The Gift of Problems

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. —James 1:2–4, ESV

As a teenager, I strongly disliked my mother.

I prayed and asked God to do something to fix our broken relationship—and when I say that He works in mysterious ways, He truly does.

A few years ago, my beloved father died of cancer.

My friends did not support me, my grades were not up to par, my health was declining, and a boy broke my heart—all around the same time.

It felt like everything that could go wrong for a teenager did.

I know it is drastic to think God allowed my father to pass so my mother and I would be forced to rebuild our relationship, but I believe He did.

God wants to save us, purify us, and mold us into His loving likeness.

During this very challenging time, my mother and I learned to support and forgive each other. I realized who my real friends were, submitted my health to God, studied even harder, and focused on my relationship with Jesus.

My love for the Great Physician did not dim when He chose not to heal my father—if anything, it grew. And that is why we can learn to praise Him despite our problems.

Trials and tribulation are often a gift.

Without them, we would not be able to exercise our dependence on God; we would not be able to see plainly how weak and powerless we are without Him.

It is wonderful to know that when we hit rock bottom, Jesus will be the Rock on which we will stand. We expect God to miraculously solve our problems, but my sister, if that is what we are focused on, we are missing the point.

He wants us to learn from the experiences we go—and grow—through.

He wants our faith to stand the test of fire.

He wants us to depend on Him daily without any fear for the future. While Satan will do anything and everything to break us, to make us lose hope, when we place our hope in our Almighty Father, it will never be in vain. Though we may feel like there is no way out, “our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing.” At the end of the day, Jesus is all we will ever need. His strength will always be perfect when our strength is gone. Have hope, dear sister, for when we are at rock bottom, He is the Rock on which we can stand!

Kelsey Dawn Negre