When we are passed over for promotion or lose a job, when we become chronically ill, when we lose people we love, what then? We face the question, “If God was blessing me during the good times, is he punishing me now?” This is a hugely important question. If God is punishing us, we need to change our ways so he will stop. But if our difficulties are not a punishment from God, then changing our ways would be foolish. It might even oppose what God wants us to do!
The Bible reveals that sometimes our suffering is not a result of our sin. Consider the example of Job. He suffered greatly, losing his substantial wealth and his family. His friends urged him to admit that it was divine punishment because of his sin, but Job resisted, insisting that he had not deserved his sorrow. In the end, the Lord rebuked Job’s friends, revealing that they had not spoken rightly about God when they said God had been punishing Job. In fact, it was Satan who had caused Job’s suffering all along! [Nevertheless,] we are not told why God allows Satan to torture Job. One harrowing day, nearly everything Job treasures is stolen. The people he loves—including all his children—are murdered or killed in violent storms. But Job neither assumes God is punishing him nor becomes bitter over God’s treatment. Instead he worships God.
Because Job has experienced prosperity as a blessing from God, he is prepared to suffer adversity without jumping to conclusions. He recognizes the limits of his own understanding. He doesn’t know why God sometimes blesses us with prosperity and sometimes allows us to suffer adversity. He just knows that God is faithful. [When we, too,] know that sometimes [our] suffering is caused by forces [we] don’t now understand, [we can prayerfully ask God to] help [us patiently] suffer adversity without jumping to the conclusion that it is a punishment. Instead, [our trust in God's faithfulness] will lead [us] to worship and trust [Him] always.
Theology Of Work Project
39 notes
·
View notes
Stressing will literally kill you, let it go and let it be. Everything happens for a reason. Life isn’t always fair but stressing isn’t going to make anything better.
3K notes
·
View notes
YOU MANIFESTED THE TWEEL CARDS CONGRATS
YOU'RE WELCOME EVERYBODY!
seriously though I was probably like. 60-80% thinking we'd get at least one tweel for chapter 10. but I was NOT expecting it so soon! both of 'em! in August! a shame we're not getting a Coral Sea event after all...but I guess I can be resigned to that and ALSO excited for getting shiny sparkly glowing(!!!!) mertwins along with Azul fighting his inner demons and going right for the eyes! AHHHH I CAN'T WAIT
(also heeeey I recognize that rowboat... 👀)
2K notes
·
View notes
On the first Easter, Our Lord appeared to all His Apostles— except Thomas, that is. Thomas was simply “not with them” at the time, and ever since then he has been remembered as the Apostle who disclaimed the Resurrection. Closer inspection, however, softens our perception of “Doubting Thomas.” While all the Apostles were hidden behind locked doors— even John, who heard the pulse of the Sacred Heart, and Peter, who received the keys of heaven and earth— Thomas alone was out and about in the city. We don’t know why he was absent— it was possibly just a simple and necessary errand: obtaining food for the group, communicating with their families, or some other “mundane” task. Perhaps reluctant discussion had led to his being chosen as the errand-goer—perhaps he volunteered. Whatever the case may be, Thomas must have been forced to conquer his own fear to leave that secure Upper Room— and that, ultimately, was exactly what Our Lord wanted of him.
Our Lord knew that we Christians who have never seen and touched Him as the Apostles did would need proof of the Resurrection. So, to help us, He willed that Thomas not be present at His first visit. Before we could doubt, Thomas doubted, and his doubt was healed by touching the sacred Wounds of his Resurrected Lord. As Pope St. Gregory the Great says: "His clemency acted in this wonderful way so that, through the doubting disciple touching the wounds in his Master’s body, our own wounds of incredulity might be healed."
The Catholic Company
6 notes
·
View notes
Did Cosmo and Wanda have a fairy Timmy back in the day? I hadn't watched A New Wish yet but iirc their relationship was strained by Timmy, I think because of the whole "no one aged for 50 years" thing in Timmy's Secret Wish. So would that mean Timmy messed up their marriage?
Yep! Timmy was Cosmo and Wanda's first fairy!
Cosmo and Wanda were newly weds with no support systems thus miserable enough to get their own fairy!
For the first few years, the three of them were perfect but Timmy overstayed his welcome, none of them wanting to lose this new family they created. Timmy used his magic to try and force a magic solution to make Cosmo and Wanda happy again, to varying levels of success.
New fairy management notices that Cosmo and Wanda seem to be getting more miserable despite having Timmy, so they get assigned a new fairy:
Chloe is here to fix all of Timmy's mistakes. But their happy little family isn't going to be separated so instead of being replaced, Timmy and Chloe end up as coworkers.
But even with two fairies, Cosmo and Wanda keep getting more miserable. With a fresh new set of eyes and someone to talk to, Timmy finally admits that the Fairywinkle-Cosmas might be better off without him since most of their conflict does seem to revolve around magic. So both Chloe and Timmy resign, erasing Cosmo's, Wanda's, Poof's Peri's and Sparky's memories of magic.
That day, the Fairywinkle-Cosma's pet goldfish, the one they got when they got their first house, dies. The whole family is very torn up about it, crying even though they don't know why they feel so strongly about losing this goldfish.
As for the whole 50 year time loop thing:
After granting that accidental wish, Timmy does not come clean about it for 50 years in fear of getting into trouble. A swap version of Timmy's Secret Wish does happen and undoes the time loop but yep, that wish absolutely contributed in the decline of their marriage. Not that Cosmo and Wanda would remember it anyways
1K notes
·
View notes