The Sovereignty of God in Affliction

My Elder, Mr. Scott Brown , wrote and e-mailed these points to the congregation from today's Sunday sermon.

• The presence of your afflictions are not according to chance.
• The timing of your afflictions are all part of God’s pre-ordained plan to sum up all things in Christ.
• The weight of your afflictions are carefully measured, to bring you forth as gold.
• The number of your afflictions are strategically appointed, to buffet you enough to change you.
• The length of your afflictions will be no shorter or longer than what pleases God, in order to enlarge your patience.
• The outcome of your afflictions are designed to address a God glorifying end.
• The arms which brought the afflictions will hold you through them.

This has really helped me to understand even more about the sovereignty of God in trials and sickness.I hope this will be a great help to you also.