“Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” Ec 7:13-14 

“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” Job 2:10

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

God is sovereign over all aspects of our life. God has made times of prosperity and times of adversity for us all. As we rejoice in the day of prosperity we should remember to thank God. Our days of adversity should cause us to reflect that we do not know what is coming down the road and can only trust to our Lord and never to ourselves. However, this is a sure hope as we know that all things will work out for good in the long run and certainly eternally for His people. Even adversity has inscrutable purposes beyond finite human understanding.

No matter how we feel about our situations, what God has made crooked cannot be made straight. Further, one might say that what has been made straight cannot be made crooked. Even if we do not like what God has permitted in our life at any time, His sovereignty is unchallengeable.

Like Job who went from having it all – family, wealth, respect – to losing it all we should learn to accept adversity and prosperity as they come. Remaining steadfast in our faith through adversity and being thankful for our many prosperities will knit us closer and closer to God as we move toward the day when we will see him face to face. In that day, we will no longer face adversity but be rewarded for our preserving through both good and bad times.