There is Purpose in All Things

Philippians 4:7 reads, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” From this we learn that at times when our limited perspective bars understanding, we can still have peace through our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and his plan. I also have learned from personal experience that seeking and accepting the peace of His spirit is precisely how we prepare ourselves for greater understanding.

There is purpose in everything that happens. Everything! Satan is real, and his evil influence is abundant, but God has not left us to fight alone. He must allow man the agency to choose evil or good, and to experience the consequences. Thankfully God is omniscient, and through his foreknowledge, He can consecrate the trials of life for our growth.

He also knows the length of our days, and when we do all we can to live good lives, they will not be numbered less. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints taught this principle at the funeral of 16 year old, Sarah VanKomen who died suddenly in a car accident (see the print titled, “Sarah”). He stood at the pulpit and said, "This earth is not our home, so don’t camp out….let us not waste any time being about our Father’s business, because our days are numbered, and most of us will only have but a moment’s
notice."

At the funeral of Dallas N. Archibald, who drowned in an accident while fishing off the coast of Chile, Gordon B. Hinkley (then president of the Church) said, "He’s gone. None of us can understand why, but we do know there is one who understands why and that there’s purpose in all of this. No one can think for a minute that a life so vital could be snuffed out and come to no eternal good."

(The Ensign Magazine, March 1999, p. 73)
Be Still and know that I am God. (Psalms 46:10)
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (Proverbs
3:5)