The Day of Adversity

(A sermon originally preached the Sunday following the destruction left by an EF3 Tornado that touched down in Center Point, Clay and Trussville, Alabama, January 29, 2012. Revised and preached online during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020.)

A number of years ago when we served in Alabama, our church and community experienced a devastating and destructive EF3 Tornado. The tornado touched down in the early morning hour between 4:00 and 4:15 a.m. My wife, Penny and I remember it all too well. We were huddled together in our basement or garage in our car as the tornado passed just over our neighborhood before touching down in the adjoining subdivision where hundreds of homes were destroyed and one young girl tragically killed. A total of 11 tornados struck throughout Alabama on that fateful day, January 23, 2012. Our church, the First Baptist Church of Center Point, Alabama was designated as the Command Center for our area. The following Sunday I preached this message I entitled, “The Day of Adversity.” But it was more than a day or a few days or weeks in which we experienced adversity. 2012 became for us a year of adversity.

Now here we are just a little more than eight years later and it seems we find ourselves in another Day of Adversity. But this time it is not just one State or a few communities, but our entire nation and even the world.

The Coronavirus or Covid-19 is now in 150 countries affecting nearly 500,000 persons. And nearly 21,000 deaths. That is tragic by anyone’s assessment.

Listen to what the Bible has to say about times such as these. In Ecclesiastes, chapter 7, verse 14.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 (NKJV)

In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

You probably know that King Solomon is the author of this O.T. book known as Ecclesiastes. You may also know that Ecclesiastes serves as Solomon’s memoirs of life. It captures his deepest thoughts and ponderings of life. Many of which he wrote down as proverbs. Proverbs are practical and pragmatic statements of truth. Many of them are simply poetical expressions of what you and I today would call common sense.

So what practical or pragmatic truth does Solomon’s Book of Ecclesiastes have to say to us today? How can an ancient manuscript written nearly 3000 years ago possibly relate to our situation as we face the pandemic Corona Virus?

Well notice first that Solomon reminds us that it is important to acknowledge that there are good days in life and that in these good days we should rejoice.

I. IN THE DAY OF PROSPERITY – REJOICE, ECCLESIASTES 7:14a

In the day of prosperity be joyful,

The word translated “prosperity” comes from the Hebrew word טוֹבָה ṭôḇāh; which the overwhelming majority of times when it is used in the O.T. is most often translated “good.”(469 times in the O.T.)

The simple truth is that there are many good days in life that God gives us and we are to enjoy them. In fact the contrasting proverb here is intended to emphasize that it is the bad days, the difficult moments in life that help us to appreciate and celebrate the better days.

For you word study buffs you might find it interesting that this same Hebrew word ṭôḇāh translated as prosperity is the very same word used in this verse translated as rejoice.

So let’s not forget to enjoy the good days, the good times, i.e., “rejoice.”

There is a verse in the Book of Philippians that has long meant much to me. It’s found in Philippians 4:4 (NKJV), Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! For a long time I didn’t understand what this verse was telling us to do. I thought, how can we rejoice in times of difficulty or hardship, when bad things come our way?

Theologian and Pastor, John MacArthur says, “But the joy that Paul calls for is not a happiness that depends on our circumstances which are always temporary, but a deep contentment that is in the Lord, based on trust in the sovereign, living God, and that therefore is always available, even in difficult times.[1]

So our rejoicing is to be “in the Lord,” which signifies the sphere in which our joy exists—a sphere unrelated to the circumstances of life, but related to an unassailable, unchanging relationship to the sovereign Lord.[2] Something that no virus or the storms of life can change.

T/S – So first Solomon tells us to rejoice in the day of prosperity or to rejoice in good days. Secondly, he tells us to consider in the day of adversity.

II. IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY – CONSIDER, ECCLESIASTES 7:14b

But in the day of adversity consider:

The word “adversity” comes from the Hebrew רַע rah, rah; which is often translated as bad or evil. It can also refer to days of affliction or days of calamity, or as we have it days of adversity.

Adversity - it simply describes the many troubles that strike us during our life on earth.[3] Like this current pandemic we are all experiencing.

We are told to consider these days of adversity and calamity. Consider means to think deeply, to contemplate.

I have a few questions to help us “consider” our day of adversity:

(1) How are we responding to our day of adversity?

· Most of us have learned the Guidelines the President and his Coronavirus Task Team have established for us. We are learning to practice “social distancing.” We are washing our hands with soap frequently throughout the day, and for a least 20 seconds! We are avoiding the touching of our face, mouth, nose and eyes with unclean hands, (which is not easy to do.)

· If we cough or sneeze we cover our mouth or nose with our forearm not our hands. And if we are sick we stay at home.

