The Apostle Paul, who had been through one desperate crisis after another, wrote as follows: “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”(Rom. 8:28).

How many people have found life going along smoothly for years when, all of a sudden, they have found themselves in the middle of some serious crisis!

Perhaps sickness or the sudden death of a loved one changed life completely and presented serious problems wholly unanticipated. Perhaps it was the sudden loss of wealth, so that life had to be completely readjusted. There are hundreds of unexpected incidents that can suddenly bring one face to face with stark and stern realities completely unforeseen. I call these situations... hitting the wall (immoveable)... such that we can't fix it... the blessing is that we are forced to look to Him, "the author and finisher of our faith."

So, for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ such crises can prove great spiritual blessings. They tend to draw us closer to our heavenly Father, to cause us to pray more and to lean harder upon Him. They show us the insecurity of all that is temporal and give us a greater appreciation of our eternal security in Christ. They give deeper meaning to the Scriptures we study and even to the hymns we sing.

The refining effect of such difficult sufferings in our live causes us to more clearly see and value what counts most are eternal riches of our relationship with the Lord, not those of the temporal realm.

To those — and only those — who truly love God and are “the called according to His purpose,” all things do indeed “work together for good” — caused by God, of course, to “work together for good.”

This is why God’s Word to the Christian is:

“Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).