I knew I needed to reaffirm my confidence that Romans 8:28 is true and that God actually is working all things in such a way that they will ultimately prove to have been for my good and his glory. I knew I needed to simply trust.

My family experienced some difficult days through the holiday season. These were the kind of days that involved ambulances, emergency rooms, bleeds, broken bones, and even terrifying diagnoses that, thankfully, turned out to be misdiagnoses. We entered this new year thankful for the holidays but also thankful to be through them. And, to be honest, we also entered this new year a little bit frazzled and on edge.

I went for a walk in the early hours of 2025. I needed some time to process all this and to think and pray about it. The sky was dark, snow was falling, and I was following a single set of footprints that had passed through the streets a short time before me. There was one thought that was fixed in my mind and one set of questions.

The questions were these: Will my faith fail? Will my trust waver? Will my confidence give way?

I’m thankful that most of the medical issues have since been resolved. In fact, most were found to barely be problems at all, even though they certainly appeared dire in the moment. The scariest of them all was found to be a complete misunderstanding of the facts by a doctor who ought to have known better. And we understand—mistakes happen.

So, apart from some common and minor ailments, we are well and are beginning this new year in good condition. But what if some of those diagnoses had been true? Or what if we really had experienced the worst and there had been yet another empty seat around our table? Would my faith fail, or my trust waver, or my confidence give way?

Those questions led to this thought: There is a version of the prosperity gospel that we can all believe in and it goes something like this: “God, I gave my life to you, and in exchange I expect you to make my life easy. I may not need riches or opulence, perfect health or abundant wealth, but I would like ease. And if you take that ease from me, I may just assume that your feelings for me have altered or your love for me has waned. I may even regret following you. Please, just keep my life easy.”

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