This past week Ginny and I took the boys out for a special treat, McDonald’s. I say special because for several days we were all cooped up in the house dealing with a horrible stomach virus. The treat was more getting out of the house than the burgers.
During our meal I could not help but overhear the frustration in a young mother’s voice as she was laying down the law for the umpteenth time to her children. Anybody who has dealt with children understands that feeling of exasperation. Somehow children bring it to the surface quicker than any other force on earth; so goes parenting, teaching, children’s ministries, and the like. In this situation, I could at least empathize with her in trying to direct the defiant children towards the door. You could just see the discouragement written all over her face.
How do you handle adversity? Do tough situations cause your temperament to change and your demeanor to morph into something a little less than pleasant? Or do you respond a little more subdued and collected, assessing the situation and determining an alternative course of action?
Perhaps you rise to such a challenge and the hardship brings out an energetic nature remaining focused on the outcome but trying different approaches.
What I see for many people is an all or nothing type attitude. Much like children, either they get their way or they don’t want to play at all. When dealing with difficult situations, the Bible says we need to stop making excuses, accept our part in the circumstances, and move on with life. I’ve discovered that people who are very good at making excuses are rarely good at anything else.
Harold Sherman wrote a book How to Turn Failure Into Success. In it he gives a “Code of Persistence,”
- I will never give up so long as I know I am doing what is right.
- I will believe that all things will work out for me if I hang on until the end.
- I will be courageous and undismayed in the face of odds.
- I will not permit anyone to intimidate me or deter me from my goals.
- I will fight to overcome all physical handicaps and setbacks
- I will try again and again and yet again to accomplish what I desire.
- I will take new faith and resolution from the knowledge that all successful men and women have had to fight defeat and adversity at some point.
- I will never surrender to discouragement or despair no matter what seeming obstacles may confront me. ( I don’t know if he had children or not)
I would add at least two more items to that list—I will seek other people to help me in fulfilling my dreams, and I will actively find ways to assist others in fulfilling their dreams. For those of you dealing with great adversity and even not so great, I encourage you to read through the book Daniel with the lens of understanding adversity. Though we may never face lions and fiery furnaces, unless of course if you have young children, we will all be called to stand strong as a testament to God’s power and not our own.
I look forward to seeing you in the unshakable faith-building place on Sunday,
Travis
