My father used to tell about a friend who, when he asked him how old he was, said, "I am 43 years old. I would be 44, but I was sick for a year."
Even though the friend's answer may seem amusing, I suspect many of us relate in a similar way to the negative things that happen in our lives. Somehow, they are a waste of time, stopping the clock of our personal progress.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul suggests a very different way of looking at things. The "bad" things that happen to us can be put to a good purpose. After we have been through something hard, something we no doubt would have avoided if it were possible, we now have added to our collection of experiences and memories something that can be of help to someone else.
I am afraid I sometimes go around in a little bubble that only has room inside for me. I measure everything by whether it is good for me or not. It is far from my thinking to ask if what is happening to me might benefit someone else. Even when I am spiritual enough to ask, "Why is God letting this happen," my "why" probably means no more than "What does God want to give ME out of this." It is a step up in maturity to ask, "How can this hard thing God is allowing me to go through be of benefit to someone else."
Paul says that God is there to help in a time of trouble so that we will afterward be able to help someone else. And if we have received some comfort from God, that too is not because we are the center of the universe. The comfort we receive from God is given to us as a gift to be shared with others when they need it. In fact, how often has God helped us in a time of trouble by sending to us someone who can tell us how faithful God has been in their lives when they were tested?
Let us not waste our trials. The great God who orchestrates all of our lives wants to bring something good out of them.
- 7 NOVEMBER -