“When the clock of one’s own crisis strikes, the hour for believing in the benevolence of a greater mystery is near” (Adrian van Kaam) We all go through our lives and encounter times of adversity. In this Things Above episode, James Bryan Smith shares a story of a close friend who suffered a terrible injury but was able to find hope through his adversity.

When the clock of crisis strikes in our lives as Adrian van Kaam said, where do we turn? James friend Tim chose to turn to the benevolence of a greater mystery, namely The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we face adversity we can either turn to God or turn away from God, which way we turn makes all the difference. But the story of our faith teaches us that it is in those times we need to take our eyes off of the pain and onto God, and to trust that God can overcome evil with good, that God can make all things work together for good. (Romans 8:28) In that sense adversity can be a blessing.