Whatever difficult situations you find yourself in today, be assured, God will use this to prepare you for your future. As we look to God and trust Him in times of hardship, he gives us an authority to help others facing the same issues. As I look back on my life, I have learned the greatest life lessons during times of greatest personal difficulty, and these lessons seem to help others the most. “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (II Cor. 1:4). Henri Nouwen in “The Wounded Healer” gives us this wise counsel; “The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.” This is so basic, yet so true.