Adversity can pierce or sharpen you

Wednesday’s Word

As he read the verses for the ADVENT word that day, a light turned on in her soul, and her brain, too, illuminating understanding to guide her through what was to come.

Thanks for joining us for the final Wednesday’s Word for this year with Kim-Evinda and Trench Classes United. Our hope is that her blog will help shed some light on whatever is going on or will go on that threatens to send you to a dark place.

He had read the devotional and she read the scriptures. The Advent word for that day was love…such a deep subject but it began correctly: love is not “dutiful,” but voluntary, and God, who sent His Son voluntarily to save each one of us was the ultimate example of love.

The verses continued to confirm what she already knew, and yet, there’s no such thing as being able to grasp and hold this kind of love for it is uncontainable. Every verse they read together just reinforced and continued to illuminate a new level of love of God, from God and about God.

There were two verses that shed more light and a deeper level of His love: Proverbs 17:17 which says “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.” 1John 4:7-21 repeated this principle, that  whoever claims to love God must also love his brother.

She wondered aloud, “Why is a ‘brother’ born for adversity?” He didn’t understand either so they continued to read and study in search of answers to this mystery.

And then they discovered some powerful truths that not only reinforced His love for them but also shed light on this truth: Without God’s love, we can’t love as He’s called us to love our “brothers.”

Friends, God isn’t just talking about sibling rivalry – although knowing He understands this reinforces yet again another level of His love for us – and he’s not just speaking about a brother/sister in Christ. God is referencing the term “brother’ to mean relationships in general, and we all know that some relationships bring with them adversity.

Maybe you look at adversity negatively but what if we allowed that adversity to grow us, not defeat us? Romans 8:28 says He uses all things…let’s put “adversity” in there to bring this home:

And we know that all adversities God works for the good of those who…love HIM…

As we close out this year and enter 2021 perhaps we can take with us a fresh perspective when it comes to “brother” and “adversity” and allow those two to sharpen us, refine us, cut away anything that takes us away from “loving our brother.” Then 2021 is guaranteed to be a better year.

Thoughtfully,
Kim-Evinda

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