There’s a Purpose. Have You Looked for It?

Jesus said we’d have problems (John 16:33). Nobody gets a free pass. Solve one problem and another’s waiting to take its place. They’re not all big, but they’re all necessary to your spiritual growth. How do you measure the strength of anything? By testing it! Listen: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12-13). David wrote: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted” (Ps. 34:18). Your most life-changing experiences will often come during your darkest days–when your heart’s broken, you feel abandoned, you’re out of options, your pain levels are through the roof, and you turn to God. That’s when you learn to pray heart-felt, honest-to-God prayers. When you’re in pain you don’t have the energy for superficial ones. God could have kept Joseph out of jail, Daniel out of the lions’ den, Jeremiah out…