Responding to Major Adversity

Thinking God’sWay, Lesson 6

Thinking God’sWay is a series of Bible studies that help believers meditate on theWord of God for the purpose of Christian growth. Each lesson features a verseof Scripture in English and the original language (whether Hebrew or Greek). Italso provides basic background information, followed by basic word definitionsand other key insights. Each lesson concludes with some questions formeditation and for applying the truth to life.

InitialThoughts

Do you everfeel overwhelmed? This short proverb speaks to that feeling, especially when itseems to go one for a very long, indefinite period of time. It also challengesyou to reconsider the possibility of “bailing out,” quitting, or “moving on.”

Key Verse: Proverbs24:10

In English(NKJV)

If you faint inthe day of adversity,

            your strength is small.

In Hebrew

הִ֭תְרַפִּיתָ בְּי֥וֹם צָרָ֗ה

 צַ֣ר כֹּחֶֽכָה

English andGreek Together

If you faint (הִ֭תְרַפִּיתָ) in the day (בְּי֥וֹם) of adversity (צָרָ֗ה),

            your strength (כֹּחֶֽכָה) is small (צַ֣ר).

BackgroundInformation

This statementappears in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, which provides an extensivecollection of insights for a wide variety of situations. They teach you how tolive in a skillful, successful, and satisfying way.

Mostimportantly, they teach you how to make choices in light of what you know aboutGod, for “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov 1:7). SinceGod is who he says he is, does what he says he does, and rules over everyaspect of our lives, we should give him the respect he deserves by makingchoices that reflect this awareness.

Keywords andtheir Meanings

Mounce’sComplete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006) together with an interlinearBible, like The NKJV Greek English Interlinear New Testament (ThomasNelson, 1994) is an excellent way to get accurate definitions for your Biblestudy based upon Greek and Hebrew meanings.

• Faint(‎רָפָה‎): in some forms, “to hang limp, sink down, be feeble,” or “to belazy,” or, “to lower; discourage, or, “to leave alone, abandon, withdraw. Inthis case, however, it is a form that means “to show oneself slack.” Itdescribes a mindset or approach that gives up or “gives up hope” with the resultthat you quit as a result.

• Day (יוֹם):in some cases this word refers to a 24-hr. solar day. In other cases, like thisone, it refers to “an indefinite period of time, an era with a certaincharacteristic.” In this case, the characteristic is provided by the followingword, צָרָה.

• Adversity(צָרָה): “trouble, distress,calamity, anguish.” This word describes negative circumstances that are againstyou, causing emotional agony and distress.

• Strength(כֹּחַ):“strength, power, might, ability; often physical strength and the vigor of goodhealth, sometimes simply ability to accomplish an action.” In the context ofthis proverb, it probably refers to emotional and mental strength as well.

• Small(צַר):“narrow.” It is fascinating to note that this word (ṣar) is a virtualhomonym, meaning that they sound the same and are spelled almost exactly thesame as the word for adversity (ṣārâ). It describessomething as being restricted in space or size, or as being small, limited, anddiminished in strength.

Other KeyInsights

This statementis written in a format called Hebrew parallelism. In this case, it features twolines (a “couplet”) written as synthetic parallelism, which means that thesecond line (or “B line”) completes, expands, or extends the idea which wasintroduced in the first line (the “A Line”).

The Hebrewparallelism format helps you to memorize Scripture and think about it in areflective, thought-provoking way. When you think about a proverb, don’t justask questions about the individual words and lines, but also ask questionsabout how the lines relate to each other.

Questions forMeditation and Reflection

What are somesources or experiences of major adversity in your past life?

To answer thisquestion, focus on instances of major adversity, not the pesky irritations ofdaily life.

Why is itimportant to realize that the word day here refers to an indefiniteperiod of time?

