Trials

One time, somebody got my car into an accident. No big deal, that’s why we have insurance. Only one problem: I couldn’t drive it before it got fixed up again about a week later. Oh, how frustrating that was. I live close enough to my work to walk there. I live close enough to the grocery store to walk there. I live close enough to church to walk there. I live close enough to my best friend’s house to walk there. I live close enough to the gym to walk there.

Wait a minute…

Okay, I see what God did there. I didn’t need the car for anything, really. I could walk anywhere I needed to go. Now, I can’t deny that I have a newfound appreciation for cars, my license to drive one, and God for giving me the finances to buy one.

Wait, I thought we were talking about bad things? Let’s try another, harder one.

Your grandma dies. Wait, is that too much? Well, mine did die recently. That certainly qualifies as bad, right? Well, let’s look at the facts. She was a beautiful woman of 91 years (oof, that’s old), she had so many health issues she was constantly complaining about pain or discomfort, her husband had died two years previous (she was no doubt lonely), and it took many, many hours per week to take care of her.

After her death, one of her granddaughters (the one who took care of her the most) felt so much relief that the burden of taking care of someone full-time had passed. She, of course, felt bad that she felt that way, but her life is so much simpler now. Her mother had ended up having to pay for the monthly rent to stay at the apartments for the elderly because the old woman’s retirement fund had run out five years previous.

So, was this bad? In a way, of course! Death is bad because it is a punishment for having sinned.

But, you can’t deny that sooner or later it would have happened. Sooner or later you’re going to face trials. Jesus said it Himself.