“Jesus’ driving value was not what was easy, safe, or would make him happy. It was what would please God and accomplish God’s purposes. He believed that his suffering, death, and resurrection would be used by God to redeem, save, and transform the world.” -Adam Hamilton, Simon Peter (p. 79)
President Franklin Roosevelt once remarked that “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” When you think about the near-death experience he had in his thirties that left him paralyzed from the waist down, or the tumultuous economic and political events he faced as President (depression, World War II, etc.), it makes sense that President Roosevelt would have some words of wisdom about the role adversity plays in our lives.
Sure, we all want smooth sailing, but smooth seas don’t produce skilled sailors.
The Limits of Comfort & The Blessing of Adversity
As I think about some of the key stories from the Bible, as well as the ups and downs of my own spiritual journey, I’ve come to the realization that there’s a definite limit to the amount of personal and spiritual growth we can experience in times of peace and prosperity. Some lessons can only be learned the hard way—through challenging circumstances that push us beyond what we feel capable of handling on our own.
And that means that if we value our character more than our comfort, we should actually be grateful for seasons of adversity we face because we know that they will transform in a way that seasons of prosperity simply can’t. And to be honest — that’s something that easier said than done. But that’s the goal we’re aiming for.
That’s way James tells us to “consider it joy” when we face trials (James 1:2-4), and Peter tells us to “rejoice” when participate in the sufferings of Christ (1 Peter 4:12-14). It’s not that they think that pain and suffering are something to intentionally seek out—it’s that they recognize God is at work in the storms of life in a way that isn’t easily replicated when life is easy.
Learning from the First Century Church
This is a lesson that our first-century brothers and sisters learned from following Jesus during a time when being a Christian involved the ongoing threat of shunned by your family, mistreated by society, and persecuted by the government. They knew that the way of the cross was simply incompatible with a life of comfort, ease, and convenience. Following Jesus faithfully would require suffering for the name of Christ, just as growing to become like Jesus would require navigating seasons of adversity.
The Apostle Paul knew this well. Consider these words about the role suffering and adversity played in his spiritual journey with Jesus:
“8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us…” -2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (NIV)
Trouble, great pressure, despair, and the sentence of death. Paul was no stranger to persecution. And yet Paul is saying that some of his best spiritual growth happened precisely because had had to experience all of those things. It was in the moments when Paul felt there was no earthly way he could get through it that he learned to trust in God’s power instead of his own. He needed to be confronted with the limits of his human frailty in order to more fully trust the power and goodness of God. And the crucial point is that the process of seeing God get him through those storms strengthened his resolve and enabled him to trust God more fully the next time around. The adversity wasn’t punishment —it was preparation.
Comfort or Character
For me this all boils down to two words: comfort and character. We are conditioned to value our comfort, safety, and convenience above almost everything else. And I think we have come to believe that the most loving thing that a person (or God himself) could do is keep us comfortable.
But the reality is that there’s something that’s even more important than our comfort — our character.
God does want us to be comfortable, to live life to the full, to experience the beauty and wonder and inspiration that the world has to offer, but not at the expense of our character. And that’s why he will sometimes allow us to face the storms of life.
He knows that’s the best way for us to grow in our character.
I am grateful God values character over comfort and certainly demonstrates his love during the tranquil moments in life, but especially demonstrates his love by navigating us through those times of “rough sailing” if we allow him to do so.
I am currently reading through Hebrews and appreciate the heroes of faith who endured hardships, frequently not even experiencing the rewards of their efforts in their lifetimes, but were faithful knowing they were pleasing the father and growing in their own personal walk with God. Each one of them an inspiration when it comes to valuing character over comfort!