I can also think of other people in the Bible who went through adversities as they pursued their divine calling and destinies .
Abraham , for example , had a good and comfortable life , but he faced the trial of leaving his land , Harran , to the place God was to show him . His journey wasn ' t one any man would walk laughing , yet he chose to put his trust in God . At some point in his journey , famine struck and he was forced to lie in order to enter Egypt . He had livestock to take care of , and not just his , but those of Lot as well . He had his own share of challenges , yet despite all this , God fulfilled His promises to him . He became the father of many nations .
Moses wandered in the wilderness with people who kept on complaining and grumbling against God and him , and who kept on testing God ' s patience and his for forty years . Ruth lost her husband at a young age ; was left childless , and when she went to Bethlehem , she had to glean in the fields in order to help herself and Naomi . Nehemiah had to fight off all those who were opposing the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem . Daniel was accused falsely and even thrown into a lion ’ s den . John the Baptist was beheaded for saying the truth and confronting the king . Paul wrote some of his best works in prison . At some point he wrote :
We are often troubled , but not crushed ; sometimes in doubt , but never in despair ; there are many enemies , but we are never without a friend ; and though badly hurt at times , we are not destroyed ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 GNT
I have been in prison more times , I have been whipped much more , and I have been near death more often . Five times I was given the thirty-nine lashes by the Jews ; three times I was whipped by the Romans ; and once I was stoned . I have been in three shipwrecks , and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water . In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers , in danger from my own people and from Gentiles ; there have been dangers in the cities , dangers in the wilds , dangers on the high seas , and dangers from false friends . There has been work and toil ; often I have gone without sleep ; I have been hungry and thirsty ; I have often been without enough food , shelter , or clothing . And not to mention other things , every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches ~ 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 GNT
All these men and women went through great adversities in their lives , but one amazing thing we need to learn and understand is that God turned their ugly situations into something beautiful . This means that going through challenges and hardships is not an indication that God is absent , on the contrary He is always there . Looking at the verse I have quoted at the beginning , you realise that God promises that when you pass through deep waters , He will be with you ; your troubles will not overwhelm you . When you pass through fire , you will not be burned ; the hard trials that come will not hurt you " At one point , Jesus was sailing along with His disciples and the sea was stormy . It was so bad that it almost wrecked their boat , yet Jesus was right there with them . Paul , the apostle , also found himself in the midst of a stormy sea , but God was with him . This means that the presence of adversities does not signify the absence of God . It doesn ' t even mean that we are outside God ' s will or that He has left us . In most cases , God takes us through tough times to teach us about Him , prepare us for the next level , to make us more like His Son Jesus or even to expose what ' s in our hearts .
Remember how the Lord your God led you on this long journey through the desert these past forty years , sending hardships to test you , so that he might know what you intended to do and whether you would obey his commands . He made you go hungry , and then he gave you manna to eat , food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before . He did this to teach you that you
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