- The following is my review of the book The Blessing of Adversity by Barry C. Black.
The purpose in this book is to provide a blueprint for finding peace in tough times (Intro. p. x). The book is divided into three main sections, and each chapter is broken down into specific areas with subheadings to help you address each topic called an action plan. See outline to follow.
Part I: Mastering the Basics
Chapter 1: Celebrate Your Troubles (pp. 4-9)
- Guard your tongue.
- Stay positive.
- Be constant.
- Grow up.
- Use your map (God’s wisdom).
- Control your doubts.
“A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life”—Eleanor Roosevelt (p. 7).
Chapter 2: Trust God’s Plan (pp. 11-18)
- Surrender to God’s providence.
- Believe in God’s kindness.
- Accept God’s chastisement.
- Live with Hope.
- Believe God’s revelation over human speculation.
- Seek God with intensity.
- Stay productive.
- Pray for your enemies prosperity.
Chapter 3: Meet the Challenges of Dark Days (pp. 19-24)
- Develop the right perspective.
- Relinquish control.
- Discover the nature of true prayer.
- Allow God to transform your dark yesterdays.
- Make loving God your top priority.
“Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne–yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown, standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own”—John Russell Lowell (p. 23).
Chapter 4: Restore Broken Walls (pp. 25-33)
- Be passionate about change.
- Ask God for favor.
- Be prepared for doors of opportunity to open.
- Expect opposition.
“Don’t envy me. Favor isn’t fair” (p. 29).
Chapter 5: Benefit from Brokenness (pp. 35-43)
- Allow affliction to humble you.
- Allow affliction to deepen your knowledge of God.
- Allow affliction to strengthen your prayer life.
- Allow affliction to expose you to God’s grace.
- Allow affliction to reveal God’s faithfulness.
- Allow affliction to lead you to God’s Word.
- Allow affliction to deepen your trust in God’s providence.
- Allow affliction to bring you back to God.
Chapter 6: Refuse to Waste Suffering (pp. 45-51)
- Expect suffering.
- See suffering as a test.
- Discover a deeper fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Chapter 7: Expect the Inevitability of Trouble (pp. 53-71)
- Avoid resignation.
- Tame your temper.
- Find joy.
- Reap the fruit of perseverance.
- Harness the power of prayer.
- Ask God for wisdom.
- Remember the past.
- Help the helpless.
- Endure hardship.
- Testify to God’s goodness.
- Live with gratitude.
- Embrace humility.
- Learn from failure.
“All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that One Solitary Life”—James Allen Francis of Jesus Christ, “One Solitary Life” (pp. 59-50).
(See Lk. 18:1-8, KJV.)
“The Bible predicts that the day will come when sin will not rise a second time” (Nahum 1:9, p. 70).
Chapter 8: Win by Waiting (pp. 73-83)
- Wait for God.
- Trust God’s providence.
- Refuse to murmur and complain.
- Remember what God has already done.
- Believe God can do the impossible.
- Lean on faith, not on works.
“There are no [. . .] shortcuts to godly character” (p. 75).
“For the life we are called to is a life that has passed through death, not around it. And when the crushing weight of the loads we carry drives us to our knees, we wait and rise in the power of the Cross, losing our lives that we might gain them” p. 82).
Chapter 9: Bring Blessing from Pain (pp. 85-96)
- Expect trouble.
- Experience God’s grace and peace.
- Live with praise.
- Bless the Lord.
- Develop the right perspective.
- Lean on the Father of mercies.
- Receive divine comfort.
- Fulfill God’s purpose for comfort.
“Don’t permit troubles to surprise you; they are backhanded compliments from the enemy of our souls” (p. 87).
Chapter 10: Live the Blessed Life (pp. 97- 107)
- Know what to ignore.
- Say no to sinners.
- Live with reverence.
- Delight in God’s Word.
- Respect life’s seasons.
- Stay productive.
- Receive God’s promised success.
- Expect a bright future.
Chapter 11: Face Life’s Pressures with Faith (pp. 109 -118)
- Remain independent of your circumstances.
- Expect pressure.
- Face life’s pressure with courage.
- Claim your victory.
- Endure to the end.
- Maintain the proper perspective.
Chapter 12: Deal with God’s Silence (pp. 119-125)
- Don’t panic.
- Weather the season of distress and grief.
- Keep hoping and praying.
- Find answers in God’s Word.
- Hold on to God’s promises.
Chapter 13: Use It Or Lose It (pp. 127-140)
- Handle competition wisely.
- Take judicious risk.
- Make faithfulness your goal.
- Adapt to varied soils.
- Don’t waste the leftovers.
- Gather fragments of faith, contentment, and grace.
Chapter 14: Master Your Life Map (pp. 141-149)
- Receive daily spiritual nourishment.
- Find spiritual cleansing in God’s Word.
- Avoid the pain of shame.
- Battle temptation.
- Practice restraint.
Chapter 15: Find Satisfaction (pp. 151-157)
- Reach out to people who are different.
- Expect God to take the initiative.
- Overcome barriers to unity.
- Expect satisfaction.
- Don’t underestimate God.
- Begin at home.
- Let it show.
Chapter 16: Master the Spiritual Disciplines (pp. 159-169)
- Develop your desire to know God.
- Build on the foundation of God’s Word.
- Learn to hate evil.
- Focus on things above.
- Cultivate love for others.
- Practice forgiveness.
- Obey God fully.
- Serve those in need.
Part II: Avoiding the Sources of Trouble
Chapter 17: Tame Your Temptations (pp. 173-179)
- Know your enemy’s capabilities.
- Consider sin’s long-term consequences.
- Refuse to rationalize.
- Run when necessary.
- Be willing to experience embarrassment.
- Use the power of prayer.
- Find accountability partners.
- Focus on God’s purposes.
Chapter 18: Win Over Worry (pp. 181-186)
- Don’t become shackled with stuff.
- Refuse to put earthly gain above heavenly investments.
- Imitate the animals.
- See the pointlessness of worry.
- Trust God for lesser things.
- Expect God to meet your needs.
- Seek God’s will first.
- Live one day at a time.
I don’t know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from it’s sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.—Ira Stanphill, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” (p. 187).
Chapter 19: Find Gain in Your Pain (pp. 187-196)
- Trust God’s providential leading.
- Ignore the opposition.
- Fast and pray.
- Strive to live a holy life.
- Develop a bias for action.
- Find allies.
- Develop a resolute mind.
Chapter 20: Endure the Test (pp. 197-204)
- Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
- Be tenacious.
- Don’t blame God.
- Remember the wages of sin.
- Help others through their trials.
Chapter 21: Gain by Losing (pp. 205-214)
- Give gratefully.
- Give passionately.
- Give promptly.
- Give wisely.
- Give dangerously.
Part III: Turning Your Adversity into Advantage
Chapter 22: Supersize Your Faith (pp. 217-224)
- Accept God’s plan.
- Respect the sacred.
- Obey promptly.
- Don’t hinder God’s purpose.
- Go the extra mile.
Chapter 23: Build a Storm-proof Life (pp. 225-235)
- Remember you’re not alone.
- Learn to listen to God.
- Act on your beliefs.
- Brace for life’s storms.
- Stay vigilant.
- Defeat temptation by watching.
- Cultivate dependability.
- Deal with life’s cares.
- Be faithful in the little things.
- Number your days.
- Receive inspiration from those who have gone before.
*This review is on behalf of Tyndale House Publishers who provided a complimentary copy of this book.
