Most view the struggles of life as something negative. They are usually seen as non-productive with no positive outcome. They seem to take things away from us, and their timing is never convenient.

We think worrying about them prepares us for their effects, when in fact, we are causing many of them ourselves. Most of the things we worry about rarely happen, and when they do there are usually no long-term consequences. The things we are not worrying about affect us more than the things we stress over.

We may not be prepared for the unexpected, but the Lord is. Our part in the trials that come our way is to trust Him and God’s part is to provide for us. Trusting in Him will help us develop confidence in His wisdom and love providing us a peace and security.

According to I Corinthians 10:13, the struggles are common to all men, therefore we do not suffer alone. Through God’s grace others are able to support us as we go through them. Life is not always fair, but the Lord is faithful. We can more than survive a trial, we can even prosper with His help.

If all we have are our limited resources for our needs, we can become bitter, rebellious or even give up on the Lord. Our trust in God grows as we learn to depend on Him more. The blind man would not have known what God could do if he had not been blind. We will discover that the Lord starts the process of providing before our needs even occur. There are no accidents in life, only opportunities to discover the greatness of God.

He takes us through the trial, not around it. The Apostle Paul realizes his thorn in the flesh, or physical handicap, is a gift from God. A gift does say much about the giver. The thought and expense involved shows we are special. The gift is chosen in order to add a quality to our lives. Much of what happens to us is not from what we do wrong, but from what we do right. Trials add a dimension, insight and maturity we cannot get otherwise. We may feel that life, at times, is a puzzle. There may be pieces we struggle with and question how they fit together for our good. One day the puzzle will be complete and our masterpiece revealed.

We try to pull God down to our level wanting Him to have more interest in this life, whereas He wants us to have more in the next. The Lord wants to change us, but we just want Him to solve our problems and change our circumstances.

The attitude we have during the struggles of life makes us bitter or sweet and drives us either to Him or away from Him. God understands us and our needs even though we do not understand Him. Our responsibility is to trust Him for His purpose in our life.

STEVE CONWELL can be reached at SteveConwell@outlook.com.