Father has gone on to his reward after a wonderful life of service to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A most powerful preacher who wrote as well as he spoke. Many were the readers who waited monthly for his writings to be published in periodicals. It has been chosen on this Father's day to reprint a writing that solace can be found in. His library, of which much is in possession, was full of positive thought processes and mental gymnastics as well as theological studies and dissertations. It is almost daily that he still influences my life with his intuitive approach to a life filled with struggle in order to bring Gospel cheer to those in need.
The Virtues of Adversity by E.L. Holley (December, 1976)
The kite that rises against the wind, and the string that " holds it down" actually holds it up. As a boy it never ceased to amaze me when the kite took towards the sky. It dipped and pulled. The wind bent the kite sticks to the breaking point; but if it were properly rigged, the opposing wind became a cushion on which the kite would ride. The kite would hit the blue!
On some days, we would meet with dismal failure. We would run ourselves ragged trying to get a sluggish kite airborne --all to no avail! Such days were too still for kite flying. Without a wind without enough force and resistance to enable it to rise, the best kit wouldn't fly.
As I grew, it occurred to me that this illustrated a principle which was true of many aspects of life. Adversity tends to stimulate us to do our very best. It is the difficulties of life which produce worthwhile achievements, not soft easy situations. Contrary as it is to my humanistic desires, I need obstacles to overcome!
Pressures are often excellent stimuli to our growth in the Lord. When you are forced to live in a "pressure cooker" type situation. , it is anything but uncomfortable. You want to escape. You want to relax. But, such pressures are often applied to our lives to bring out the inner content of our soul.
Grapes must be pressed in order to become wine. In much the same way, God, in His wisdom, allows pressures to come as they are needed to transform our lives. Many have been "pressed by the Spirit" into greatness, they can transform - even as they crush.
Pastors, like parents with their children, often wish they could take a saint's place in the midst of a struggle. But, experience teaches them to never try. They often wait with, baited breath until the crisis passes, realizing that Christian life cannot be lived without such struggles.
He sees a saint of God meet with apparent defeat. It's a crushing experience that leaves the child of God beaten and battered. There is no sense to the situation. Words are together altogether inadequate! Then, suddenly, in some unexplainable way, the very defeat itself seems to stimulate the hopeless heart. The victim seems to rise on the thrust of the catastrophe to heights heretofore unknown! He is no longer the victim of the situation. The pastor sees a victor and his victory is great!
Such a saint would have never known the victory had he not known the fury of struggle. Moreover, the victory can be no greater than the fight. So, in actuality, Satan help us when he hinders us. And, while we do not delight in defeating circumstances, neither should we despair over them. Our God is master of every situation! Adversity can be an asset.
We appreciate our liberty in Christ. This because we weren't always free. We know the value of our liberty because we were once enslaved by sin. Having been forgiven much, we are able to love much. To the degree that we suffered in the grappling forces of sin, to that same degree we do experience the joy of full liberation! Deliverance is sweet to us because we were in bondage.
So, while we don't yearn for adversity we can expect it and profit from it. Even adversity has its virtues when you align your life with the Ultimate Conqueror!
"Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..." ( I Corinthians 15:57)
I remember going to my grandfather when I felt the call to the ministry. He took it in stride telling me of his mother and her desire to minister and how awkward it was in their day and time. Upon asking him, "How do you know?" He replied, " When you know that God has spoken to you, called you and that it is the thing you want to do more than any other thing in your life then you will be unhappy at any other work."
My mom and dad were continuing in the ministry at this time. He seemed thrilled that I would seek the labor of the ministry. There had been tale tell signs all along and so at the tender age of 15 I knew it was what i wanted to do! The dreams, the visions, the prayer meetings pointed in the direction of the ministry. Preaching began and has continued until this day. Missteps have been made but the conclusion is that although successful in business, all of the business matters have had one goal. That goal was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide.
So it was that two ministering streams came together. Gayla's father, Samuel Latta, was the grandson and son of ministers. Her mother's grandmother was also a minister in a truly pioneer fashion. So upon our marriage four generations of ministry hit the stage of life. But that is not where it stops.
So upon our marriage four generations of ministry hit the stage of life. But that is not where it stops. Our marriage has produced the most wonderful child, Angela. She is married to Pastor Sean Mooney and they have two wonderful children, Jake and Gracie.
