“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (2:10); the answer to this question will comprise the last line of the story of our lives.

Adversity confronts us at every turn in life—trials, injustice, temptations, and disappointments—from above, below, and all around. In the midst of God’s abundant blessings, come the heartaches of adversities that expose, reveal, and prove a man’s faith: the loss of property, health, or dignity—the slander, deceit, or evil actions of an enemy—the betrayal, cowardice, or abandonment of a friend—and worst of all, the disappointment, disgust, and shame of our own failures. If we are not prepared, all these can bring us to the point of utter despair.

It turns out that sin is indeed much worse than we first thought it was, whether it is our own or someone else’s. A fallen world is, at best, a bittersweet place even for a redeemed sinner. Only in the sin-free zone of heaven will there be “no more sorrow” and “no more tears.” Since adversity is a given in this life, the only question left is, how will we respond to it when we encounter it?

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