Many people feel angry with God because they pray for something, and don’t receive it. But God is not a magic genie. He is a loving Father. Just imagine if parents gave young children all they wanted. Kids everywhere would probably eat too much sugar, stay up too late, and get in all kinds of trouble. Loving parents often have to say no, because children don’t yet have the wisdom to always make good decisions. And you know, God is our loving Father and He sometimes has to say no to us. We don’t always know what is best for our lives, but God does.

St. Paul had a struggle in his life.  He asked God to take it away, but God did not. But Paul accepted that God knew best, writing, “for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul knew that God’s power was made perfect through his weakness. Paul trusted God to do what was right with a hard thing in his life. He knew God would use it to help him reach his world.

Do you trust God with the hard things happening in your life? Do you trust Him when He says, “no”? Your faith will be a powerful witness to a watching school, neighborhood, or office when you accept it as from your Father.

This is Luis Palau.