how many of you know that adversity separates men it makes some men better it makes other men bitter God has planted within us resources we’ve never used he’s given us courage we’ve never known adversity sharpens your attention adversity removes all the non-essential things and helps you to see clearly how to do what needs to be done Paul went on to talk about the things that helped him during that time he spoke of the prayers of his friends he said I’m going to come through this I’m going to be delivered through the
prayers of my friends in first Thessalonians he wrote making mention of you in our prayers night and day Brethren pray for us in 2 Thessalonians he wrote therefore we also pray always for you finally Brethren pray for us often when facing trouble we are the focus of the prayer of God’s people and it is through these prayers that we are able to survive our crisis and go on to maturity as we start the next section of the first chapter which begins at verse 12 we read these things the verse starts this way the things which happened to me
how many of you know things happen to us things happen say that with me things happen when Paul prayed that he might have a prosperous journey to Rome in the will of God Roman Romans 1:10 I’m sure he had no idea that his prayer would be answered the way it was my friend Warren worby has observed he wanted to go as a preacher and he ended up going as a prisoner which reminds us all that when we pray to the Lord we should be very specific not only about what we desire but how we want it to happen everything about Paul’s
imprisonment was a mockery he was insulted and shamed and yet Paul was still certain that this sorrow and this suffering was part of God’s plan for his life when he wrote to the Corinthians he said I take pleasure in infirmities and in reproaches and in needs and in persecutions and in distresses for Christ’s sake for when I am weak then I am strong and I looked up that word take pleasure it means to think well of or to have the right attitude toward as Paul relayed his situation to his friends in Philippi he
clearly had the right attitude toward his troubles here we are going to learn how you can have joy in the midst of adversity as we watch Paul process what is happening to him his upbeat explanation has become a source of encouragement to me and to all who read this who walk through the valley in this letter that we are studying beginning at the 12th verse of the first chapter Paul gives us seven proven principles as to why adversity should be viewed in a different way than we norm
