Adversity's Call: Finding Direction in Difficult Times
Isaiah 30:20-21
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Adversity and affliction create a need for direction in our lives. It is easy to know what to do when everything is going well, but when hard times come, it’s a different story! It is also amazing how much better we listen to our teachers when we are in a position of weakness and humility and could use a hand up! “Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more…” At first glance, I wondered why the Lord would have removed the teachers into a corner to start with, but then it occurred to me that it was not the Lord who had removed them!
Often is the case that when we are skipping upon the mountain tops of our success, we feel as if we have no need for His teachers, and so we push them to a corner and put them on ignore because we don’t have time to listen. But, just wait until the Lord gives us the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, and then we will get hungry for a Word from God! I am amazed at the extreme measures our Lord will take in order that His people might hear and receive His Word!
I will have to admit that I have learned more about the Word of God and the God of the Word in the valleys of affliction than I ever did upon the mountains of affirmation! Oh blessed be the name of the Lord for His marvelous wisdom! It’s not that He wants to afflict us, but that He wants us to learn the value of hearing and heeding His Word; but how can we learn if we are not in a position to do so?
So God, through adversity and affliction, gets us so close to Him, that we finally see the teachers He has placed in our lives for the first time, and we finally hear His voice whispering divine direction into our lives for the first time, and we discover the treasure of the valley! He wants to take us from ignoring Him, to hearing His every Word! Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word of God!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Adversity and affliction create a need for direction in our lives. It is easy to know what to do when everything is going well, but when hard times come, it’s a different story! It is also amazing how much better we listen to our teachers when we are in a position of weakness and humility and could use a hand up! “Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more…” At first glance, I wondered why the Lord would have removed the teachers into a corner to start with, but then it occurred to me that it was not the Lord who had removed them!
Often is the case that when we are skipping upon the mountain tops of our success, we feel as if we have no need for His teachers, and so we push them to a corner and put them on ignore because we don’t have time to listen. But, just wait until the Lord gives us the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, and then we will get hungry for a Word from God! I am amazed at the extreme measures our Lord will take in order that His people might hear and receive His Word!
I will have to admit that I have learned more about the Word of God and the God of the Word in the valleys of affliction than I ever did upon the mountains of affirmation! Oh blessed be the name of the Lord for His marvelous wisdom! It’s not that He wants to afflict us, but that He wants us to learn the value of hearing and heeding His Word; but how can we learn if we are not in a position to do so?
So God, through adversity and affliction, gets us so close to Him, that we finally see the teachers He has placed in our lives for the first time, and we finally hear His voice whispering divine direction into our lives for the first time, and we discover the treasure of the valley! He wants to take us from ignoring Him, to hearing His every Word! Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word of God!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill