Advancing Through Adversity

By Bayo Olugbemi

This book brings to the fore the indisputable fact that life is full of ups and
downs, bumps, thorns, thistles, troubles, trials, banana peels, bends, corners
and all sorts. There is no way you can walk in life and your head will not
shake. The book of John 16:33 aptly capture the purport of this book 'These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'

This book tells us the fact that:
·No one is immune to tribulation.
·After darkness comes light
·After the tunnel, there is a road
·After rain comes sunshine
.Weeping may endure all night, joy comes in the morning.

Our God is the same forever more. Never loose hope. Keep hope alive. Never
despair. Never look back. You will arrive your destination safely.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781682229910

Book preview

Nigeria

WHAT IS

ADVERSITY?

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Adversity has many faces, you can call it struggle, limitation, difficulty or pain. Whatever name A you call it, it is that time of crisis, hardship, affliction, misfortune and unpleasant circumstances that visits us from time to time. It is that moment of instability or danger that at one point or another we all have to face in our lives.

We have been conditioned to think that after giving our lives to Jesus we will be free from the storms of life. We thought adversity would never come near us if we are good or smart or educated. Some people are of the opinion that a thriving career or a good marriage will be the end of their woes.

Does everyone experience adversity in life? The Bible says we do. It even tells us to expect it. Look at some of the synonyms for 'expect': wait for, anticipate, look forward to, look ahead, imagine, suppose and guess. Do we really do all of that with adversity? If we are honest, our answer will be a resounding NO! When was the last time you looked forward to the next adversity in your life?

Life is full of the unexpected. It has been said that life is what happens when we have other plans. Positive unexpected events are not normally problems. In fact we tend to call those situations good fortune. But the negative events that intrude our lives are much more likely to derail us and rob us of our joy and the vigor to enjoy life.

Challenges are woven into our system of life. Whether it is the challenges that we experience from within in the form of fear, the challenges we experience in surrounding circumstances, or the challenges we encounter from others -there is no getting away from the reality of life threatening situations. It is the thorns and thistles of life. It is the resistance that we all experience in our movement towards what we are becoming.

In our Christian walk, it may seem the more we obeyed God the more adversity comes our way. No one loves adversity. We all love peace, we enjoy tranquillity. But the truth of the matter is that adversity visits all of us from time to time and in diverse ways. It can come disguised as a troubled marriage, sickness, financial calamity, emotional hardship or difficulty in the workplace. It is no respecter of persons. All of us will unavoidably face it.

In a world without hurdles, there are no champions; without suffering, there are no saints; without battles, there are no victories; and without victories, there can not be trophies. We cannot have rainbows without rain. Doesn't it appear that a world that includes pain is more rewarding than one that doesn't? Isn't heat necessary to produce gold? Pressure and polishing are required to produce diamonds. One of the things that will birth success is failure. Failure should be seen as a stepping stone or ladder to success. The circumstance of your birth or background does not insulate you from adversity and you should not allow your background to keep your back permanently on the ground.

Individually and collectively, we face one form of adversity directly or indirectly. When crises come, how do we respond to it? Our views on seasons of turbulence differ. Many people see adversity as an enemy while only few people use it to launch to greater heights. The ministry of Jesus Christ was consolidated through adversity. Without the cross our redemption would have been impossible to purchase. His pains worked for us access before the God of the heavens and the earth. If properly managed, you can ride on the wings of pains to produce untold fortunes and joy; not only for yourself but for others that are coming after you. Despite the raging storm of negative family issues, bad personal relationships, and of course, today's unpredictable economic and financial situations, we have to seamlessly embrace adversity and learn how to tap gains from it. We must open our eyes to see opportunities inherent in our adversities.

TRUTHS ABOUT ADVERSITY

I) ADVERSITY IS INEVITABLE.

The truth about life is that you cannot do without adversity; it is unavoidable. Instead of fighting what is not working according to your plans or dreams, accept it. Change your orientation towards the things that try to limit you and develop the proper attitude towards life's challenges. The words of Havelock Ellis said it all "Pain and death are part of life and to reject them is to reject life itself". Although pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

We can choose to be strong in spite of our calamities. It is not misfortune that produces suffering but an improper reaction to it.

Cold winters, heavy downpours, and scorching heat are unavoidable. So is adversity. So, why fight it? When you accept its inevitability and resign yourself to the fact that a looming misfortune could be the face of change, ultimately positive; that is a major factor that will help you to embrace it when it comes. Anyone who is not beaten by rain or sun shine, will be beaten to death by poverty, says the elders.

In 1914, a fire outbreak almost destroyed Thomas A. Edison's New Jersey laboratories, but because he understood that trouble is part of life, he chose to focus on the positive rather than the negative. A valuable record of his experiments and two million dollars worth of equipment were lost. When surveying the damage, the sixty-seven year old Edison said, there is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burnt up; thank God we can start anew. He understood that even the worst circumstances can teach us great lessons that will be immensely useful for our future. Our elders say "Beauty is often added to the kings burnt palace.

The bible corroborates this saying in Haggai 2:9

The glory of this later house shall be greater than the former saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

Thank God when life is difficult. The problems we overcome will allow us to experience the richness of life and its accompanying joy. A life without difficulties is a classroom without lessons. Adversity adds spice to life and makes a wonderful teacher. The hardships we undergo create the ability to bear them. Don't they? Is it possible to live through a disaster without growing stronger? I will let you answer these questions for yourself. If we want to grow and come out in the brightest of colours, we need to know that we must go through the needed process.

Before emerging from its cocoon, a young butterfly has a fat body and folded limp wings. It is hardly an image of strength and beauty. It cannot free itself from the cocoon without a long struggle. As it pushes, strains, and convulses, liquid from its body is forced into the veins of its wings. Bit by bit the wings extend and grow stronger. Bit by bit an increasing amount of pressure is placed against the walls of the chrysalis and at last, a slim butterfly with robust wings breaks free.

A butterfly develops from a caterpillar. It undergoes metamorphosis before it becomes a gorgeous and colorful insect. Metamorphosis connotes the different stages that a caterpillar goes through before emerging as a butterfly. Each of the stage is essential to the insect's overall growth.

There is a life cycle that must be completed before this beautiful insect is created. Every butterfly, irrespective of the specie must complete this process. What the Monarch goes through is the same as what the Viceroy and Ulysses and the Blue Morpho experience. There is no short cut for any of them. Short cut will only lead to death on arrival. For them to be well formed, they must unavoidably follow the same growth pattern and developmental stages.

The Monarch specie of butterfly is widely considered as the most famous and beautiful of all. Amongst other species of butterfly, they live the longest and can travel far. The ones that are not as fine as this specie equally go through the same process of growth. The lesson from here is that, in life, you cannot be excused from pain just because you are more educated or richer than some people. There is a common denominator for all human beings. What is common to one is common to all; although we will experience varying degrees of misfortune. However, we must all embrace the fact that someone else has gone through what we are going through or they will go through it at a point in time.

To appreciate what struggle means, let us take a careful look at the growth process of a butterfly. A butterfly will first of all be in the form of an egg, and then it will become a larva, this will later turn to a pupa and finally change into imago (a full grown adult). A careful study of these different stages will do much good in order for you to know how each of the pains you are going through must not be avoided because it will contribute to your overall growth.