Hidden Blessings

After months of procrastination, I went to a dermatologist to have a suspicious mole on my arm examined. To my surprise, the doctor wanted to take a biopsy from another spot on my skin—one that hadn’t concerned me at all. When the results came back, the second site, rather than the first, had been diagnosed as early-stage melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Thankfully, the problem was discovered while it could be treated and before it had spread to other parts of my body.

I had prayed for the first mole to simply disappear without medical intervention; yet if God had answered my prayer, the serious health situation in the other spot would have gone undiscovered. The result could have been fatal.

So often we pray for the removal of circumstances that are difficult or challenging and we get frustrated when they persist. Instead, we can thank God for the good that he will bring out of difficult circumstances. The result may be more favourable than we can see or imagine. We are blessed by God’s love and protection, even when we are unaware that a problem exists.

Prayer: Dear God, we thank you for seeing beyond our prayers and using negative circumstances in our lives to bring about a greater good. Amen