15 Reasons Why Things Happen

7. GOD MAY ALLOW YOU TO EXPERIENCE ADVERSITY SO YOU CAN GET A BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF HIM

This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent—Jesus Christ. — John 17:3 (HCSB) The word “know” in this passage indicates an experiential kind of knowledge, not just an intellectual acceptance of a higher power. Salvation is not in having head knowledge that there is a God, but a personal relationship with a living, loving, personal Savior. It’s a relationship that leads to a deeper understanding of God’s character, of God’s ways, and of God’s love. God wants you to know Him on a deeper, more intimate level. Through adversity you come to know God in ways that would otherwise be missed.

David experienced things in adversity and conflict that led to a new understanding of God’s greatness. He saw things about God that He would never see without distress and affliction:

I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD...

O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. — Psalm 40:1-3, 5 (NLT)

Without adversity we often have a small, out of balance view of God. How could David say, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death You are with me", unless he had actually walked through the valley of the shadow of death? He would not have known God's loving presence without the trial of going through the valley. You can read the truth, proclaim the truth, and even believe the truth, but it really isn't yours until you have experienced God in adversity.

Stephen gave His life for Christ. He experienced the adversity of an unjust trial and persecution, yet in the midst of it he saw Christ in a way he had never experienced before:

The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” —Acts 7:54-56 (NLT)

You read about people in the Bible that the Lord rescued or helped in some way. And there are Christians around the world that testify to God's grace and deliverance through persecution and hardship. It's natural to ask “would God do the same for me if I were in the same place?” Or, “Would God calm a stormy sea for me if I were sinking?” You will never know unless you find yourself in a storm-tossed boat!

Without conflict and adversity you could not see the advocacy-side of God. Without trials and afflictions you would not know just how secure you really are inside His hedge of protection. There's just no other way to know God on the deepest, most intimate level like when you experience trouble, pain, and conflict in your life. It may be that God just wants you to know Him better.