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Overcoming Adversity
Through Discipline |
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the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> In the LORD put I my
trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
(Psalms 11:1 AV)
I was astonished as I visited among the people of the Ukraine, and
especially those in the valleys of the Caparthian Mountains, at the depth
of faith exhibited; where the previous fall had brought the worst flooding
in known history. The winter following immediately on the heels of the
flood had been the harshest in a century. I was present in early May, a
time when the new crops should have been bursting forth with a vigor
plants adapted for such high altitudes are known for. Instead of plowed
fields with neat rows of new crops beginning the rush to maturity through
the short mountain summer, everywhere you looked was untilled land, with
vast pools of standing water still present. The brown vegetation from the
previous year covering the landscape, with random patches of the more
hardy wild plants struggling to return the green hue to the panorama of
these once beautiful mountain valleys.
The floods had destroyed seventy-five percent of the homes of the
people who lived in these valleys. Most of the fall crops had been washed
away in the flood waters, or ruined. In a country that has close to ninety
percent unemployment in the villages, and close to fifty percent in the
cities, such losses are not to be overcome. This wasn’t new to the
economy, it had been this way since the break up of the USSR some ten
years before. No work, no money, no jobs, little food, and now no homes
would lead most to ask, what is left to life? Through the harsh winter we
can all imagine the hope that the coming spring held for these people.
With her arrival came over fifty days of continuous rain, and the flood
waters that had been trapped as ice through the winter were now reenforced
by the rains. The hope of the spring did not materialize, instead came the
prospect of at least another year with a ration of food that barely
sustains life, and little hope of the situation changing.
In southern Ukraine the homes are built close together on narrow but
deep lots. The homes are on the front of the lot with a barn attached to
the rear, followed by various storage sheds and small animal cages
(chickens& rabbits). The last thing in the line of connected
structures is a green house which is a metal frame covered in clear
plastic. The rest of the family plot is tilled for the family garden. All
of the homes in a village are one upon another to leave the majority of
open land for money crops. In this area of the Ukraine, potatoes were once
grown in a quantity to provide for most of the huge soviet empire. The
arrangement of home with other structures with each family owning a female
hog, and a milk cow, coupled to the garden made them self sufficient, and
a comfortable if hard life possible, even under the soviet government.
Their hope for help from the government had long vanished. Their ability
to provide for self despite the bad economy now too had vanished. I should
have met a defeated and desperate people. I did not, I found a people of
faith living the words of Psalm 11:1 . How was this
possible? How could I capture and share this faith found among a people
who lived under the threat of the words we find in verse two:
"For, lo, the wicked bend their
bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily
shoot at the upright in heart" (Psalms 11:2 AV).
In the midst of famine and destruction I found hope in abundance. The
old prepared for the coming day, the young went to school and dreamed of a
future. Close your eyes, take yourself into the place these people dwell,
where would you and your family be after ten years of little of no income?
Where would you turn if you suddenly found yourself without a home,
clothing, money, food, or any of the other things we consider a necessity
of life? Try to imagine that all you have in this life is your life and a
small plot of land which is soggy wet and cannot be tilled nor built upon
until it dries out. I know I am asking the impossible to try and move us
to a point of empathy where we can see life as these people do. The
cultural difference, life style is too great for even our imaginations to
really bridge. Nonetheless, if we can walk just a short way in the shoes
of these people, we will begin to learn how to apply faith in our own
lives.
Try this, it is 1930 all over, the banks are closed and what money you
have in your pocket is worthless. Business is at a stand still and there
is no one in the family working. What will you feed your family today,
tomorrow, next week, month, year?
" If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do"
(Psalms 11:3 AV)? The English Bible misses the word
here in my opinion and a better choice would be truth for foundations.
Nonetheless, most would consider this a valid translation and perhaps
think such a time as this when the foundations of society have been
destroyed a proper application. The situation fits, but "truth"
is the biblical context. As long as the Truth, God’s Word stands, there
is hope and His people do have a place of refuge. This is what I found in
the Ukraine, faith that was real and alive. Truth that sustained hope
where humanly speaking there is no hope. In the storms of life, by faith
these people look upward for their help, and continue with joy in their
hearts that denies the human circumstances they live in.
Faith is the gift of God. However such a depth of faith to not only
face, but conquer life, which is the very substance of the things hoped
for, the evidence of the unseen (Hebrews 11:1) is the growth and maturity
of this gift from God. Such growth comes from the use of the means of
grace provided by God, hearing His Word, attending to the sacraments of
the Lord properly, and living the discipline of the commands given to us
by Christ. It does not develop from a dusty Bible, an empty pew, and no
restraint of the lust that lies just beneath the surface of all men. I am
not talking about eternal salvation here. So many want to jump to
salvation and the hope of life eternal, and never attain the fulness of
that life more abundant which also refers to today, now.
God graciously plants the seed, and gives us the means to water and
prosper that seed of faith into a full grown heart filled with life and
joy. It is our responsibility to use the means provided. How do we do
that? (1) Read your Bible every day of your life. Find fifteen quiet
minutes to read the Bible and another five to pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit in properly understanding and applying what you have read. (2)
When the church doors open, be there. It is not only the hearing of the
word as a means of grace, but the fellowship with sisters and brothers in
Christ that adds to the strength of the family. (3) Live a disciplined
life by being set apart from the world, put into practice what you have
learned from God’s word and the teaching of the church.
Do not wait until the flood waters of life overflow you. Grow your
faith now in due season, that you will have an abundant supply when the
time comes for the adversity that we all face in life. Whether this
adversity be loss of all, job, or the death of a loved one, it will come.
Then you will know the Truth of God’s blessings, even during times of
great adversity and stress . "For
the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the
upright" (Psalms 11:7 AV).
Already caught in the flood waters? The same three rules will lift you
above the water and restore your hope. There is no hope outside Christ
Jesus (Romans 5:1-6).
Therefore be all the more diligent in the application of all three rules.
By: Dr. Chuck Baynard
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