. The comparison is between wisdom and money just like it is in verse 12. Same comparison. So he says wisdom is as good as an inheritance and benefits those who see the sun. Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter. But the advantage of knowledge is this wisdom preserves those who have it. Now here's his point. Wisdom is like money in that both shelter you from something. Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. It's like money in that both of them will shelter you from something. Money will shelter you from a degree of difficulty and hardship or poverty. Wisdom will shelter you from bad choices in life that will ruin your life. So he says ways that compare those two and you've got to come to the conclusion that wisdom is better. He says it this way the advantage of knowledge is this wisdom preserves those who have it. In other words wisdom will preserve your life. Someone has said money will help you make a living wisdom will help you know how to live and that's the difference. Wisdom will make a life and not just a living. So wisdom has priority over the shelter the protection of money. So that's the value of a wise response. What is it? What is the wise response though? Okay I see it's important it's valuable it's better than money how should I respond in adversity and here's where he really gets to his point and that is the description of a wise response look at it verse 13. Consider that's the key word right there consider it means to reflect on to think about the key to responding correctly to adversity is in our mindset it's in our thinking and it means we have to change our thinking about adversity and about what God is doing. It's the key to all spiritual transformation by the way. What is it the Paul said in Romans 12? Be not conformed to this world don't be poured in the mold of this world but be transformed by what the renewing of your mind. He talks about that several times in his epistles the key to spiritual transformation is to change the way you think about things the way you approach things because the way you learn to think about things will dictate your response and then the patterns of behavior that you form and then your character that's the process of how it works it all begins in your thinking. It begins with changing your attitudes and thinking so we've got to consider reflect think on change the way we think about what well here's the description of the wise response to adversity first of all recognize this is the work of God. Recognize this is the work of God I mean adversity is the work of God look at it three times he says it in 13 and 14 consider what God has done. Now he's not talking about looking up at the heavens or looking at the universe that God is in the context he's talking about consider the adversity you're under look at what God has done. Who can straighten what he has made crooked crooked is not moral evil here but it's kind of zigzag you know it's not the clear straight nice even path that we would like in life sometimes it takes a few turns and those are rough. What can straighten who can straighten that out what he has made crooked and then verse 14 when times are good be happy but when times are bad consider this there's thinking reflect on this God has made the one as well as the other so three times he attributes this working of adversity to God. That's where we need to begin changing our thinking that's the very first thing we need to change about our thinking about adversity. I know there are plenty of health and wealth and prosperity preachers out there that tell you it's certainly never God's will for you to have adversity that is not biblical that is not found in the word of God. God uses adversity sends adversity allows adversity as a part of his refining and shaping tool the pressure of the hands of the potter on the clay to mold us and make us to be like Christ. Consider recognize this is the work of God second thing we need to change about our thinking about adversity is this recognize that it is foolish to resist God. Okay if God's doing this it's foolish to resist him you see that in verse 13 who can straighten what he has made crooked. You're going to straighten up the path of your life that God has designed to go in a certain way so that you can learn things that will teach you to be more like Christ you're going to straighten that out. It's foolish to resist God God uses trials to fashion our character please don't resist that don't resist that you will short change the process and rob yourself of becoming more like Christ. Third thing the description of a wise response is this be happy about good times. Verse 14 quite literally he says when times are good be happy. Okay so you're out of stretch of the road that's not quite so crooked so difficult so twisting and turning and hard painful be happy about that don't be guilty about that. When times are good be happy don't long for adversity God will give you some of that won't have to wait long probably but don't long for it don't ask for it. Leave that in God's good hand and his providence to measure it out as he knows it is needed for our development and shaping and molding. Some people go to the extreme on this they swing all the way to being kind of masochists you know well if adversity is good for me Lord pour it on I want to get all I can get. And some people even try to help God out cause themselves problems and trouble and think that that's God shaping them when they've just messed up their own lives. Remember Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 4 if you suffer as a busy body and other people's matters or as a criminal or as a liar or whatever you deserve