Predestined Purpose or Hindsight Perspective?

"When the Lord allows a wicked man to suffer, he sometimes lets a Godly man experience the same trial - so that he can show how to overcome in God's love."

Boy - does this sound good to me! This quote gives me purpose for my pain. It gives me something to hold onto, when it feels like all sense is lost. But - is it Biblical?

Certainly, the concept is great. I'm not sure a yes or no answer matters all that very much. But here is something to consider...

You're not alone. Someone else is going through what you're going through. You're not alone! Sing it to your soul. Say it over and over and over again. Write it on your hand. Paint it. Post it. Pray over it. You are not alone.

I have been questioning for a while now - Does God let things happen to us or does He plan for them to happen? Does He merely allow bad circumstances to happen (I know He is strong enough to stop it!) or does he intentionally set roadblocks in our paths to lead us to Him? Is there a predestined purpose or is it all a hindsight perspective that we construe in our minds to make all the suffering worth it?

Hebrews says He is the author and perfecter of our faith. That means God is writing my story and it is supposed to be this way, it is perfect. In Job 14, "Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble." Later, "A person's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed." Everything is set. But this is also a sinful world we live in. I just can't come to terms with why things happen. They just do. Life gets really, really, really hard. But continually, God calls us to his mercy. They are new for us every morning.

“Fear not, I have redeemed you. I called your name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

So, for me. This statement has a lot of truth in it. God put me through what I went through, because He wanted to lead me to a perfect love and satisfaction --- Himself. And ya know what? That eases the pain, believe it or not. God's grace is covering it. He's got the whole world in His hands. He's got me. And now that I have overcome in God's love, I can lead by example and show others that the way to get through this life is with God's love. A love that cannot be matched. A love that is burning with passion. A love that is strong enough to save. That love is for you.