Below is a response from a priest, when in front of a judge, when questioned by a lawyer about why bad things happen to good people. His response here is turned into a prayer. After the prayer is a reflection on how bad things in life can be the ground for growth… how our lives are actually forged through our struggles.
Prayer of Father against life’s trials:
I asked God for strength
and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom
and God gave me problems to learn to solve.
I asked for courage
and God gave me dangers to overcome.
I asked for love
and God gave me troubled people to help.
My prayers were answered.
——————
Here’s a flowing restatement that integrates biblical wisdom and the insights often reported in near-death experiences (NDEs):
Nobody is Your Enemy
Life’s hardest moments are often God’s hidden classrooms. No person or circumstance comes into your path without a lesson for your soul.
- The one who annoys you teaches patience and calmness, for “love is patient, love is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
- The one who abandons you shows you how to stand on your own feet and lean more fully on God, who promises: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
- The one who offends you invites you into forgiveness and compassion, echoing Christ’s words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
- The thing you hate becomes the ground where you can practice unconditional love, for love is not selective—it shines like the sun on all.
- What you fear reveals the path of courage, reminding you that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
- What you cannot control whispers the wisdom of surrender: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
- Every “no” from people is an invitation to trust that God’s “yes” is higher than man’s rejection.
- Every problem is a doorway to wisdom, for those who ask receive guidance (James 1:5).
- Every attack shows that your true defense is not retaliation but the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
- Every person who looks down on you reminds you to lift your eyes upward, for your help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121:1-2).
Those who have touched the light in near-death experiences often say that, in the end, life is not a battlefield of enemies but a school of love. Even the painful chapters are designed for your growth.
Reflections
If you never meet betrayal, rejection, or disappointment, perhaps you have never dared to live greatly. Even Jesus was betrayed with a kiss. To walk in love is to risk wounds, yet the wounds themselves become teachers.
Do not waste your life replaying the wrongs done to you. To cling to anger is to hold fire in your hands, burning yourself while imagining another will feel the pain. Let it go. The freedom is yours.
Yes, the world will always contain ungrateful, selfish, and foolish people. But wisdom means you do not let them define you. Maturity means you respond with dignity, compassion, and clarity of heart. You are not responsible for making everyone love you or see the world as you do. Your task is simpler and deeper: to keep your heart aligned with love.
The Secret to a Meaningful Life
What then is the secret? It is to carry a load that matters. Not a burden that crushes you, but a responsibility you choose—one that blesses you, your family, and your community.
People are made to pull against weight. Without it, we collapse into boredom, despair, and self-contempt. Even suffering, if borne nobly, becomes radiant. This is the paradox of life: the way out of suffering is not escape but confrontation.
Jesus carried His cross, and through it revealed glory. So too, your cross—your chosen responsibility, your struggle in love—is not meant to destroy you, but to transform you.
NDEs often report this same truth: what mattered most in life was not wealth, status, or even comfort, but how much love you brought into the world, even in the face of suffering.
So, pick up your weight. Walk your path. Love in the face of fear. Forgive in the face of offense. And when suffering confronts you, know that God is with you. The journey is not meaningless. Every step can be transfigured into light.
Final Thought:
As the saying goes… the benefit of growing in character comes at the cost of an easy life, and the benefit of an easy life comes at the cost of not growing in character. When God lets you struggle, he is actually answering your prayer.
The Law of Love 
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