Almost 50 years ago, my husband, Joe, was in an auto accident that demolished the small sports car that he loved with all his heart. The collision wasn't his fault in the least, and this fact made it even harder for him to bear. Joe's insurance company considered the car totaled, and issued him a check for it right away. When he went to a dealership to pick out a new vehicle, he settled on a beautiful new Pontiac LeMans.

While all this was happening, Joe and I happened to be at the same college, and in the same Sociology class. We hadn't said a word to each other until our professor put us in a skit together, and we had to spend some one-on-one time with each other. That's when Joe told me that he was going to pick up his new car later that week, and he asked if I would like to go for a ride in it. When he told me that it was a Pontiac, I jumped at the chance, because it was my favorite kind of car, and I owned one myself. I fell in love with that car as soon as I laid eyes on it, and I eventually fell in love with Joe. When he asked me to marry him on our first date, I laughed, but I couldn't deny that, even then, there was something special between us.

Today, if you hear Joe tell the story about his heartbreaking car accident those many years ago, he will say that he believes that God allowed it so that he could buy the car that would capture my attention when we finally met. Only seven months before, I had gone through a painful breakup with my high school sweetheart, and at the time that I met Joe, my heart was seriously hardened. God knew that this new car would be the icebreaker that was needed to begin the process of softening my heart again.

Perhaps you are in a situation like Joe's today, and the Lord is saying to you, "In the days to come you will understand all this." (Jeremiah 30:24 NLT) You are wondering what the Lord is up to, and you can't imagine how any good could come out of what you're going through. You are not reading this by chance, dear one. God wants you to know that your disappointment and pain are not in vain. He is going to transform them into something beautiful before your very eyes. Trust Him. Call out to Him. And watch Him do what only He can do!

Prayer: Lord, when You allow me to suffer in ways that threaten to rob me of the peace and joy that belong to me in Christ, speak words of comfort to me, and help me to hear and heed Your voice. Guard me from a hard and unbelieving heart, and fill my mind with thoughts that will bring healing to my hurting soul. Thank You for transforming my troubles into my greatest triumphs in Jesus' name!