“Now, how do we approach them? How do we overcome them? How are we magnified by them? There seems to be a reason why we lose our composure in adversity-why we think we can no longer cope with what we're faced with here in this life. There is a reason why we give up, why we 'fall apart at the seams' so to speak. The reason may be so simple that we lose sight of it.
“Could it be it's because we begin to lose contact with our greatest source of strength— our Father in heaven? He is the key to our enjoying sweetness in adversity-in gaining strength from our trials— he and he alone."
— H. Burke Peterson, Conference, Oct. 1973 
Did you pick up on the same thing that I did? “He is the key to our enjoying sweetness in adversity.” Do you usually enjoy sweetness in the midst of your trials? I may have faith to endure my trials with the faith that Heavenly Father can strengthen me and that He knows why I am going through the trials and what it can teach me and how I can change to be more like Christ because of them. But I can’t say that I have thought of the trials as “sweet.”
Duke Senior in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It says:
“Sweet are the uses of adversity
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”
As You Like It (Duke Senior at II, i)
When looking back at some of my trials, I can see how much I have grown spiritually because of them and how I have come closer to the Lord through them. They help me have more compassion for others, more gratitude for each blessing, more faith to confront the next problem. All of those things are sweet and much more valuable than a precious jewel. I will start today to pray to see and to enjoy the sweetness in my adversity. Like the quote says, Heavenly Father is the key. If we remember His plan, His infinite love, His purposes, we will be able to better endure our adversity even if we don't understand what we are supposed to learn from it or why we have been given trials that others don't have to suffer through. He blesses us with trials because He loves us.
Did you pick up on the same thing that I did? “He is the key to our enjoying sweetness in adversity.” Do you usually enjoy sweetness in the midst of your trials? I may have faith to endure my trials with the faith that Heavenly Father can strengthen me and that He knows why I am going through the trials and what it can teach me and how I can change to be more like Christ because of them. But I can’t say that I have thought of the trials as “sweet.”Duke Senior in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It says:
“Sweet are the uses of adversity
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”
As You Like It (Duke Senior at II, i)
When looking back at some of my trials, I can see how much I have grown spiritually because of them and how I have come closer to the Lord through them. They help me have more compassion for others, more gratitude for each blessing, more faith to confront the next problem. All of those things are sweet and much more valuable than a precious jewel. I will start today to pray to see and to enjoy the sweetness in my adversity. Like the quote says, Heavenly Father is the key. If we remember His plan, His infinite love, His purposes, we will be able to better endure our adversity even if we don't understand what we are supposed to learn from it or why we have been given trials that others don't have to suffer through. He blesses us with trials because He loves us.
I loved this message - Thanks so much for posting it. I really needed this message this week.
ReplyDeleteI am such a control freak that I try to control my trials. Heavenly Father just probably laughs at me. It is definately hard to find "sweetness" in our trials while we are going through them but I can definately see the result and the growth and for that I am thankful!