The Hebrew wordfor day (יוֹם)refers to a literal, 24-hr. solar day in the creation account of Genesis 1. Theword itself does not demand this definition. The context does instead, by furtherdescribing those creation days with the phrase “so the evening and the morningwere the first day,” etc., and they are numbered (Gen 1:5). Details like thisrestrict and require that we interpret the word as a literal solar day in thatinstance.

As an aside, itis helpful to recognize that the “Day Age Theory,” which suggests that eachcreation day actually lasted for thousands or millions of years, requires that airand sea animals died before the creation of human beings, since these animalscame into existence on the fifth day, but human beings came into existence onthe sixth day.

Furthermore, thistheory contradicts how Jesus described creation and the introduction ofmarriage in particular. He described marriage as being “from the beginning ofcreation” (Mark 10:6). This does not harmonize with the inception of humanbeings following a “creation” (or evolutionary process) that happened overmillions of years. It harmonizes better with the creation of human beings andthe introduction of marriage occurring as part of a rapid, literal, 7-dayseries of events at the beginning of time.

That being said,Proverbs 24:10 provides no such limitations, but uses the word יוֹם in its indefinite,open-ended sense. As you meditate on this proverb, this definition helps yourecognize the nature of the adversity in question. It is adversity that lastsfor a long and indefinite period of time. You might say that this is the kindof adversity that has “no end in sight” and “no light at the end of the tunnel,”so to speak.

Consider theexamples you gave for Question 1. In what way(s) were you tempted to give up ordid give up?

Words like thismay come to mind as you describe the wrong responses or choices you may have made:quit, leave, get out, divorce, let go, run away, hide, unenroll, withdraw, orback out (among others).

In what waysdid your encounters with adversity reveal a weakness in your life?

Perhaps itrevealed a weakness in one or more of the following areas, your: health, mind,emotions, love, character, morality, discipline, commitment, faith, knowledgeand understanding, social kills, or personal training (among others).

If your“strength is small,” then what should you do about it? Is it okay to “give in”and “throw in the towel?”

It isfascinating to observe that this proverb doesn’t actually answer this questiondirectly. It kind of “leaves you open-ended.” From a positive angle, it mayencourage you to acknowledge your weakness. After all, a key to living life ina responsible, God-honoring way is to be humble rather than proud,acknowledging your limitations (Prov 16:18; 1 Cor 10:12).

That beingsaid, the proverb does seem to be more of a “taunt” than a plea for humility.We should remember that these proverbs were ultimately written for a king ofIsrael, preparing him to rule effectively for God. Kings surely faced periods ofincredible adversity during their reigns. A proverb like this would inspirethem to persevere, rather than quit, surrender, or acquiesce to the problem –whether it was a national uprising, an outside invader, an economic downturn,or some other overwhelming challenge.

With thisperspective in mind, this proverb should challenge us to preserve as well. Whenwe face the challenge of life that threaten to overwhelm us with their great severityand long duration, we should persevere some more, not fainting in the moment ofweakness.

A PersonalTranslation

Before you considerhow to apply this truth to your life by allowing it to change your mindset andapproach to life, write out a personal translation. Use what you havelearned  to write this verse in your ownwords.

Questions forPersonal Application

• What are some sources or experiences of major adversity in your present life or in the days and months just ahead? (Focus on instances of major adversity, not the pesky irritations of daily life.)

• Howlong do you anticipate these challenges will last?

• Inwhat ways are you (or will you be) tempted to quit and back out?

• Howcan you overcome your weaknesses and equip yourself to endure adversity ratherthan quit when it gets hard?

• Whohas endured adversity before you (Heb 11:30-12:1)? How does your adversitycompare to theirs?

• Whohas endured the greatest adversity of all (Heb 12:2-4)?

• Whatkind of adversity is especially difficult to endure (see Heb 12:5-11)?

• Howcan we help one another face adversity (Heb 12:12-13)?

• Whatshould be the ultimate result of experiencing weakness in adversity (2 Cor12:10)?