Life!  It seems to have a way of destroying our dreams and breaking our hearts.  There was the perfect job was offered to someone else.  There was the child who rebelled and caused untold heart ache, or the death of a loved one whose passing left a hole in our lives that can never be filled.  Marriages dissolve, our health deteriorates and, before we know it, our days are filled with the challenges of getting older. 

Now some people respond to life’s heartaches and disappointments with self-pity.  These folk are certain that no one . . . absolutely no one . . .  has endured as many undeserved challenges and life altering events as they have.   

Others become angry and resentful.  They not only strike out against the good fortunes of others, their negative attitudes are often responsible for the dark shadow that shrouds their lives.   These are people who would rather accept defeat rather than step out in faith. 

In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul suggests there is another way of responding to the inevitable disappointments and setbacks in our lives.  According to Robert A. Beringer, Paul did not blame God for all the misfortunes he experienced.  Instead he saw God as a source of strength and help in the midst of his suffering.  He somehow grasped the wondrous truth that when we human beings suffer, God suffers with us.  (Bright Intervals:  CSS Publishing, 1998 – p. 18) 

Through faith we know that, regardless of how difficult and heartbreaking life becomes, we are never alone.  God is always there, ready to strengthen us and guide us through the darkest of time.  All we have to is trust, believe, and follow.