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Dear Annette;
I have been somewhat ill for a few weeks and I haven't been getting better. My doctor's tell me to cut back on my activities and to get more rest. I have had to cut out all the things I love to do and keep only the most significant things in my life, like family and church. This has been most difficult for me. I feel a great loss, not only for the loss of my health, but because I cannot do the things I once did.
I feel that I am a good person and cannot see why my bad times seem to be getting worse. I know the Lord loves me, but it seems the I have beaten the odds of probability for continuous bad luck. I have talked it over with the Lord and keep getting the feeling that bad times will continue, but that He will help me get through these times. Can you shed some further light on the subject?
Sincerely,
Loved and Lost
Dear Loved and Lost,
I have been where you are now. I know how hard it is to give up things that you love, for the sake of health. It really hurts. I am proud of you for making the tough decisions. You and your family will be better off for it.
The absence of the things you have loved and lost is a death of sorts. Like the death of something/someone held dear, the sting will pass and life as it is handed to you, will go on.
The Lord has the power to make all problems right. Many times we wonder why He doesn't. We wonder, is it a lack of faith, is it because of bad behavior of the past, or something not yet repented of? For many of these questions the answer is most often , "No!"
Why then does God allow good people to suffer. People pray always for everything to be peachy in their lives. This is not what this life is for. It is for personal growth and development. This growth and development seldom occurs while things are peachy, but instead occurs while things are hard.
We were sent here to become capable self-controlled people, able to understand the problems of our future heavenly children and to act (self-controlled) as a God should at all times and in all places.
That is what this life is to teach us. This life was never meant to be peachy, but hard. The temple ceremony calls this life “a veil of tears.” For those of us who are on the trail of becoming Gods and Goddesses, it is just that as Christ allow disappointments and sadness to come to us.
It is through bad times that we draw closer to the Lord and finally come to know who He truly is. As we increase our relationship with Christ during our trials, we come to see that even though we hurt, He blesses us with strength of character, patience, and endurance. We come to like ourselves and who we are. In this way God refines us into beings that will be acceptable in our Father's presents. What a gift Christ is giving us.
Christ has promised to walk with us through all our problems, if we ask Him too. This is why it is important not to be bitter about what life gives us, but instead turn it over to the Lord for its management and our growth.
I pray that you will see life's trials for what they are and praise the Lord for His loving help.
Best wishes always,