Daniel 11:
5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:
8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.
Sometimes we need disadvantages to become better Christians and to see or appreciate the blessings of the LORD.
Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
1) Disadvantage of Deficit
a) Deficit of companionship
As a Bible believer, you will feel isolated, childless, or abandoned. Some people are still single, without a spouse. The advantage is that you are not bound to the expectations of others. Paul recommends being single so that you can serve the LORD full-heartedly.
1 Corinthians 7:7-8 – For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I.
b) Deficit of material possessions
The more material possessions you get, the more you get used to it, the more it becomes normal. When God takes it away, you will feel discouraged.
Advantage: You will not be spoiled by vanity due to your material possessions. When there is a material deficit in your life, suffering becomes normal, and it is easier to serve the Lord Jesus Christ because struggles that most people would consider to be “difficult” are normal for you. You will become a spiritually stronger Christian.
c) Deficit of results
Examples: Small church membership, results not coming in from ministries, such as not enough souls saved from streetpreaching and visitation, and not enough people getting involved in church.
Advantage: The more results you get, and the bigger your ministry or church becomes, the pastor has less freedom overall. Much of his time will be dedicated to working for the people in your church, and you will not be able to fellowship as freely. In a smaller church, the pastor is able to teach more freely than in a bigger church because he doesn’t have as many members to cater his teachings to. He will also have the freedom to preach more diverse messages with fewer people. Moreover, the pastor will be free from the distress of having a bigger church, because he is not bound to as many things as a pastor with a bigger church.
d) Deficit of fun
Examples: Wicked video games, music, drinking, worldly music, social media, drugs, or alcohol.
Advantages: If there is a deficit of these kinds of worldly “fun” activities in your life, and if you have never tasted these kinds of entertainment, then you don’t have to face the difficulty of getting rid of them from your life. Many members in our church will testify that getting rid of these previous bad habits is incredibly difficult; going through those temptations is like hell.
e) Deficit of activity
Examples: Some people have no work, or nothing to do because they are bed-ridden.
Advantages: If you are bed-ridden, you have loads of prayer time. For those who don’t have a specific job in the church, they can help in the church. All that person has to do is ask the pastor, “What can I do to help?”, to volunteer. There is a huge demand for helpers in the church, with all sorts of jobs; this includes bringing food, mopping the floor, taking care of kids in the church, or setting up the church room.
2) Disadvantage of distress
a) Busyness
It may seem like there is no advantage to being busy with life.
Advantage: Whether it is work, school, family, or the ministry that keeps you busy, regardless of the situation, you can learn a skill that can be honed by that situation. Do you want to use that skill for Jesus Christ or will you waste it? What is the advantage of getting a degree from a wicked university? By learning what they are taught, you are able to debate with people and convince them more efficiently, because you know their world-view.
b) Long distances
Some of us are distressed by long-distance drives to church or work. Nobody likes long drives.
Advantage – You can use that time to listen to Final Fight Bible Radio, sermons, and teachings by preachers like David Peacock, David Walker, and so on. When do you find time to study the Bible for the Lord? During long-distance drives! You can also listen to the Bible during the drive as well.
c) Finances
Some of us may be in dire need of money, because we don’t have jobs, or are struggling with poverty, or other needs that must be taken care of by the Lord.
Advantage – It increases our faith when we are in crisis, and reminds us that God takes care of the situation.
d) Unanswered prayers
Christians may be distressed by unanswered prayers. We may believe that God has to answer a certain prayer, or that our lives will end if He doesn’t.
Advantage: God did not answer your prayers so that you do not have to regret the answered prayer. Sometimes, the prayers that we ask for may get us into danger or hurt us. For example, if God answers a certain prayer about you getting a job that will allow you to earn a certain amount of money, that job may cause you to compromise, or sin against the Lord. If the Lord answers your prayer about getting a specific partner in your life, that person may cause you to sin, compromise, or water down your Christian life. Make sure that you ask the Lord to take care of your desperate prayers the way He feels is right so that you won’t regret it later.
e) Criticism
We get enough criticism from the world just by saying the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, some of us have faced criticism from our friends when we got saved, or when they find out that we go to a Bible-believing church. We may be criticized by our family, and even our partners, which will hurt. We may be accused of being in a cult. However, there is a great advantage in all of this.
Advantage: You will be blessed by God. Jesus says this in Matthew 5:10-12:
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
f) Family
We may have trouble with your children, parents, or have family members becoming disabled of weak. Whatever it is, you may have some sort of family-related distress that you have to take care of. There is yet an advantage in all of this distress.
Advantage: You will develop wisdom in dealing with people. If you learn how to manage disagreements in your house, you can manage disagreements outside the home as well. According to 1 Timothy 3, if a man cannot manage his own house how can he manage the church?
3) Disadvantage of Damage
a) Health
You may be struggling with a variety of health problems. This can include physical illnesses such as cancer, blindness, or disabilities that keep you immobile, mental illnesses, or even chronic pain.
Advantage: These disadvantages can be the most powerful advantages. You can use these as a testimony to lead people to Christ.
b) Loss
Some Christians have lost loved ones. Although it is incredibly sad to watch someone die, there is an advantage to this.
Advantage: We understand what true grief is; what loss is. We understand what God the Father felt when he lost his only begotten Son was tortured, shamed, and killed, and become more gentle and compassionate through grief.
c) Mistakes
Some people do things sincerely, putting forth their best effort, and still mess up or impact and hurt a person, especially with misunderstanding.
Advantage: The mistakes that you make will allow you to better understand people in the future. These mistakes will make you more humble and dependent on the Lord; it will make you less prideful, knowing that your wisdom is not the fruit of your efforts.
d) Addiction
Some people are currently going through sinful struggles. When you go through these sinful struggles, they become addictions. These things can be even small things such as angrily responding to people and bad thoughts. However, there is an advantage in going through such sinful struggles.
Advantage: It is a learning experience in understanding struggles, sin, and temptations. People who go through specific struggles will be able to minister to those who are going through the same struggle that they went through in the past.
e) Persecution
The worst type of disadvantage is being tortured and getting killed for Jesus Christ, then having the family also persecuted.
Advantage: There is something real about following Jesus Christ by looking at your love and tenacity for Jesus; it is a powerful testimony.
In Daniel 11: 8-9, the king’s life becomes more prosperous. After losing a person in verse 6, he wouldn’t have prospered if he didn’t go through that disadvantage.
Everyone wants a blessing, and live in a day and age where we want the blessing automatically without any price to pay. However, we need to realize that blessings come with effort and God will make you more prosperous only when you go through disadvantages.