Creating this universe out of nothing was great. Sending His Son to die for us was great. Leaving us His word so that we would have a written guide and the Holy Spirit as our spiritual guide was great.
But what else fits into the category of great?
This might be a big surprise, so we must patiently absorb the genius of the great gift we are exploring.
We will begin with the difference between stress and distress. Stress is necessary for organisms to grow to maturity. We are designed with the ability to respond to our environment. As we deal with the stresses around us, we learn to be more flexible, adaptable, tolerant, and, eventually, more compassionate. If our thoughts follow the path that God has created, small stresses will no longer bother us; Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." We are no longer tossed to and fro, Ephesians 4:14, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" by the ideas that lead us away from God.
Distress, on the other hand, weakens our resolve because it causes our bodies to reallocate the resources we use to function properly; 1 Corinthians 14:33, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." Distress results in confusion, leading to our fight-or-flight response. We are no longer growing but instead trying to survive.
God created us to grow to maturity in Him, which means we live in harmony with the way He created things to work together for good; Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Stresses work to strengthen us as we mature. Distress weakens us and leads us away from God's perfect order. Those who choose to follow Jesus will learn to use love as the proper response to stress, thus leading others to God. Those who deny Jesus will introduce distress into this world and lead/drive people away from God.
A study of the relationship between wind and trees might help. If trees were to grow in an atmosphere without wind, like the Biosphere 2 Columbia University built near Tucson, Arizona, they would not mature correctly. Trees growing in the wild are exposed to strong winds (stress), which helps them develop stress wood. Without stress wood, a tree can grow quickly but ultimately will be unable to sustain its weight, and the tree will fall under the pressure of its own weight. So, stress is good for mature development. However, hurricanes (distress) rip trees out of the ground, thus killing them. So, stress is necessary, and distress is counterproductive.
God wants us to help each other use the stresses in life to lead us to Him. He also wants us to avoid the distresses in life because they lead us away from Him. When those hurricanes in life come, His followers must gather to comfort and support one another, which builds the body of Christ. His goal for us is abundant life, and that is best achieved in a community fighting against distress; John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." and it is Jesus who makes this possible, Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
The old saying 'whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger' applies here, 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." and God always provides a way, as long as we are willing to work within the design of His created order.
If our habits are leading us to distress, we can go to Him and confess our sins, and He will forgive us and lead us away from the danger of those old habits; 1 John 1:9-10, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." We must recognize and admit our sins if we want His help.
God only wants the best for us; Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." and He sent His Son to lead us to it, Hebrews 1:1-2, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;" It is out of His abundant love for us that He sent Jesus, John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." Jesus gave us the example, Luke 22:42, "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." The answer is to follow God's will for our lives.
If we are to follow Jesus through the trials of this life, we cannot do it in word only; we must do the work God calls us to do, James 1:25-27, "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."
The fruit of following Jesus is demonstrated by how we treat the least of these, Matthew 25:34-40, "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Sometimes, this produces stress in our lives.
The stresses in this life are one of God's great gifts to us because they help prepare us for the lively hope that leads us to our eternal home, 1 Peter 1:3-7, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
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