Today is the first time I can say I am thankful for a rare medical condition that I previously endured. I didn't understand it at the time but now it has great significance. You see, my daughter has now come down with the same unusual condition.
In some ways, I've had to deal with the post-traumatic stress of the medical treatment I received when I was going through this, but these doctors seeing my daughter are better. And I find myself stronger and able to fight for good care for her through this.
We are able to sit in this potentially anxious time of waiting together as I honestly can reassure her that things will be okay. Not every test is fun but it is part of the process. I also can make better-informed decisions walking through this now due to my previous experience.
God does know how to equip us and give us what we need. Twenty years ago I would not have seen the good in the health scares that I endured but I now have clarity. Why did this happen to my daughter? I cannot answer that question yet but I can trust it is also part of God's greater plan.
Many of the people of the Bible waited years to get some clarity on the whys of the things that happened to them. Yet, there was an entire batch of people listed in Hebrews 11 who didn't receive their answers but were commended for their faith in God. God has a plan that we can rely on. Sometimes He will make it clear and other times we just have to trust.
I'm thankful for the gift of grace I get to see in some of the whys. Yet I also need to realistically know that most of the whys are opportunities to trust by faith alone. They increase our faith.
The Bible defines faith as "the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). We cannot always know the whys but we can know the character of the One who is in control of all things.
When in doubt, meditate on these character traits:
He is Love
Merciful
Unchanging
Good
Sovereign
Savior
Faithful
Refuge
Almighty
Glorious
Deliverer
Incomprehensible
And those are just a few. We do serve a great God who went to the cross for all our pains and suffering and is making all things new. This stuff is temporary and is only preparing glorious things for us in eternity.
Angela Parsley is a certified biblical counselor who lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband, Tony, and their three children. They are members of Concord Baptist Church. Angela writes and reviews books at her blog, Refresh My Soul. You can follow her on Twitter.
