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I've been going through a very tough time. My faith was wavering and I found myself always debating with myself whether there really was a God or not. If there was, I didn't understand why he was making me go through the things I was.

My two best friends at school are the very spiritual type, strong Christians. I've been friends with them for almost 6 years now. I used to envy them for having such faith and security. I wanted to have that too. I couldn't stand being so uncertain about everything. They've always helped me and comforted me when I was having problems. They gave me a Bible verse a long time ago. Up until recently, I've never really believed it, but with everything that has happened to me over the past couple of years, I'm really starting to see it.

I have another good friend who gave me a Life Application Study Bible for an early Christmas present. Here's what it says.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those that love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God works in "everything"--not just isolated incidents-- for our good. This does not mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. Note that God is not working to make us happy but to fulfill his purpose. Note also that his promise is not for everybody. It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called my him, that is, those whom the Holy Spirit convinces to recieve Christ. Such people have a new perspective, a new mind-set. They trust in God, not in worldly treasures; their security is in heaven, not on earth. Their faith in God does not waver in pain and persecution because they know God is with them.

I've found this to be absolutely true. From the moment I realized this, I started seeing how everything around me, even if it was bad, could turn out good in the end and have a very good reason for happening.

I used to be a very negative person. I was depressed easily when something went wrong. But now, my outlook is so much more positive, and the people around me notice it. I'm a much happier person. I've really learned to put my faith in God when something goes wrong. When there's something that we cannot control or handle on our own, we can't be afraid to ask God for help. Give him all your burdens and troubles. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, even if we don't.