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.
“God will not permit any trouble to come upon us, unless he has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.” Peter Marshall.
Many people are familiar with Romans 8:28 and often quote it in times of trouble. It gives us comfort when we read “for good.” Knowing that I will benefit in some way helps me through the time of difficulty. But this is not the only verse which teaches us that God works through the difficulties of life. Sometimes though His purposes are for other and higher reasons that simply “our good,”
In John 9 we have the account of a person who was born blind. This man was not only born blind but lived in darkness for many years before the miracle which gave him sight. The ultimate goal of this difficulty was the glory of God. Obviously, it was also for his good because now he could see. But for God to be glorified, this man spent many years in darkness. For a person to endure a trying time and the ultimate reason be the glory of God requires absolute submission to the will of God.
Then in John 11 we find Jesus purposely allowing Lazarus to die. The purpose of this was not only the glory of God but to further strengthen the faith of both Martha and Mary. Both claimed to have faith but their faith was not as complete as it needed to be. Are we willing to face difficulty for the single purpose of seeing our faith increased?
It has been said that difficulties will make us bitter or better. I trust that whatever we may experience today will make us better.