Bringing Good From Bad

 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

We will never be perfect while here in the flesh. We make mistakes. Others may lie to us and hurt us. Unexpected deaths, injuries or illnesses may befall us, or loved ones. We may lose jobs, or not be promoted as we expected.

But God is watching. Struggles in life are God's opportunity to prove His unlimited ability. He teaches, and blesses, and overcomes.

This story is from when I was a new Christian, 13 or 14 years old. I was thinking about this principle, and how God has a purpose in things that happened.

We lived in a wooded area, and I liked to ride my bicycle on the roads there. When coming home, I rode up a big hill to get there; the top of that hill was a small distance from our driveway, so I actually had a short downhill run going into our driveway.

But our driveway was steep, and gravel, about 60-70 meters long. I could not ride all the way up, but with speed from the short downhill, I could go 1/4 of the way. And on this day I kept thinking and praying about WHY things happen.

So I came to the top, toward the short downhill run, thinking about “Why?”, and for what purpose things happened.

My bicycle was speeding fast when I reached the driveway – then I remembered my father had just gotten a fresh load of gravel! My bike skidded back and forth as I tried to gain control; my bike was still going fast, and all the while I was thinking “Why? Why was this happening? For what purpose?

But I lost the fight. I felt the bike tip over too far, I had lost control. I was falling over to my right side. I closed my eyes, and braced for impact with the ground. And while falling, I still thought, “Why?”

I never hit the ground. I heard the crunching of stones, as my bike stood up, straightened. I opened my eyes, and I was standing upright!

What does it take to convince us of the reality of God?

Why did my bike skid out of control? The Bible says that God would use even that for my good.

Did God show me how real His angels are, or was this directly Him? Was it simply to build my faith in the invisible God? Any or all of these could be reasons.

What I know for sure is that God is faithful, and while calling to Him in prayer, He let me know that He heard. By this and many other instances I know that the Lord is close, and always hears – and I love Him for that.