Pastor and author, John Ortberg, was very good friends with the philosopher Dallas Willard, and he recounts how he phoned him up once when he was in deep despair and said: “Hey Dallas. My heart is breaking. I cannot fix this. I don’t understand it. I am sadder than I’ve ever been”. He says there was a long pause. And then Dallas uttered a single sentence: “This will be a test of your joyful confidence in God”.
Dallas did not say “I am so sorry to hear that” or “I wish there was something I could do to help you” or even “I will pray for you”. No, he immediately brought it back to God and said “This will be a test of your joyful confidence in God”.
When we are going through trials and tribulations and unanswered prayers we need to remember those words. “this is a test to our joyful confidence in God”
Extract from a talk by Noelene Curry