it but if you suffer as a Christian you're blessed. So some people try to help God out by bringing adversity on themselves and we don't need that when times are good be happy about that rejoicing them enjoy them yes he has a purpose and adversity but let him take care of how much and when it comes be happy about the good times. And then when the times get rough here's the fourth thing don't fret if you can't figure out God's purpose. You see it in verse 14 when times are good be happy but when times are bad consider this again think reflect change the way you think God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore no one can discover anything about their future. I don't take that as a blanket statement that you can never know anything about your future that's not Solomon's point again in the context he's saying when you're trying to figure out why is this happening what's going on why's God allowing this why's he doing this to me God knows your future. You don't God knows what he's working toward and what it takes to get there you don't know that I don't know that so basically what he's saying don't fret don't you at the red light when God has you stopped there because that's a part of your development in Christ shaping and molding you to be like him don't fret if you can't figure out God's purpose. I can always see what God's doing in my life but I know that God knows what he's doing so I've got to trust him. I trust him don't I'm not afraid about it get all up set and been out of shape about it I love what David Allen Hubbard who has written an excellent commenter and ecclesiastical says at this point I'm going to quote it. He says bumping our heads against the stone wall of God's sovereignty can make us downright angry why can't we change what we don't like are we stuck with the constant problems of joyless work ceaseless pain endless hassles in the home fruitless efforts to make sense of life's puzzles pointless speculations about what tomorrow may bring often we are says the teacher. For into Solomon. Hubbard goes on to say better it is to let God's sovereignty do its thing then spend our days flushed with anger a glow with indignation I love what he says next he says there is almost no malady in life which high blood pressure will cure. Anger which we all feel at times and which great biblical figures like Jeremiah and the psalmist felt with keen intensity will rarely improve our circumstances it can however ruin our chance at any joy and can reign on the parades of everyone around us. So true so true. The wrong response the unwise response bumping your head up against God's plan trying to figure it out all the time as to what he's doing will cause you untold fretting and difficulty. God's design for your life is perfect God's design for my life is perfect but it requires some bumps along the road it requires some red lights along the way it requires some adversity in order to reach that goal God knows that God designs that and we must allow him to do that that's what adversity is and so you can choose to respond with a foolish response. You can compromise your integrity you can become impatient you can get angry at God or you can just sit around long for yesteryear and all of those will turn you into a fool. Or you can recognize this is the work of God what he's doing I don't like it don't feel good but it's the work of God it's foolish to resist it I'm going to be happy with what good he's given me and fully rejoicing that and if I can't figure out what he's trying to do I'm just going to trust him. If I can quote again please from the great cs Lewis in his book the problem of pain he says this he says we want not so much a father in heaven as a grandfather in heaven whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of the day a good time was had by all. Lewis goes on to say I should very much like to live in a universe which was governed on such lines but since it is abundantly clear that I don't and since I have reason to believe nevertheless that God is love I conclude that my conception of love needs correction. We nailed it trying to figure out what God is doing thinking that if God is a God of love I wouldn't have problems in my life or adversity or difficulty but Lewis says it's true it's biblical we need to redefine love. You see we do have adversity as a part of the loving hand and plan of God sometimes it's to chasing us sometimes it's to knock off a few rough edges and deal with our character sometimes it's simply to make us more like Jesus who himself suffered in his humanity. It's all a part of God's love in shaping us and molding us into the image of Christ. When the going gets tough in real life how do you finish that statement with foolish responses or wise responses. Could I say this in closing when the going gets tough the tough get growing. Let's pray. Father help us to see that we can grow through adversity sometimes grow better through adversity than prosperity through good times. Help us to see that you're doing a work in our lives that includes adversity as part of the shaping and molding process of our lives so help us not to resist that help us not to grow impatient or angry or nostalgic about the past and wishing it were like a good thing. It used to be Lord help us to press forward trusting you with your grace and strength and I pray that especially that new perspective that renewing of mind for those who are especially in difficult times right now whatever they may be regarding their jobs their families their finances their future their health. Whatever the adversity or challenges may be help them to see that you are at work. May we trust you in Jesus name we pray amen.