· If we have underlying health issues, for our safety we are staying at home as well.

· Of course, one of the biggest considerations we have made is to not meet together in groups of 10 or more. That of course means the cancellation of our church services for another Sunday as most churches are doing around the world!

All of these steps are the result of our “considering.” Our careful, cautious steps we are taking to help ensure the health and protection of our church and community.

(2) How should we respond to our day of adversity?

· How we respond will be measured by the response of our governmental officials such as our Governor Henry McMaster here in SC; our President and his Coronavirus Health Task Team.

· As much as possible, we will seek to follow their advice and recommendations.

· I know the President is hopeful that we can begin to see some reduction in the restrictions we have been under regarding our social interactions including work and worship. I appreciate his optimism that perhaps by Easter Sunday our churches will be able to return to worship and our places of business may in some limited way begin to return to work.

· If so, we will still need to carefully practice social distancing and good hygiene practices to continue to limit the spread of the Coronavirus.

· Someone said, “Setting Easter as the date for America to return to work and worship will be like a resurrection for America!” I agree.

(3) What are we learning from our day of adversity?

· I hope we are learning some of the old tried and true principles of life are still true and so important. Like how valuable are family, friends, health, work and worship.

· We are learning again to value our first responders, health professionals, and service personnel. We have learned to appreciate our grocery clerks, managers, and those that stock the shelves.

· We are grateful for the truckers who are working day and night to provide the services we all need.

· We are learning that the American spirit of entrepreneurism and caring for our fellow Americans is still alive and available when we need it most.

· Finally let me say I have learned we have a great community. The best of people is seen during days of adversity. Local businesses like our restaurants, and grocery stores like Aldi’s are setting special times for senior adults, expectant mothers and those with underlying health conditions to come in early and shop. Neighborhoods are organizing to help out their neighbors and younger adults are volunteering to help out the elderly.

· Most importantly we are learning we can trust God; that He is faithful, and that we see Him best in the midst of these days of adversity.

(4) Does our response demonstrate faith, love for God and for others, Christ-like character, values, commitment, priorities, etc.?

· I believe these are the most important questions. They raise the issue of our motivation. Why do we do what we do? It must be more than simply our love for our fellow man. We must be motivated by the love of God and our love for God. We do all that we do for God’s glory, for His honor and His praise. We do what we do to point all men to Christ as the one and only Savior of us all.

(5) How can God use this day of adversity in our lives?

· For one thing it will make us stronger. The strongest and purest metals come through the hottest furnaces.

· James 1:2-4, NLT, 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

· It can also draw us closer. During this day of adversity we are all one color, one class, with one cause; to relieve, recover, and restore our Country to its greatness and health. I only wish the national media and many of our elected politicians could learn this.

T/S – I must hasten on. First, in the day of prosperity – rejoice; second, in the day of adversity – consider, and third, in the Sovereignty of God

III. IN THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD – BE ASSURED, ECCLESIASTES 7:14c, Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,

The key is to recognize that it is God who has appointed or ordained both the day of prosperity and the day of adversity, both the good and the bad. In His sovereign plan for man He brings both the rain and the sunshine; the night and the day; Heaven and Hell; the cross and the resurrection.

Job 2:9–10 (NKJV) 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good (h. tob) from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Genesis 18:25 (NKJV) 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I have seen the following post on Facebook numerous times this past week. Someone wrote, “In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, "You want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don't want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can't go to church"

"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Maybe we don't need a vaccine. Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters. Jesus. It's time for the Nation to turn their hearts back to Jesus and pray.”

The sum total of all this is that we need God. We will always need God. We desperately need God. And if earthly suffering brings us to that conclusion, then praise God!

T/S-Let me wrap up this message with one final truth from Ecclesiastes 7:14.

IV. IN THE FUTURE – ACCEPT, ECCLESIASTES 7:14d

So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

Accept the fact that God withholds knowledge about the future from us in order for us to trust Him more.

Proverbs 27:1 (ESV) Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

James 4:13–15 (ESV) 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Have these words ever been anymore true?

I will close by simply saying it seems obvious to me that the will of the Lord for Christians and Christian churches everywhere is to use this day of adversity as our day of opportunity. And in these days of adversity let us:

A. Grow stronger in our relationship with God.

B. Strengthen our Ministry to our communities.

C. Grow in our faith and confidence in the Sovereignty of God.

D. Pray as never before.

E. And, in everything, let us use this day of adversity to bring glory to God.

[1] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2286.

[2] John Jr MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville: Word Pub., 1997), Php 3:1.

[3] Graham S. Ogden and Lynell Zogbo, A Handbook on Ecclesiastes, UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998), 243.

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