In James 4:13-15 it is written…
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
This may come as a big surprise, but none of us knows what tomorrow… much less the next hour or minute or second will bring. No one ever expects to go to the doctor for a check up and be told they have terminal cancer. No one expects when they wake up that they’ll have an accident that alters the course of their life (Ask Joni Tada). On their wedding day, no one expects their marriage to end in divorce. We simply just do not know what will happen from one day to the next. BUT…
We do know the One who holds each day in their hand. We do know the One who wills all things for His glory and our ultimate good (Ro 8:28). We do know the One who is working out His plan that will end up in eternal celebration and understanding.
Consider this: In order for God to get us ready for heaven… to conform us to Christ… to remove sin and idols from our lives, He will take us places we’d never have chosen. He’ll cause things that make us wonder what’s going on. He’ll allow events that cause pain (Temporarily) SO THAT we end up being better off than if those things had never happened. Read the story of Joseph in the OT. Read the story of Job… Saul… Peter… JESUS!
Personally, had I not gone through some very rough storms and dark nights of the soul I wouldn’t be where I am today! I am thankful (now) for those hard times because without them I wouldn’t experience the blessings of this weekend! Don’t get mad at people that attack you… hurt you… or attempt to destroy you… they are the means being used by God for your sanctification and conformity to the image of Christ.
As my wife said to me 2 years ago, “If we believe what we say we do… we shouldn’t get mad at the people God uses to make us more like His Son.” Wow… is she ever right!