blessings in disguise

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

—John 16:33

 

It is really, really hard to find blessings in everything that we go through, especially when we are living in the moment.

Sometimes, we won’t ever see the blessings in disguise while we reside on earth.

How can the death of a loved one be a blessing?

How does losing a job manifest itself as a blessing?

How does the willful destruction of a relationship by another person become a blessing?

Sometimes we have to look beyond ourselves. 

We might have experienced something horrible, so that we are able to show compassion when it happens to someone we know.

God shows us mercy and love, brings us peace and hope even when we are struggling and hurt, and this teaches us comfort, so we are able to comfort others.

Oh yes, there is a song reference here:

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Our pain may be insufferable to us at the time, but looking back, we made it through.

And maybe our method of coping and getting out of the darkness will help someone else to come through their troubles.