Glenn Burris[i] tells that when he was seven years old, his dad bought him his first bicycle. It was a used bike, but Glenn didn’t care. Glenn’s dad was pastor of a small church, and both of his parents had to work to keep food on the table and the church doors open. Receiving the bike that he knew was given sacrificially is a meaningful memory that will always be with him.

Glenn rode his bike to his best friend’s home and, unwisely, parked it behind his mother’s car. You can guess what happened–she backed right over the bicycle. The friend’s mom felt really bad and Glenn went home crushed. But later that day, Glenn’s best friend and his mom arrived at the Burris home to deliver a brand-new bike! Immediately Glenn’s feelings of gloom were gone. In their place was a happiness greater even than when he had received the first bike.

It’s a lesson we all could learn. Sometimes when disappointment comes—when something that has brought us great joy is destroyed or taken away, we automatically assume that nothing good can come of the situation. Seldom do we consider that things could turn out significantly better than they were before. Glenn admits sometimes he may grieve over something “used,” when God may want to give us something “brand new.”

God truly does have a plan for our lives. Sometimes that plan includes painful experiences. But always His desire is for our ultimate good.

Troubled about the circumstances of your life? Glenn’s advice is to go right to the supervisor of the complaint department—our God, who provides for us.

As the Psalmist wrote, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing …To the end that [my] glory may sing praise to You and not be silent” (Psalm 30:11, 12 NKJV).

[i] Glenn Burris, Jr., Foursquare Online Weekly Prayer Guide: February 2, 2009.