Because we know that God has power to remove affliction we may complain when He does not do so.
It truly is folly for us with our mortal myopia to presume to judge God.
We ought not to think of God’s plan as some cosmic vending machine.
Our faith in God cannot be based on what God does (especially what he does at any particular time) but must be based on our knowledge of who He is.
In His response to Job, God demands, “Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?” Or in other words, “Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified?” Jehovah forcefully reminds Job of His omnipotence and omniscience, and Job in deepest humility admits he possesses nothing even close to the knowledge, power, and righteousness of God and cannot stand in judgment of the Almighty.
The same is true between parents and children (not to the same degree) chidren cannot stand in judgement if their parents (at least until long after they are out of the nest).
Some misunderstand the promises of God to mean that obedience to Him yields specific outcomes on a fixed schedule.
President Brigham Young explained that his faith was not built on certain outcomes or blessings but on his witness of and relationship with Jesus Christ. He said: “My faith is not placed upon the Lord’s working upon the islands of the sea, upon his bringing the people here, … nor upon the favors he bestows upon this people or upon that people, neither upon whether we are blessed or not blessed, but my faith is placed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and my knowledge I have received from him.”
If we truly have faith in Christ then we will assume that any discrepancy between our expectations and His apparent actions represents a discrepancy in our expectations it in our perceptions, not a discrepancy in His actions.
Our repentance and obedience, our service and sacrifices do matter. We want to be among those described by Ether as “always abounding in good works.” But it is not so much because of some tally kept in celestial account books. These things matter because they engage us in God’s work and are the means by which we collaborate with Him in our own transformation from natural man to saint. What our Heavenly Father offers us is Himself and His Son, a close and enduring relationship with Them through the grace and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.
Even so, this path cannot be easy for any of us. There is too much refining needed for it to be easy. Jesus said:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit [the Father] taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
That is a good deception of why the way cannot be easy.
In the midst of this refiner’s fire, rather than get angry with God, get close to God. Call upon the Father in the name of the Son. Walk with Them in the Spirit, day by day. Allow Them over time to manifest Their fidelity to you. Come truly to know Them and truly to know yourself. Let God prevail
In the end, it is the blessing of a close and abiding relationship with the Father and the Son that we seek. It makes all the difference and is everlastingly worth the cost.
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