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Glacier Bay, Alaska. Photo by Charles F. Stanley.
Daily Devotion

The Sources of Adversity

No one likes suffering, but it helps to know God allows only what He intends to use for our benefit.

July 15, 2024

Isaiah 45:5-10

Have you ever wondered why God allows painful situations in our life? To our way of thinking, this simply doesn’t fit with His role as our loving heavenly Father. In order to understand what’s going on, let’s consider the possible sources of adversity:

• A Fallen World. When sin entered the world, suffering came with it. God could have protected us from these harmful effects by making us like puppets who couldn’t choose to sin. But that would also have meant being unable to choose to love Him, since love, by its very nature, is voluntary.

• Our Own Doing. Sometimes we get ourselves into trouble with sinful choices. If the Lord rescued us from every negative consequence, we’d never grow into mature believers.

• Satanic Attack. The Devil’s goal is to destroy our testimony, thereby making us weak and useless for God’s purposes.

• God’s Sovereignty. Ultimately, the Lord has authority over all adversity that comes our way. To deny His involvement contradicts His power and sovereignty over creation.

For us to accept that God allows affliction, we must see adversity from His perspective. Is your focus on your pain or on God and His faithfulness? For us as believers, God doesn’t allow adversity unless He can use it for our benefit and His good purposes.

Bible in One Year: Proverbs 26-28

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