Blessed With Adversity

The First Presidency message is really good this month. It's from President Uchtdorf, and it's about why there need to be seasons of trial and adversity in our lives. He says:

I am sure at one time or another we have all thought it would be nice to take up residence in a land filled only with days of picture-perfect seasons and avoid the unpleasant times in between. 

But this is not possible. Nor is it desirable.

He explains that it's during times of trial and struggle that we are able to grow stronger. Without experiencing trials and overcoming difficulties, we could never reach the potential God sees in us.

I think I'm beginning to understand that about life. It may be part of the answer to the question of why bad things happen to good people - because maybe those "bad things" that happen to them have a good purpose: to strengthen them, to show an example of strength to others, to teach them patience and humility, or to show them where they can improve. Maybe God lets bad things happen to good people because having bad things happen to us can be a good thing.

The logic is so circular that it nearly defies logic. But if it's only by enduring trials that we can reach our full potential, and if reaching our full potential is the best thing that can happen in our lives, then possibly the best thing God can do for us is to give us trials to endure.

God loves us. He hates to see us struggle or in pain or despair. But He's also perfectly wise and has an eternal perspective. He knows what's best for us in the long run. He knows that a little bit of pain now can yield a greater amount of strength later. From an Eternal Perspective, it's all worth it. All the pain, all the challenges, all the hardship we face has a divine purpose and can become a blessing to us.

So when God gives us trials, or allows trials to come to us through the actions of others, let's try to think of why a loving God would allow that to happen. Let's try to picture the divine purpose of our trials, and fulfill it. If you think God gave you the trial so you could become stronger, try to exercise that strength. If you think God is trying to teach you a lesson, search the scriptures and the words of the prophets until you find that lesson, then try to apply it to your life.

Elder Orson F. Whitney once wrote: 

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.

Our perfectly loving God has a perfect and loving plan. That plan involves pain, and that confuses some people. It used to confuse me. But wise men have learn that suffering breeds strength, and can make us more like our Heavenly Father. In fact, it may be the only thing that can. So, if you can bring yourself to do it, thank God for your problems and try to learn how they were meant to help you. Take advantage of these opportunities to grow. It may not make the trial pass faster, but it'll at least put the trial to good use.