UNDERSTANDING ADVERSITY: PART ELEVEN

 

UNDERSTANDING ADVERSITY PART ELEVEN

 Now we have arrived at Number Eleven in our study on adversity. It tells us that Adversity Is Our Signal To Re-Evaluate Our Priorities.

Our first and most important priority must always be to seek God: “As long as He sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.”  2 Chronicles 26:5;

A number of years ago I used to get a little booklet every month called Our Daily Bread Devotional. In one particular issue I found an illustration where someone had calculated how a typical lifespan of 70 years is spent. Here is what it said,

Sleep................23 years..........32.9%

Work.................16 years.........22.8%

TV....................8 years...........11.4%

Eating................6 years..........8.6%

Travel................6 years...........8.6%

Leisure.............4.5 years..........6.5%

Illness...............4 years............5.7%

Dressing..............2 years..........2.8%

Religion............0.5 years.........0.7%  Total.....70 years or 100%

Someone else said, Don't let the urgent take the place of the important in your life. Wrong priorities may result in much painful adversity, not only for us, but also for those who are affected by our lives.

In a two-day period in New York City recently, a homeless man, a train maintenance worker, and a dog were killed on the subway tracks. Ninety people telephoned the Transit Authority to express concern about the dog, but only three called about the worker and no one about the homeless man. When we fail to spend proper time with the Lord in memorizing His Word, and meditating on it and praying, we rob ourselves of necessary encouragement and direction. Instead we become vulnerable to transgression:

“Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. . .then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saveth them out of their distresses.” Psalms 107: 17-19;.

The means God uses to save us out of our distresses is His Word: “He sent His Word and healed them; and delivered them  out of their destructions.” Psalms 107: 20;.

Adversity from wrong priorities may be the result of trying to do more than God intended for us to do.

“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep.” Psalm 127: 2;

If we have more projects than we can manage to do in six days then we have assumed more work than God intended. He said in Exodus, “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work.” Exodus 20:9;.

The conflict of living in two worlds, the temporal and the eternal. Whatever we can see with our eyes is in the temporal world.

“For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4: 18;.

Putting our lives and objectives in order is eternal.

Don’t forget, hit the subscribe button so you can keep informed about this series and also check out the amazon book page to get your copy of this study.

Shall we pray. If you do not Know Jesus as your Savior today, I invite you to say the sinner’s prayer with me now.

Lord Jesus, I come to you today in need of a Savior. I believe you came to this earth as a man and walked among us teaching and healing and saving souls. I acknowledge today that I am a sinner and that you died for me and rose on the third day, ascended to Heaven and are seated by the Father. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and come into my life and be my savior today. I believe I am now born again and one day I will be with you forever. Thank you in Jesus name. Amen

 See you in Part 12. Have a blessed day.