Handling Adversity

What kept us from bitterness?

 A man of integrity and godliness.

First, Job claimed God's loving sovereignty.  He believed that the Lord who gave had every right to take away (Job 1:21; 2:10).  Job looked up claiming his Lord's right to rule over his life.

Second, he counted on God's promise of resurrection.  "Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:25-26).  Job looked ahead, counting on his Lord's promise to make all things bright and beautiful in the life beyond.

Third, he confessed his own lack of understanding.  What a relief this bring!  He didn't feel obligated to explain why (Job 42:2-4).  Job looked within, confessing his inability to put it all together.

He rested his adversity with God, not feeling forced to answer why.

When we're looking in all the right directions, we won't take the wrong turn.

[Extracted from "Day by Day with Charles Swindoll]

A   ADVERSITY

B   BUILDS         

C   CHARACTER

Why we should not worry

"An anxious heart weights a man down" (Proverb 12:25).

Anxiety also steals emotional peace and removes spiritual assurance.

The Bible reminds us why we should not worry :

Firstly, worry is foolish (Luke 12:22-24).  It is falling into the folly of the rich fool who believed that his life consisted of his possessions.  But life is more than food and clothes, and God has promised us that He will care for us, much more so than He does for His creatures, the birds.  To worry is foolishly to forget that we are God's valued children and He is our loving Father.

Secondly, worry is futile (Luke 12:25-28)

Worry can shorten life, but it can not lengthen it - and God who gives beauty to the fields will not strip us bare.  Anxiety denies the care of God - and all to no effect.  So the alternative is not to be "careless" but "trust-full".  A little bit of reflection helps us to recognize that most worry is about things that can't be changed (the past), things that can't be controlled (the present), or things that might not happen (the future).

Thirdly, worry is faithless (Luke 12:29-31).

To be absorbed with physical and personal needs is ultimately to be captured by unbelief.  If the  gospel is really true, our lives should be different qualitatively from the lives of pagans.

Worry is the product of an inadequate understanding of our Father.  He is the One who knows, cares, and acts.  The way we look at God determines the way we will look at life, and this will determine what we worry about.

Our great need is to worry about the right thing.  That is, to seek His kingdom.  We do not refrain from worrying.  We replace concern about secondary things with concern about the primary thing.  Only His kingdom is worthy of our ultimate concern.

[Extract from "Jesus' parables about money" by Gary Inrig]

Conflicts

What is a conflict?

A conflict is an emotional collision.  It is stress caused by incompatible desires or demands.  It is what occurs when we have two or more impulses in competition with one another.

Conflict may be internal or external - that is, it may occur within a character's mind or between a character and exterior forces.  Conflict is most visible between two or more characters, usually a protagonist and an antagonist, but can occur in many different forms.
The basic types of conflict in fiction have been commonly codified as "man against man", "man against nature", "man against self".  In each case, "man" is the universal and refers to women as well.

"Man against man" conflict involves stories where characters are against each other.  This is an external conflict.
"Man against nature" conflict is an external struggle positioning the hero against an animal or a force of nature.
With "man against self" conflict, the struggle is internal.  A character must overcome his own natures or make a choice between two or more paths - good or evil; logic and emotion.
[Wikipedia - conflict]

Knowing our limitations, God urges us to "cast all our anxieties on Him" (1 Peter 5:7) and to replace worry with active, specific prayer (Philippian 4:6).  Prayer may not stop the collision, but, like seat belts, it sure can protect us from serious damage.

James asked us to  "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)

What makes you happy?

On Monday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made an announcement that the Government needs to work at not only increasing the people's earning capacity, but also on making sure that they are happy.

So, what is happiness to you???

To a hawker selling 'keropok' - happiness is being able to sell all his produce daily while to an ant - happiness is having enough sugar for a lifetime and not getting squashed by a shoe.

Happiness does not have much to do with material goods or high achievement, but it boils down to our outlook in life, and the quality of our relationship with the people around us.

Real happiness is overcoming our negativity and beginning to count our blessing so we can experience the mysterious beauty of life.  It is about learning to surrender, release the need to control and allow our lives to unfold in its own unique and organic way.  It is about becoming fully human.  Solomon tells us that God grants happiness to us as a privilege (Ecclesiastes. 3:12, 7:14; 11:9)

God's Word tells us that true happiness comes by keeping God's law.

Proverbs 16:20 tells us "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trust in the Lord".

Pleasure or happiness is dependent on circumstances, but joy is inward and is not disturbed by one's environment.

Pleasure is built on self-seeking, but joy is based on self-sacrifice.

The world offers "passing pleasures" (Hebrews 11:25), but the Lord Jesus offers to give us full and lasting joy (John 15:11).

HAPPINESS  DEPENDS  ON  HAPPENINGS;  JOY  DEPENDS  ON  JESUS!

HAPPINESS  IS  SOMETHING  YOU  CHOOSE.