Page 152 - First Steps 2023

• Andrea was driving the family’s Toyota 4Runner, off to visit the col-
lege she hoped to soon attend. When an approaching driver lost con-
trol of his car, he slammed into Andrea’s side of her vehicle. Andrea
passed away immediately but her mother, strapped in the seat next

to Andrea, wasn’t seriously injured. Which means she had a front-row
seat to watch her child die. When Andrea’s grieving parents arrived
home late that night, their pastor was waiting for them. Andrea’s
father thanked him for coming and then gently said, “We’re going to
get some sleep now. We’ll pray and then see the good thing that God
will do tomorrow.”

Difficult times don’t come with easy answers. But they do come with
hope. God has all eternity to work out the good in hard times and promis-
es in Romans 8:28 that he will: “And we know that in all things God works
for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to
his purpose.”
Trials can—if we choose—strengthen our faith and reliance on God.
Inviting him to walk with us through suffering helps us get to know him in
ways we won’t in any other situation.
Consider how one college professor, whose wife has an incurable

disease, responds when asked how he’s doing.
“I’m hanging on by a thread,” he says. “But, fortunately, that thread
is knit by God.”

Both pray together.
How can I pray for you?

Pause to consider what you’ve dis-
cussed about living joyfully. How can
you pray for one another as you move
forward in following Jesus?

151