Overview
Every challenge can become a step forward when adversity is interpreted through God’s promise rather than through fear. Marilyn Knupp uses the pictures of a hawk rising on an updraft and a sailboat advancing through wind to show how a believer’s heart and words determine the direction of a difficult season. Drawing from Psalm 3, Psalm 23, James 1, Numbers 13-14, David’s long wait to become king, and Romans 8:28, she explains that faith does not deny a problem. Faith denies the problem the right to control our thoughts, speech, and expectation.
Teaching Transcript
Adverse Winds Can Give Access to Greater Height
The subject I want to consider is how every challenge can actually become a step forward. A hawk, like many large birds of prey, uses thermals and updrafts to gain altitude. It can conserve energy and travel a long distance because it is not fighting every movement of the air. It is using the current.
Many times we face adverse winds and do not realize that those winds can give us access to going higher. We misinterpret the moment. When the moment is misread, our speech changes and our heart can move out of position.
A sailboat gives us another useful picture. The sail receives the force of the wind, while the rudder determines direction. For us, the sail represents the heart and attitude; the rudder represents speech and the tongue. By managing our attitude and confession well, we can make progress even against adverse winds. In the kingdom, adverse winds can become invitations to breakthrough.
If I let fear shape my heart and words, I begin agreeing with the purpose of the attack instead of partnering with God. The enemy has no rightful authority over my life. I do not want to hand him influence by leaning toward his accusation in my thoughts and speech.
Lift Your Head and Look Toward the Source
An eagle can maintain its vision in bright sunlight because of the structure above its eyes. When pursued by another bird, it can fly toward the sun where the attacker cannot comfortably follow. That picture reminds me to turn my attention toward God rather than stare continually at the threat.
Psalm 3:3 describes God as a shield, the source of glory, and the lifter of the head. A bowed head can picture defeat, shame, mourning, or hopelessness. A lifted head signifies renewed confidence and victory. When I face a trial, physically lifting my head can become a personal reminder: God is the source of the outcome, and I will not let the circumstance decide how I see myself.
God’s glory speaks of the honor, dignity, and worth that come from standing in His favor. In Christ, our identity is not assigned by the accusation, the diagnosis, the delay, or the opposition. God restores our position after hardship and gives us reason to regain hope.
Let the Word Permeate the Heart
Psalm 23 presents God as shepherd, guide, protector, and provider even in the valley. The Word must be given time to settle deeply enough that it affects our personality and our reflexes. Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us to attend to God’s words and keep them within, because they bring life and health.
It is not enough to read a promise once and then let the pressure speak more loudly for the rest of the day. We return to the Word until its phrases and truth permeate the heart. The goal is for God’s perspective to become the place from which we respond.
A Table in the Presence of Enemies
Psalm 23:5 says that God prepares a table in the presence of enemies. In a difficult situation, we often see only the attack, hear only the accusation, and feel only the tension. We may spend all our energy trying to defend ourselves while missing the nourishment God has already placed before us.
The table represents a place of fellowship, goodness, strength, and encounter in the middle of the conflict. Colossians 3:3 says that our life is hidden with Christ in God. Hidden does not mean invisible to God; it means secure and out of the adversary’s rightful reach. The crucial question is where I place my attention.
A moment can feel hellish while God is making it a heavenly opportunity. The shift begins when I move my focus from what is working against me to what God has promised within me and for me.
Trust Does Not Deny the Problem
Faith is not pretending that a health concern, financial pressure, grief, or conflict does not exist. Denial does not help. Real trust acknowledges the problem but refuses to give it the place of influence over the heart, mind, speech, and actions.
I can lift my eyes and say, “God, You see the end from the beginning. You know the outcome. Jesus Christ has given me grace I could never earn or qualify for on my own.” Christ qualified on our behalf and gave us the result as grace.
The moment that looks most dangerous may become the place where God’s faithfulness is made clearest. That does not make the pain imaginary. It means the pain does not have final authority.
Count It All Joy When Faith Is Tested
James 1:2-4 says to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds because the testing of faith produces steadfastness. At first that can sound impossible: how can God ask for joy in a trial? The answer is not that the trial itself is pleasant. The joy comes from recognizing the opportunity for endurance, maturity, and completeness to grow.
