Answers

Q:

What do you think is the worst thing that can happen to a person? I've had a lot of sickness and financial problems in my life, and I thought things couldn't get any worse. But recently I lost my wife, and that's even worse. Will still worse things come my way?


A:

Life is uncertain, and we never know what the future holds for any of us. I often think of Job in the Old Testament, whose suffering was far greater than most of us will ever experience. He knew how precarious life can be: “Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7).

But I urge you not to live in constant dread of the future. Just because life has been hard for you so far doesn’t mean it must be even worse in the future. Instead, I urge you to put your life and your future into God’s hands, and to realize that even in hard times He will never abandon you.

Begin by turning in faith to Christ and asking Him to come into your life. Isn’t it better to face life’s problems with God than without Him? Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). This is God’s promise for you.

The worst thing that can happen to anyone is to live apart from Christ – both now and in eternity. But when we know Him, we know we can turn to Him for help in times of need – and someday all our trials will be over and we will be in God’s presence forever. The Bible says, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (Nahum 1:7).