ALLOW me to share excerpts from articles written by Bo Sanchez. I am certain that these bits and pieces of sound advice will help us cope with whatever we may be going through.
In the Bible, you find that God's great men had great problems. None of them were exempted.
Noah had to build an ark on dry land. Abraham had no kids till he was an old man. Moses killed an Egyptian and went into exile. Joseph was sold as a slave and thrown into prison.
Samuel had rebellious sons. David ran away because King Saul wanted to kill him. Jeremiah was too young. Peter was a coward. James and John had a temper problem.
If you look at the Catholic Saints, you find the same thing. St. Francis, St. Ignatius, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. John Bosco ... all of them went through enormous suffering. But through their suffering, they won the victory.
God worked all things for their good – and for the good of everyone. They became a blessing to others precisely because of their suffering.
Behind the scenes, God is at work!
Friend, are you suffering right now? Are you sick? Do you have emotional pain? Do you have financial difficulties? Relationship problems with family? Work problems?
Believe that God is at work, behind the scenes. He is connecting the “odd” pieces of the jigsaw of your life into a glorious bigger picture. Believe me. He'll make all things work for your good. Your deepest pain will be your most glorious blessing.
Do not be anxious. Pray with thanksgiving instead. For your trial is temporary. It will come to an end. But his love is permanent. It will last forever.
A lot of people stop praying when they don't feel like it. Because times are hard. Because they have no time. Because it feels as if God doesn't listen to them anymore.
But do you know that when God is quiet, then it is a call for you to pray harder?
Friend, when you pray for yourself, you enter into an intimate relationship with God, and blessings will flow into your life.
But when you begin to pray for others, then you open the floodgates of heaven. Grace would flow from one person to another.
Blessings and graces, you see, flow like the river. And it needs an open channel in order for it to flow.
“You don't have the power to make rainbows or waterfalls, sunsets or roses, but you do have the power to bless people by your words and smiles You carry within you the power to make the world better.” ~ Sharon G. Larsen
“There are people in your path just so you can be a blessing to them. Anytime you do good for others, you are sowing a seed for God to be good to you.” ~ Joel Osteen
“The greatest blessing in the whole world is being a blessing.” ~ Jack Hyles