The answers are in the Word of God.

There's no skinnier way than The Way of the Word

Facing Life's Struggles

"I wish there was a skinnier way to get there!" my four-year-old exclaimed as we traveled by car from northern Arkansas to Dallas.

Whether we're traveling from one side of the country to the other or just driving to the shopping center a few blocks away, most of us are anxious to get to our destination. We're annoyed when a stalled car holds up traffic or a light stays red longer than we think it should.

We don't like to be delayed in other areas of our lives, either. We want the fruits of maturity before we're able to digest them. When trials slow us down, we become annoyed. Yet the very trial that seemingly impedes our progress can be the instrument God uses to strengthen us, so that we may even be able to reach our goal more quickly than if God had cleared our path.

One thing is certain. Our trials will either destroy us or they will develop us. Paul Billheimer, in Don't Waste Your Sorrows , says, "Nothing that can come to one from any source can injure him unless it causes him to have a bad attitude." We can let God teach us through our trials, or we can let them turn us into bitter, unhappy individuals. It's up to us.

There is no "skinnier way to get there," but there is help in The Way of the Word:

"Let it be all joy to you, my brothers, when you undergo tests of every sort; Because you have the knowledge that the testing of your faith gives you the power of going on in hope; But let this power have its full effect, so that you may be made complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4 Bible in Basic English ).