How do we extract the nutrients from a trial? One way is thanksgiving. Scripture teaches us to give thanks in every circumstance. We can thank God for the promise before we see the result and remember the times He has already carried us through.
I think of my mother, who lived with us for twenty-four years. She often said she did not want to become a burden. Near the end of her life she was bedridden for only one week. I remember God’s mercy to her and to our family. In difficult situations, remembering past faithfulness strengthens present trust.
Joshua and Caleb Interpreted the Moment Through the Promise
Numbers 13 and 14 records the twelve spies entering Canaan. All twelve saw the same land, the same fruit, the same fortified cities, and the same powerful people. Ten interpreted the evidence through fear and concluded that Israel could not go forward.
Joshua and Caleb looked at the same circumstances but remembered what God had said. Caleb urged the people to go up at once because they were well able to overcome. Joshua and Caleb called the land exceedingly good and insisted that the Lord was with them.
The difference was not the facts they observed. The difference was the promise through which they interpreted those facts. One group allowed the visible obstacle to cancel God’s word. The other allowed God’s word to define the obstacle.
David Endured by Holding the Promise
David knew rejection from Saul, from Israel, from the Philistines, and eventually from men whose lives he had helped preserve. He had been anointed to become king, yet the fulfillment did not come quickly. For years he lived under pressure from a man determined to kill him.
What enabled David to endure? He held the promise: he would be king. God’s process can feel slow because He is interested not only in the destination but in what develops during the journey. The delay exposes what we could not otherwise see and gives us the opportunity to learn how to walk well before the promise is fulfilled.
The Crown of Life Belongs to Steadfast Endurance
James 1:12 says that the person who remains steadfast under trial will receive the crown of life promised to those who love God. Patient endurance under pressure matters. Believers are not working to erase sins that Christ has already dealt with; we are learning to remain faithful and to live in expectation of God’s reward.
Romans 8:28 gives a promise to carry into the trial: God works in all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. When pressure comes, I can bring that promise back to mind. My joy is not based on knowing every detail of the solution. It is based on knowing the One who provides.
Every challenge can be a step forward when the promise remains larger in our thinking than the circumstance. Lift your head, guard your heart and words, remember God’s faithfulness, and keep moving in the direction He has spoken.
Key Takeaways
- Adverse winds do not automatically mean defeat; like an updraft for a hawk, they can become the force that lifts a believer higher.
- The heart and attitude function like a sail, while speech functions like a rudder. Both influence the direction taken under pressure.
- Faith acknowledges real problems but refuses to let them govern thoughts, words, identity, and expectation.
- James 1 connects tested faith with steadfastness, maturity, and completeness, which is why a trial can be counted as an opportunity for joy.
- Joshua and Caleb saw the same obstacles as the other spies but interpreted them through God’s promise rather than through fear.
- David endured a long delay because he continued to hold the promise that God had spoken over his life.
- Remembering previous demonstrations of God’s faithfulness helps believers give thanks before the present outcome is visible.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can every challenge become a step forward?
A challenge becomes a step forward when you stop letting the circumstance define the outcome and deliberately align your heart, words, and attention with what God has promised. Like a hawk using an updraft or a sailboat using the wind, adversity can become the force that lifts or advances you when your attitude and confession remain directed by God.
What does it mean to count trials as joy?
James 1 does not ask believers to pretend that pain is pleasant. It asks them to recognize what tested faith can produce: steadfastness, maturity, and endurance. The joy is rooted in confidence that God is present in the process and can use the trial to produce something that would not grow in easier conditions.
How can believers keep the right perspective during adversity?
Keep returning to the promise rather than rehearsing only the problem. Remember previous times God has been faithful, give thanks before the outcome is visible, and refuse to let fear govern your heart or speech. Joshua and Caleb saw the same fortified cities as the other spies, but they interpreted the moment through what God had said.
Scripture References
Psalm 3:3; Psalm 23:1-5; Proverbs 4:20-22; Colossians 3:3; James 1:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Numbers 13:25-33; Numbers 14:5-9; 1 Samuel 16:1-13; 1 Samuel 30:1-8; James 1:12; Romans 8:28
This article was prepared from the teaching audio. Verify quoted wording and scripture references against the recording and the Bible translation used by the speaker before publishing.
