Good morning.

Many folk struggle with difficult and, at times, painful circumstances. We might wonder why God allows us to go through these situations? We are tempted to ask, "why me?". How do we reconcile our suffering with His love for us and His power to prevent or stop it?

In order to understand what’s going on, we need to consider the possible sources of the circumstances.

• The world: We live in a fallen, sinful world. We are faced with evil around every corner. God has given us free will. i.e. God didn’t simply make us like puppets that were unable to choose sin. If we lacked free will, we’d be unable to choose to love Him. And love, by its very nature, must be voluntary.

• The flesh: Sometimes we face consequences from our own foolish or sinful choices, driven by our own desires.

• The devil: the devil's goal is to destroy believers’ lives and testimonies, thereby making us weak and useless for God’s purposes.

As Christians, we’re assured that no adversity comes our way unless He can use it to achieve His good purposes. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Have a lovely weekend

Blessings.

Mike and Daphne