You must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. (James 1:4 CEV)
We can take one
of two attitudes toward the ways of God with us: we can get bitter, sour,
hard; or we can be enlarged by exercise - developed by exercise - so as to
increase capacity and to bring us into a large place in order that we may be
His instrument for governing intelligently under His Headship in ages to
come. Things that enter into our history we cannot always fathom; but the
explanation which we can give is that, whatever there may be as second
causes, the Lord is sovereign, and He thinks it worthwhile sometimes to
allow what the world would call the most terrible thing to overtake us for
the time being. While it would seem that His Name and interests suffer
through that thing, He brings His people through it to a place of maturity;
they get to know the Lord for themselves. Through these terrible things we
find the Lord produces something that is very much more worthy of Himself in
the life of His children. That is His justification - His vindication; if He
could do it in any other way, He would. In the long run He does get
spiritual maturity among His people; He gets them to the place where they
know Him.
He wants to get
us to a place where we know the Lord - where we have our senses exercised to
know. The Lord give us grace to accept all His dealings with us in the light
of His great purpose.