Think of our body. To build muscle, you have to tear it. When it heals, the scar tissue builds up and strengthens the muscle.
Biologists witness this “adversity principle” in plants and animals. Habitual, ongoing well-being isn’t good for a species. An existence without challenge isn’t healthy.
You see it in flabby zoo animals that have food delivered to them daily. You see it in rainforest trees. Because water is everywhere, they don’t have to extend their root system very deep. As a result, the slightest windstorm can knock them down. But a tree planted in dry land must send roots down 30+ feet in search of water. Then, not even gale-force winds can knock them down.
It’s no different with life. Our pain often strengthens us and allows us to grow. That’s precisely what the Bible teaches. “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3, NIV).
Yes, I’m sorry for people who have miscarriages, car troubles, or a cousin with shingles. But elevating everyday struggles to the level of spiritual or emotional devastation betrays a significant deficiency in faith and perspective.
The Example of Corrie ten Boom
I think of Corrie ten Boom who endured Ravensbruck, the Nazi concentration camp for women. (Read her biography The Hiding Place.) After that, Corrie traveled the world, telling of suffering in the context of faith. For 33 years following Ravensbruck, she never had a permanent home.
When she was 85, some friends provided her with a lovely home in California. It was a luxury she’d never dreamed she’d have. One day a friend asked, “Corrie, hasn’t God been good to give you this beautiful place?” Then she replied, “God was good when I was in Ravensbruck, too.”
So the next time challenge comes, we should do less lawnmowing and certainly less wallowing. Pick up a copy of The Hiding Place and ponder the role of faith amid adversity. And remember that God is good to us there, too.
Sources
Sonja Haller, “Meet the ‘Lawnmower Parent,” the New Helicopter Parents of 2018,” USA Today, September 20, 2018, read online.
Bob Smietana, “Prosperity Gospel Taught to 4 in 10 Evangelical Churchgoers,” Christianity Today, July 31, 2018, read online.
Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.
James Dobson, When God Doesn’t Make Sense.
In Hope for the Troubled Heart, Billy Graham cites the story of Corrie’s home.
Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place.
This article about lawnmower parents originally appeared here.
