Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”

2 Corinthians 12:9, “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

Adversity, Our Friend

A queen bee lays each egg in a six-sided cell filled with pollen and honey that will nourish the unborn offspring. She then seals the top with wax. Twenty-one days later, its food supply exhausted, the newborn wrestles, squirms, and strains to break the wax seal and emerge alive. The opening it makes in exiting is so narrow that it rubs off the membrane covering the wings, enabling it to fly. Should the wax seal be opened prematurely, the bee will emerge without a struggle – unable to fly since the membrane remains on the wings. It is soon stung to death by other bees.

Don’t we invariably view adversities as obstacles? Instead, they are often like the opening torn by the exertion of the bee: the means to growth. They can uncover resources, develop strengths, and stimulate tenacity we would not otherwise have. They can bring us a joy equal to their distress. As John Bunyan wrote, “They can appear as the lion to Samson: roaring and gnashing; but, when subdued, full of honey.”

God wisely designed a specific struggle to give the common bee new life. We can trust Him to provide for each of us the struggles best suited to bring us rewards, not penalties. If we obey him even when it is difficult, we will grow and stretch. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves, “Do we want to walk, or fly?”

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley copyright © 1995 by Word, Incorporated. Used by permission.

*Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Applicable Quotations

God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them. — Aughey

He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity. Heaven prepares good men with crosses. — Johnson

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and Adversity is not without comforts and hopes. — Bacon

Gold is tried in fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. — Seneca