Relationship with God is not immune to the surprises and costs of our daily life.

God is a magnet who draws pain to God's own self.

When he hung over the death-bed of his infant son Ibrahim, resignation to the Will of God was exhibited in his conduct under this keenest of afflictions; and the hope of soon rejoining his child in paradise was his consolation. When he followed him to the grave, he invoked his spirit, in the awful examination of the tomb, to hold fast to the foundations of the faith, the Unity of God, and his own mission as a Prophet.

Man's thought is always of the punishment that will come to him if he sins. God's thought is always of the glory man will miss if he sins. God's purpose for redemption is glory, glory, glory.

O human race born to fly upward, wherefore at a little wind dost thou fall.

Things not going your way? Are you facing hardships? What an opportunity to experience true freedom. Take this season to focus on desiring God's will in every area of your life. Then celebrate the freedom of living life as God intended you to.

We can't help but feel brokenhearted for the trials so many have to endure. But we can rest assured God will save His beloved—and He will call the wicked to account.

Forgiveness as the response to the inevitability of failure. Suffering understood as part of life. Trust as the other side of anguish. A permanent thankfulness.

Communion over loneliness. Death not an end, but a beginning. At home in the absolute—and absolutely unknown—future.

I still have scars that need healing, wounds that may never completely go away. And I still have a lot of unanswered questions about the suffering I've seen. But at least I'm open and willing to have God show me the way. I listen closely to what he has to tell me. I know he helped me stay alive for a reason, and each day I strive to live out that reason.

He brings eventual well-being for those who turn to Him, regardless of any hardship He may allow, but eventual calamity for those who reject Him, regardless of how well their immediate life may be going.

Seeing life from an eternal perspective helps us focus our limited mortal energies on the things that matter most.