have written it as a Bible study about God and His sovereignty, wisdom, and love as they bear upon the adversities we all encounter.

life is filled with such little events, little frustrations, little anxieties, and little disappointments that tempt us to fret, fume, and worry.

so the faith to trust God in adversity comes through the Word of God alone. It is only in the Scriptures that we find an adequate view of God's relationship to and involvement in our painful circumstances.

purpose is for us to become so convinced of these truths that we appropriate them in our daily circumstances, that we learn to trust God in the midst of our pain, whatever form it may take. It does not matter whether our pain is trivial or traumatic, temporary or interminable. Regardless of the nature of the circumstances, we must learn to trust God if we would glorify God in them.

But that which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good.

Rather than being offended over the Bible's assertion of God's sovereignty in both good and calamity, believers should be comforted by it.

Adversity is difficult even when we know God is in control of our circumstances.

Whatever our particular calamity or adversity may be, we may be sure that our Father has a loving purpose in it.

But what about when the story does not have a happy ending? Is God sovereign then also? This is the crucial question. It's easy to trust God when a process of events turns out as we would desire, though even here our faith often falters during the process until we know the outcome.

A disposition to trust in ourselves is part of our sinful nature. It sometimes takes a major crisis, or at least a moderate one, to turn us toward the Lord. A mark of Christian maturity is to continually trust the Lord in the minutiae of daily life. If we learn to trust God in the minor adversities, we will be better prepared to trust Him in the major ones.

our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good.

We must believe this and cling to this in the face of adversity and tragedy, if we are to glorify God by trusting Him.