“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them.” -anonymous
People don’t sink — feel sad or afraid, ashamed or angry — because of the adversities around them. They sink because of the adversities they allow in them.
What is an adversity? It is something that happens to us or those close to us that we don’t like. People say or do foolish things. Nasty things happen. What we hoped would happen doesn’t. What we were trying to avoid becomes unavoidable. But in and of itself, an adversity is neutral. It doesn’t force us or anyone to feel sad, afraid, ashamed, or angry. It just IS.
But a negative reaction to adversity lets the adversity in, so to speak, and so we sink into sadness, fear, shame, or anger.
The apostle James has an answer for all that: a good and noble reaction. He writes,
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV)
And what does he mean by “the testing of your faith”? He is referring to keeping your eyes on Jesus — trusting in him. That is what’s being tested. But when we react to adversity with more and more trust in him, adversity cannot get into us and as a result we grow more stable and reliable.

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