Trials

We all go through them, some are very tough some not too bad. But trials are a part of life.
DS gave an excellent sermon from 1 Peter last night dealing with coping with difficulties and I have been thinking about it today.
Most people in their early 20s won't have had to deal with a major life event but once you hit your 30s just about everyone will have been through such a time.
(Some people DO have to deal with things earlier than their 20s but as a majority thing I think it was fair to generalise to say the above).
It's true for me anyway, in my 20s I didn't have a lot of major difficulties, a few relatively minor things in the late 20s but it wasn't until just after my 30th birthday that one of the aforementioned major life events occurred.
How do we deal with them?
As a Christian I found it immensely helpful knowing that God was there for me even at the times when I thought `this is too hard'.
Does God cause the trial? DS argued that God doesn't necessarily cause a trial to occur in your life but he does let it happen. This can be confusing. Why would God let something bad happen to one of his people? On the other hand though, what makes me so special that I should be spared any trouble in life.
The key is to know that God is allowing the trial for a reason, and I think the reason it to see how you react. We are challenged to rejoice in any trial for God is working for our ultimate good.
This isn't easy to work with, I know. Check out the downloads page at CITM for a listen.