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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Dear Rev. Graham: I know there aren’t easy answers to why God allows us to go through hard times and that often God allows us to experience difficulties to keep us close to Him. But isn’t there another way? – H.T.

Dear H.T.: When we’re healthy, we easily become busy and preoccupied with the present – and end up forgetting God. In other cases, God will often use our pain as a witness to His faithfulness in the midst of despair. When an accident or illness sets us aside, we have time to reflect on what’s really important.
Throughout the ages, suffering Christians have found that the Bible’s promise is true: “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (Psalm 145:18, NIV). The Bible also says, “The eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27, NIV).
When suffering comes, we must learn to trust each day into God’s hands. Even if we can’t concentrate very well, we can ask God to let our lips be filled with prayer and praise. Praying for His sovereign will is doing God’s will, and He intervenes in ways that we do not always understand. When we trust Him with our very lives, He uses it to His glory.
We can find comfort in His promises. When we read and meditate on God’s Word, we are strengthened. “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2–4).
There are countless testimonies to God’s faithfulness from those who have experienced physical and financial pain, but through it all they have proclaimed, “I am closer to God than ever.” He does promise to be near.
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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)