July 18th, 2026
by Dr. Ron Harvey
by Dr. Ron Harvey
One of my favorite cartoons when I was young was The Flintstones. Remember them? In one scene, Fred said to his sidekick, “Barney, do you have any trouble sleeping?” Barney replied, “No, I don’t have any trouble sleeping. My trouble starts as soon as I get up.”
That’s the way life is. We are seldom free of trouble for very long in our days. Make no mistake about it; there is no escape from difficulties in life. Even the Apostle Paul confessed having thorns in his flesh and we feel thorns in our lives as well. Here is the reality: God allows adversity. It is true from the best of us to the worst of us. No one is immune to the problems of life and none is exempt from tragedy in life.
We all have, in fact, designer sets of troubles all along the way. But our Lord has promised to help us with these troubles. He does not always help us out of our problems but He does help us within our problems. It is because this is true that we are able to say, “My God will meet your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Moreover, we can say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Further still, we should do as Simon says, “Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
When the possibility of adversity gives way to its inevitability, we should respond to it with a humble teachability. The Apostle Paul learned with his thorn, once humbled, that despite his weakness, God’s grace is sufficient and that His strength would be made evident. This knowledge became for him a source of great comfort even as God proved to be a resource of abundant power. What valuable lesson can you learn though your own thorns in life? What strength is yours straight from the throne of God?
Whatever the answers may be, you can rest assured that God knows how to produce awesome blessings in our lives through adverse circumstances. As C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to adversity.” Amen!
Devotedly Yours,
Pastor Ron
That’s the way life is. We are seldom free of trouble for very long in our days. Make no mistake about it; there is no escape from difficulties in life. Even the Apostle Paul confessed having thorns in his flesh and we feel thorns in our lives as well. Here is the reality: God allows adversity. It is true from the best of us to the worst of us. No one is immune to the problems of life and none is exempt from tragedy in life.
We all have, in fact, designer sets of troubles all along the way. But our Lord has promised to help us with these troubles. He does not always help us out of our problems but He does help us within our problems. It is because this is true that we are able to say, “My God will meet your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Moreover, we can say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Further still, we should do as Simon says, “Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
When the possibility of adversity gives way to its inevitability, we should respond to it with a humble teachability. The Apostle Paul learned with his thorn, once humbled, that despite his weakness, God’s grace is sufficient and that His strength would be made evident. This knowledge became for him a source of great comfort even as God proved to be a resource of abundant power. What valuable lesson can you learn though your own thorns in life? What strength is yours straight from the throne of God?
Whatever the answers may be, you can rest assured that God knows how to produce awesome blessings in our lives through adverse circumstances. As C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to adversity.” Amen!
Devotedly Yours,
Pastor Ron
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