I believe we have in our previous series on this topic shown some biblical examples that adversity could bring man to the end of his wisdom. When man comes to the end of his wisdom, it is then God intervenes. When God steps into our situation many things could happen.

God steps in to glorify Himself. God glorifies Himself in every situation of life. When Jesus announced that He was to be crucified He said to the Father: “Father, glorify your name.’ Then the Father responded: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again,” (John 12:28). God takes honour in every situation of our lives. When God intervenes during our moments of extremity, He does so to reveal His power.

The after-effects of His intervention most times leave the people around Him in awe of Him, while in some cases it attracts worship and praise. When Jesus reached out to save Peter from sinking into water, we read: “Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, ‘truly you are the Son of God,” (Matthew 14:33). The same happened when Peter obeyed the command of Jesus to launch out into the deep. When he saw the amount of fish that he caught, he was dumbfounded, he immediately knelt and worshipped Jesus, acknowledging that he was a sinner (Luke 5:8). In other words, God’s intervention reveals our weakness and magnifies His strength.

Faith is manifested and strengthened when God steps into our situation. When the woman with the flow of blood touched the helm of Jesus’ garment there was a manifestation of power. Jesus immediately felt that virtue had gone out of Him. The woman came forward to bow before Jesus and acknowledged that she indeed touched Jesus and made her whole. Jesus commended her for her faith. “And he said to her, ‘Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Joy rises when God intervenes in our extremity. The turnaround in Job’s situation is faith stirring. His friends came to rejoice with him once God turned his fortunes around. “Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold,” (Job 42:11). When Jehoshaphat confessed before God, admitting his weakness and inability to confront the multitude that came against him in battle, God took over his problem and gave him a battle strategy: “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” God’s response to Jehoshaphat was this declaration: “Do not be afraid nor be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” We exchange our weakness for His strength when we come to the point of our extremity.

Paul’s extremity was an opportunity for God to show His strength. Thrice Paul sought the Lord concerning the thorn in his flesh. God’s response to him was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
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