A small Hole
A small hole in the side of a very big dam can break the whole dam, however strong it is.
Liberation
If we refrain from desiring pleasure and hating pain, karma will work itself out, and we shall be liberated.
Duty
God-oriented performance of one's own duty is the direct road to perfection.
Opportunities
Suffering evokes compassion in us.
Sickness in one offers another the opportunity to serve.
The man's poverty is another's occasion for charity.
Then national calamities like famine, earthquake, flood, and the worst of all - war - bring out great hidden, divine qualities in many.
Recognition
It is equally important to remember that knowing the true nature of the avatara implies recognition of the essential divine nature of oneself, and the urgent need to shake off the dust that covers it.
Such recognition is an avatara, too!